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Now I Think Quite a Lot of My Own Point of View: The Most Memorable Movie Psychopaths (Unmasked)

By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Seriously Random Lists | Comments (45)

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It’s October and that means it’s time to watch scary movies, to revel in creepiness and all things pumpkin and eat insane amounts of candy. Kids and adults alike will break out the scary masks and on any given night, Jamie Lee Curtis can be found screaming her way through the cable channels (I’ll watch the original—and best—Halloween as many times as possible this month). But, often the scariest monsters are those who wear no mask, the ones who look like your neighbor or a co-worker, maybe even a cop. At least the masked freaks are easily identified and one can get a head start running. Unfortunately, most of these psychos look fairly normal (the exception being number 2) so by the time one figures out he’s in trouble, it just a little too late.


10. Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in Blue Velvet

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9. Martin Sheen as Kit Carruthers in Badlands

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8. Casey Affleck as Lou Ford in The Killer Inside Me

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7. Martin and Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet!) as Reggie and Ronald Kray in The Krays

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6. Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho

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5. Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)

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4. Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs

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3. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men

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2. Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange

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1. Michael Rooker as Henry Lee Lucas in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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Before you even start bitching, Honorable Mention goes to the man who surely inspired his fellow actors, Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho

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Cindy Davis would have listened to Dr. Loomis.









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Comments

Gotta throw in some love for Tom Hardy as Charlie Bronson in Bronson, which is frigging insane.

Posted by: ChristianH at October 13, 2011 3:19 PM

Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas and Nicky Santoro in Casino, etc.

Posted by: DenG at October 13, 2011 3:22 PM

Where the fuck is John Doe? He ruined my life. Nothing was ever the same after seeing Seven.

Posted by: klingonfree at October 13, 2011 3:24 PM

Frank Booth should be number one...number one with a fucking bullet!

Posted by: Kenny G. at October 13, 2011 3:31 PM

The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Scariest psychopath in a movie ever.

Posted by: PaddyDog at October 13, 2011 3:36 PM

Honorable mention:

Mickey and Mallory - Natural Born Killers

Tony Montana - Scarface

The stepfather - The Stepfather

John Ryder - The Hitcher

Peter & Paul - Funny Games

Raymond Lemorne - The Vanishing

Posted by: John W at October 13, 2011 3:41 PM

Oooooo.....yes, to John Doe in Seven!
Also have to second Tom Hardy in Bronson, he was so good in that. I would just get to caring about him and thinking maybe he was just misunderstood and could be saved. And then he would go bat-shit crazy for no reason. Totally messed with my emotions. That movie made me love Tom Hardy.

Posted by: Nimue at October 13, 2011 3:48 PM

Maybe an honorable mention to Peter Lorre in M?
Although come to think of it, he wasn't that memorable.
Hmm, I know, Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance.

Posted by: Pat C. at October 13, 2011 4:00 PM

PaddyDog speaks truth.

Stephen McHattie in Life with Billy. Any Canadians know what I'm talking about?

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at October 13, 2011 4:05 PM

I second The Child Catcher. That shit fucked me up too. Can I nominate Jessica Whatsherhead in Play Misty For Me? Or is she more "Batshit-Crazy-Bitch-Be-Killin" than psychopath?

And Anton Chigurh has Lion Lip. Just sayin.

Posted by: klingonfree at October 13, 2011 4:06 PM

Casey Affleck? He was ok. Not great.

And I totally agree with Michael Rooker as #1. He is a fine actor. But I cannot watch anything he is in without seeing HENRY.

Posted by: Sean at October 13, 2011 4:10 PM

Anton never really did it for me. He seemed, well - boring, I guess.

Posted by: camytaru at October 13, 2011 4:10 PM

Javier Bardem and that movie stressed me out for days afterwards. I didn't even realize it was him until the credits. Scariest bowl cut ever.

Posted by: PerpetualIntern at October 13, 2011 4:12 PM

Lecter should be sharing with Buffalo Bill. He freaked me out just as much.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at October 13, 2011 4:17 PM

I forgot about Francie Brady in The Butcher Boy.

To this day when I am at home just going into the village of Clones disturbs me.

Posted by: PaddyDog at October 13, 2011 4:20 PM

Goddamn I hated that Funny Games movie. I was so pissed I was yelling at the TV. But I do have to admit it was disturbing and really has stayed with me.

Posted by: Iheartlasagne at October 13, 2011 4:28 PM

The FUNNY GAMES trailer was bad enough. In that time period (of the remake, not the original) there were several smaller films I was seeing at the theater (some more than once), and so several times that trailer was shown. I closed my eyes and stuck my fingers in my ears.
I'm not going to dispute #1 even though I never saw it - if I ever saw that film I'd probably commit suicide afterwards to make the memory go away.

Posted by: Pat C. at October 13, 2011 5:10 PM

Good list. I'd include Li'l Ze from City Of God.

I'm also partial to Raymond Lemorne from the original version of The Vanishing.

I still don't think of Anton Chigurh as a pyschopath. To me he's just death incarnate, like a modern Grim Reaper in a The Seventh Seal retelling.

Where are the women psychopaths?

Posted by: DarthCorleone at October 13, 2011 5:25 PM

Ohhhh...Raymond Lemorne...I didn't sleep well for days after seeing The Vanishing.

What about Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter?

And I have to second the Buffalo Bill mention. Ted Levine always brings the awesome.

Posted by: Isaphoebe at October 13, 2011 5:33 PM

I vote for Pesci (in "Casino") and Linda Fiorentino in "The Last Seduction."

And I think Kathy Bates was pretty convincingly psycho in "Misery."

