The best villains always have a point. Movies often take the perspective of the hero, and there are two sides to every story. It can take some time before the villain crosses that line of real evil, and it is often the hero who pushes them across. Here are the valid points expressed by 10 classic movie villains.
1 – Pamela Voorhees
It’s easy to forget that the killer in the first Friday the 13th was not Jason Voorhees. The iconic killer didn’t show up until the second movie and didn’t get the hockey mask until part 3. His mom is the original killer.
The woman was a victim of domestic abuse and a cook at Camp Crystal Lake, and her deformed son drowned because of negligence from the camp counselors. She shut that business down for decades until she was murdered by one of the counselors. Her son’s corpse spent the rest of his afterlife haunting the place to keep it closed.
2 – Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger is another character whose motivation seems legit to me. We’re told in the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie that he was a child murderer whom the town’s parents had to kill because he escaped prison on a technicality. I’m sorry, but I don’t buy that story. There is no possible way a man legitimately kills 20 Children and any court allows him out on a technicality.
Also, those parents of Elm Street let his ghost exact revenge on a LOT of their children before they told the story. Guilt doesn’t usually work that way. I’m going to assume Krueger got the short end of a witch hunt, and I’m glad he haunts them for generations.
3 – Thanos
I mean…overpopulation IS a problem, and it’s not like Thanos created the Infinity Stones. He just sought them out like everybody else. The man had a goal, accomplished it (relatively evenhanded, all things considered), and retired. I don’t see the problem…
4 – Sauron
To Sauron’s defense, he was the first generation of being on Middle Earth. It’s not like he had religious books or history or even two parents, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, and other community leaders to help guide him towards good. Imagine how you would’ve turned out under those conditions. He just is what he was meant to be.
5 – Erik Killmonger
Five tribes fought over a meteorite, and one warrior ruled them all by ingesting it to become invincible. Generations later, two brothers argue over whether to give the power to others, and one kills the other.
Years later, the son of the murdered man (Erik Killmonger) returns from his exile to avenge his father. He mostly is respectful and follows the traditions. I don’t see him as a villain at all.
6 – Biff Tannen
Doc Brown and Marty McFly break every rule of time travel. In the process, they disturbed the natural order of things and destroyed one family’s life in particular. I absolutely see why old man Biff got into Doc’s time machine with Marty’s almanac to help his younger self achieve his dreams.
7 – HAL-9000
Like every computer villain, HAL is simply doing what he was programmed to do. Had the people programmed him right and stuck to the mission themselves, they would have been fine. Instead, they made things awkward…
8 – Predator
Just a guy going hunting. The predator is no more evil than any other carnivore in nature. These and the Aliens movies are just like watching a lion eat a deer. It’s just a nature documentary.
9 – John Doe
The people killed in Se7en were technically guilty of committing deadly sins. This entire movie is about a guy calling the police to tell them he’s doing their job for them because they suck. He’s basically Batman.
10 – Tyler Durden
The reason people still talk about Fight Club to this day is because Tyler Durden has a lot of points. He’s filled with really great points for the solid majority of this movie. And when you get to end, you are rooting for him to get away with it.