Which dark protagonist (or rather antagonist) are you inspired by most?

[Caladan]

Which one of them, gives you that certain humoristic twist, psychological depth, sense of empowerment, or liberation?

Pinhead, with his dry humour and mastering of pain?
Dracula? ..which one, Bela Lugosi? Christopher Lee? Gary Oldman?
Louis Cypher in Angel Heart?

What is it about the characters that appeals to you, and what is it about the way they were played that was so successful?

 

[kai]

Gary Oldmans Dracula for me

" I have crossed oceans of time"

not sure why, but he had me spell bound.

 

[Caladan]

Gary Oldmans Dracula for me

" I have crossed oceans of time"

not sure why, but he had me spell bound.

I hope you didnt feel that you had to choose out of my short list these were just samples.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Hannibal Lecter.



Oh, and General Zod.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Billy Jack

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Khan Noonien Singh is a favorite of mine. I feel that Khan was just misunderstood and if that meddlesome Kirk hadn't killed his wife things may have turned out differently.

For a comprehensive list of movie villians see this site.

Movie Villains

 

[Caladan]

It would be great to get some input as to why you chose that certain antagonist, and what is your inspiration from them.

For example, back in the late 80's and early 90's when the first Hellraiser films came out, I loved the authoritative demeanor of Pinhead, his dark one liners, his aura of darkness and intelligence.I was intrigued by his philosophy of pain, and the way he deals with his human victims, not necessarily by tearing them apart, but for example by bargaining with them for more victims in exchange for their life.
His historical biography as a former human who has lost his faith in the human race after WWI, and who went on a dark journey that led him to explore the world of flesh and pain gives him another dimension, that at times slides into a human aspect still found in his psych.

I think Doug Bradley did a fantastic job, and brought a certain British quality to Pinhead, the way he laughs, his dry and well controlled expression.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Hannibal Lecter because he's smart, classy, and sophisticated, even while he's eating someone's liver.

I think, overall, extreme competance in an antagonist/villain (or a protagonist) is an attractive trait.

Additionally, when a villain develops a relationship with the antagonist which humanizes them, it makes the villain more relatable.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I liked Khan because he was supposed to be the perfect human but his flaws as a human were all the more noticable because of his perfection. The character Khan really shows Roddenberry's view of humanity and its arrogance. He believed that to make a human superior would increase his arrogance to such a level that they would make foolish mistakes, making them vulnerable to the heroics of the more mundane humans. I totally disagree with ole Gene but it was still a superb presentation of his views.

 

[England my lionheart]

James Mason in Salems lot,this movie isn't scary at all but i liked James Masons light hearted "the Master is waiting" but with the undercurrent of intent

 

[Nepenthe]

Alright, I'll leave out non-human villains like the shark in Jaws, the avian monsters in The Birds, Carpenter and Bottin's version of The Thing, and groups like the Crazy 88 or monsters-as-metaphors-for-anarchy like zombies. The basic appeal for all of these are that the actors performances were all spot on, the villians were complex, repugnant yet fascinating, and forced the viewer to identify or at the very least care about their fate.

Alex- McDowell creates a nightmarish walking metaphor for the examination of whether free will exists or not.

Elle Driver- It's a close match between O-Ren Ishii and Elle Driver, but Hannah's eyepatched ****** has a slight lead here. She steals every scene she's in.

Max Schrecht- The best Dracula ever (well, Count Orlock): he's repulsive yet fascinating.

Anton Chigurh- Amazing novel adapted into a nearly perfect film. I'm a McCarthy and Coen Bros. fanboy so I'm biased, but Bardem nails the villian and is terrifying.

Buffalo Bill (Jame Gumb)- I do love Hopkins but I'm in a minority here when I say that Levine's Buffalo Bill was far scarier and more disturbing than Lecter; Levine's performance was just far more compelling than Hopkins'. Maybe it's Hopkins' sequels where he basically creates a parody of his character that sours the original....

Travis Bickle- My favorite Scorsese film. The best big screen anti-hero. Bickle is clearly mentally ill, yet forges ahead on his violent mission thinking he's a hero.

Frank Booth- Hopper's masterpiece. He's just as intimidating and frightening on every viewing.

Leatherface- Captures all that is wonderfully ugly about 70s horror.

I'm leaving out so many like Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding, Omar or Ralph; Dunaway and Beatty as Bonnie and Clyde; Pinhead; Herbert West; Tim Curry in Legend and Rocky Horror'; Satan in Haxan...

 

[Seven]

Well, I was spellbound by Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker.
I also loved Javier Bardman's character, Anton, in No Country for Old Men.

 

[cardero]

Which dark protagonist (or rather antagonist) are you inspired by most?

Which one of them, gives you that certain humoristic twist, psychological depth, sense of empowerment, or liberation?

Time Bandits Evil Genius played by David Warner.

What is it about the characters that appeals to you, and what is it about the way they were played that was so successful?

He makes evil fun.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Another favorite of mine is Frederick J. Frenger Jr. played by Alec Baldwin in Miami Blues. He's such a perfect representation of personal anarchy with a smile. Happy Chaos.

 

[J Bryson]

Michael Corleone in The Godfather series. His basic intent is to do the right thing at all times, to buy into the American ideal of the WASP wife, the middle-class existence, the immigrant dream of the time. Instead, he finds his best qualities of loyalty drawing him further into the dark side of that dream, where he keeps giving away bits and pieces of his soul. First he does this in order to protect his family from outsiders, then to put them in a position where no one can ever hurt them again. The fact that his motivations were from the best part of him, and yet led him down a Faustian path, speaks to me of the dangers of assuming that purity of heart is all that is required to do right in life.

 

[Seven]

What is it about the characters that appeals to you, and what is it about the way they were played that was so successful?

Forgot to answer this part.
The Joker - I'm not sure why I love this character so much. I actually find the rest of the movie quiet boring but whenever he comes on the screen I'm captivated. Perhaps there's just something thrilling about a pure anarchist.

Anton - This guy is pure evil, made more menacing by the fact that he is always in complete control. Whenever he's on the screen he triggers a sense of helplessness and despair.

Why is it that we love such terrible characters?

 

[Twilight Hue]

Something gripping about Damien played by Jonathan Scott-Taylor in Omen 2.

 

[rojse]

I have lots of favourites.

Antonio Montana, from "Scarface". Al Pacino is always an excellent actor, and here he plays an over-the-top violent gangster constantly high on cocaine.

The Joker, "Batman" - Heath Ledger done an excellent job as the Joker, but Jack Nicholson goes in a completely different direction as the Joker, playing a sociopathic goofball. And it is just as good as what Ledger done, in a completely different manner.

Arnold Schwarzneggar, Terminator - do I even need to explain this? Arnold plays the near-unstoppable killer robot.

Eric Qualen, "Cliffhanger" - a fun, mindless action movie, made better with the presence of John Lithgow, of "Third Rock from the Sun" fame trying to get a great deal of stolen money while having to outwit Sylvester Stallone. I love how calculatedly evil Qualen is.

It's also quite sad that I know a variety of quotes to go with each movie villian, but at least I don't do the inflections.

 

[JMorris]

Forgot to answer this part.
The Joker - I'm not sure why I love this character so much. I actually find the rest of the movie quiet boring but whenever he comes on the screen I'm captivated. Perhaps there's just something thrilling about a pure anarchist.

Anton - This guy is pure evil, made more menacing by the fact that he is always in complete control. Whenever he's on the screen he triggers a sense of helplessness and despair.

Why is it that we love such terrible characters?

Ledger's Joker easily, i agree the movie was aweful when he wasnt on the screen. i loved how he loved his own chaos. i loved that was his one governing principal. i saw him as the good guy in the movie. and the batman was some douchy rich boy with too much time on his hands missing his mommy.

 

[kai]

I hope you didnt feel that you had to choose out of my short list these were just samples.

no its Oldmans Dracula for me , to me he caught the existential despair combined with malevolence of the character perfectly