Posted by: Slash at October 13, 2011 5:38 PM

I'ma take Robert Mitchum's Max Cady over Robert De Niro.

And Rutger Hauer as John Ryder in The Hitcher. Although Sean Bean did a decent job.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at October 13, 2011 5:57 PM

Russell Crowe as Sid 6.7 in Virtuosity. That was the first time I saw Russell Crowe and he unnerved the fuck out of me in that role.

Posted by: Uncle JR at October 13, 2011 6:31 PM

Does Daniel Plainview count as a psychopath?

Posted by: DarthCorleone at October 13, 2011 6:38 PM

Every time, you do this kind of list, and every time, you leave off Sid 6.7. Seriously, Pajiba writers, I know you like to dwell on all the negativity, but will you freaking sit down and watch some Russell Crowe movies and admit that he's a good actor, already?

Posted by: Samantha at October 13, 2011 6:41 PM

Yay Samantha. Say it sistah.

Posted by: klingonfree at October 13, 2011 6:52 PM

You lead with Bickle but leave him off the list?

I think Mitchum had it all over De Niro as Cape Fear goes.

Posted by: Jerry at October 13, 2011 7:01 PM

Lady Psychos: Good call on Misery. I was going to say Glenn Close as the bunny boiler, but she was really more unbalanced than sociopathic. Wasn't Angelina Jolie supposed to be a sociopath in Girl, Interrupted? Not too many women psychopaths in movies that I can think of. Disney villans, maybe, like Cruella DeVille or the like?

No Country for Old Men bothered me for weeks. He really just disturbed the fuck out of me. And I second the Lion Lip remark; I've been trying to think of a name for that um, physical characteristic.

Posted by: Viking at October 13, 2011 7:26 PM

Woo Jin Lee.

Posted by: googergieger at October 13, 2011 7:52 PM

Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell in Night of the Hunter

Posted by: idleprimate at October 13, 2011 9:06 PM

Wow, it's so awesome that you dug up The Krays. I completely forgot about that movie.

I loved Funny Games, the remake.
Michael Pitt is a solid actor.

Posted by: Junierizzle at October 13, 2011 9:20 PM

Mitchum in Cape Fear and in Night of the Hunter. Is this just a list from the last 30 years?

Posted by: mechadave at October 13, 2011 9:51 PM

Hopper's too low on the list and Bale's too high. Also, bold call on Anton Chigurh, but ultimately incorrect.

Nobody beats Hopkins.

Posted by: Johnnyboy at October 13, 2011 10:02 PM

Re: female psychos. There's a whopper of a lady killer on the horizon - Chelsea Cain's "Heartsick" features Gretchen Lowell, a serial killer without any backstory or conscience. There's apparently a script in development. I fervently hope it sees the light of day.

Posted by: Kati at October 13, 2011 10:08 PM

Damn right on No. 1. Fucked me up for days.

And this:

I still don't think of Anton Chigurh as a pyschopath. To me he's just death incarnate ...

DarthCorleone nails it. He's not really real.

Posted by: , at October 13, 2011 10:10 PM

kati-

I love horror and Chelsea Cain's series creeped me the fuck out. Seriously, those are some of the very best, scariest, most clever horror novels I have ever read.

Posted by: TWoPFan at October 14, 2011 12:01 AM

Amen to Michael Rooker. I can only see him as Henry, like he's just waiting until I'm all relaxed, watching him in another role and BAM! a tv head shot.

Posted by: portlandmermaid at October 14, 2011 12:08 AM

No one here COMES CLOSE to John Jarrat in Wolf Creek. Perfectly normal looking middle-aged country guy turns fucking terrifying.

Seeing or hearing him in anything now still scares the crap out of me and I can't get my head around it- he was on Better Homes and Gardens for fucks sake!

Wolf Creek scarred me for life and I don't even really remember the bloody violence I just remember how menacing John Jarrat was. As a psycho maybe Hannibal Lecter comes close but as you never really believe Jodie Foster is in danger from him you just got used to him.

Posted by: SAS at October 14, 2011 12:16 AM

What about that scary motherfucker from Fargo? He was pretty scary. But seriously, fucking Frank Booth. Gives me shivers whenever I think about Blue Velvet, or whenever my mind thinks about anything related to the film. Like, hot black coffee -> twin peaks -> david lynch -> blue velvet -> frank booth -> "baby wants to fuck!"

aaaaaaaah

Posted by: sailboat at October 14, 2011 4:33 AM

Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull.

It's not hard to imagine that kind of guy being the next-door-neighbor from hell.

Posted by: GMan at October 14, 2011 9:27 AM

Seriously - You need a longer list. Nicholson - The Shining (how in the balls did you miss that?), Begbie - Trainspotting, Lil Ze - City of God, Pesci.

Posted by: Dugz at October 14, 2011 9:44 AM

Who's an animal? YOUR MOTHER'S AN ANIMAL!

Mitchum in Night of the Hunter. //chills//

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at October 14, 2011 9:51 AM

Also, Klaus Kinski always gave great psycho - not sure it was all performance though.

Posted by: Dugz at October 14, 2011 9:53 AM

Brando - Kurtz. Big, fat, crazy-ass psycho! Would've taken everyone on the list above, tossed them into a bamboo cage, laid some heavy shit about napalm and horror on them, then time for some bowling - with their heads!

Posted by: Dugz at October 14, 2011 10:16 AM

Daniel Plainview has to be a textbook psychopath. But a damn good-looking one. Daniel Day Lewis is never hotter than when he plays the worst people ever.

Posted by: mona sterling at October 14, 2011 6:51 PM

jeremy renner as jeffrey dahmer is pretty good too

Posted by: me at October 15, 2011 10:16 PM