Top Ten 80’s Movie Villains of All Time
10. Leonard Smalls (Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb) / Raising Arizona: The music alone that is played when he is on-screen merits his appearance on this list.
9 . Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) / Back to the Future: However hapless he may have seemed, he certainly was pretty cruel to George McFly.
8. Brewmeister Smith (Max Von Sidow) / Strange Brew: Ming The Merciless brews beer? Score!
7. Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) / Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Him trying to get in (and getting crane kicked by Jennifer Grey) still makes me laugh.
6. Skeletor (Frank Langella) / Masters of the Universe: An unbeatable combination of bad makeup and over-the-top theatrics.
5. Principal Richard “Dick” Vernon (Paul Gleason) / The Breakfast Club: “What was that ruckus?”
4. Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson) / Three O’Clock High: “You and me, we’re gonna have a fight. Today. After school. Three o’clock. In the parking lot. You try and run, I’m gonna track you down. You go to a teacher, it’s only gonna get worse. You sneak home, I’m gonna be under your bed.”
3. Walter Peck (William Atherton) / Ghostbusters: Honestly, did you ever want to punch a guy out more in your entire life?
2. Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) / The Karate Kid: Bill Zabka deserves a Hall-of-Fame 80s award for not only his turn in The Karate Kid but also Back To School and Just One Of The Guys. He made being an ass into an art form.
1. Chet (Bill Paxton) / Weird Science: His laugh, his military haircut, and his extortion of Wyatt all make for the big brother you never want. Best line, in referring to his grandparents in stasis: “Do you have any idea… how /disrespectful/ this is?”
(This post was nearly finished for last night, but didn’t quite make it. Two posts today!)
Could you describe the ruckus?
Ben Gazzara as Brad Wesley in “Roadhouse” or Anne Ramsey as Mama Fratelli in “The Goonies.” Both should get an honorable mention.
omg. Chet!
“Do you realize it’s snowing in my room, goddammit! Start talking!”
When the cat is bad I’ll scold him by patting his head and snarling, “I could crush your head…like a nut”. Amazing that Max von Sydow worked with both Ingmar Bergman and Bob and Doug McKenzie.
But there’s nothing I like more than a nice, greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray.
This is one outstanding list. It could not have been easy.
Jeffrey Jones was a good villain in the very horrible Howard the Duck movie.
This list made me wonder about a villain like Dark Helmet. Can the most likable character still be the villain?
I just had a flash of the other Cobra Kai soldier telling Johnny to “Put him in a body bag!” Then the high-pitched giggle. Loved the list.
UC - It usually has the sound of the SIDT podcast.
SirFuller - Anne Ramsey is an excellent honorable mention.
Rachel - “That’s not a joke, that’s a severe behavioral disorder.”
Mean Gene - Hah!
Anthony - Thanks! Dark Helmet would have been a good one.
Jen-nay - Favorite line in the whole movie was Kreese yelling “Finish him!”
you forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful…