The 10 most evil leaders in film history –

We’ve already talked about the ten best and most whipping movie presidents of all time, so it’s only natural that we tackle a similar list for bad guys as well. For just as the good side needs its figureheads to rally behind, so too does evil need a charismatic rascal to lead the way to destruction. These leaders are more than just villains – they are mirrors of our fears. The fear of abuse of power, of megalomania, of the little person getting too much responsibility and no heart. But they are also incredibly entertaining to watch – as long as they stay on screen.

They dominate and rule, with an iron fist, laser weapons, oppression and just general idiocy. The film world’s most brutal leaders are often terrifying caricatures, entertaining but sometimes quite scary. Some of them wear a cape, others a suit, but what they have in common is a burning hatred for everything sane and beautiful in life. So join us as we go through the ten worst (but also) most entertaining leaders to ever appear on the silver screen. A study of how power corrupts with explosive drama.

(10) Amon Göth – Schindler’s List (1993)

I’ll start the list with a cheat. Call it what you will. Because even though he didn’t rule any country or kingdom, he was the undisputed king of his own little world. One of the darkest holes in world history. Yes, now is the time to get all serious again and take a deep dive into the history books. Amon Göth was, for those of you who know a little about World War II, one of the most unsympathetic and terrible individuals to have walked the earth. An outright Nazi officer who overflowed with sadistic impulses at every turn. He ruled the infamous Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp with an iron fist and tortured prisoners of war as if they were lunch entertainment. A terrible man with a black hole where his heart should have been, played with icy coldness and awkward distance by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List. But perhaps worst of all, the unpleasant portrait of Göth we see in the film is a greatly toned-down version. Think about that for a moment.

(9) Lord Farquaad – Shrek (2001)

John Lithgow’s fairy tale villain may be three apples high, but Farquaad is actually a textbook example of tyranny in miniature. He banishes minorities, builds a kingdom in which he is central, and tries to use marriage to force his way into the corridors of power. In short, he is everything we normally associate with narcissism and megalomania, albeit in a very small body. The satire is as clear as it is sharp: he dreams of perfection, order and, not least, status – but behind the thin facade is a very small man with a gigantic complex. In other words, just as many of history’s real tyrants are often described.

(8) General Zod – Man of Steel (2013)

The idea is certainly a good one, to save his own race. Unfortunately, it also means Zod must exterminate humanity to achieve his goal. You know, little details. no, Michael Shannon’s Zod is an icy, rabid and intense jerk with tunnel vision who is very reminiscent of an angry forum member on Reddit. His tirade against Superman that it is his duty to ensure Krypton’s survival is very unnerving, perhaps mostly because he really is so utterly convinced that it is his great calling in life. A messiah with laser focus and tyrannical underlings.

(7) King Edward I – Braveheart (1995)

History books tend to refer to him as Longshanks, a very real person at the time over 700 years ago. In Mel Gibson’s hands as a screenwriter, however, he turned into a sadistic tyrant. A medieval supervillain who takes pleasure in slaughtering Scots and mocking freedom fighters. Patrick McGoohan is brilliant in the role, bubbling with malice, although the portrayal is rather unfair compared to how Edward is actually described in the history books.

(6) President Snow – The Hunger Games (2012-2015)

An accurate caricature so unnecessarily, extraordinarily bad that you almost choke on your coffee. Say what you will about the films, but Sutherland throws the iron into the fire and goes for broke in the role of Snow. A tyrant happily drinking tea while bombing children’s hospitals. Controlled and quietly menacing, which combined with his flashy outfit and venomous smile is just icing on the cake. President Snow is a despot for the Instagram generation.

(5) Admiral General Aladeen – The Dictator (2012)

We laugh at Aldeen in all his absurdity. The caricature of Sacha Baron Cohen, in which he has reduced the vanity, cruelty and total disconnection from reality of all modern dictators to an unholy, miserable mire. He shoots people because they trounce him in competitions, writes his own dictionary and oppresses his people like no other. And yet you can’t stop laughing, even if it hurts a little inside.

(4) Hynkel – The great dictator (1940)

Probably the most definitive and famous satire of all. Chaplin’s parody of Hitler was a brave one, made at a time when it was not really safe to make jokes about him. Hynkel is pompous, childish, hateful and ridiculously self-righteous – which is exactly what makes him so dangerous. He symbolically plays with the globe as if it were a balloon, which is probably the most elegant middle finger to fascism in film history. But The Great Dictator is so much more than dazzlingly accurate satire; it is a powerful reminder that ridicule is one of the most effective and sharpest weapons you can use against tyranny.

(3) Immortan Joe – Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Is this what the world would be treated to if the apocalypse arrived and a deceased WWE star grabbed the crown of leadership? Well, probably. Because that’s exactly what Immortan Joe is, Hugh Keays-Byrne’s post-apocalyptic dictator with a gods complex and a penchant for inbreeding and chrome makeup. He keeps women as breeding stock and controls resources with an iron fist. A grotesque reflection of the wasteland he rules over here, complete with a rotund smile hidden behind a gas mask. A real fool who also happens to be one of the most disgusting assholes we have seen on the silver screen.

(2) Voldemort – Harry Potter (2001-2011)

The Harry Potter books (and films) may be primarily aimed at children and young adults, but when it comes to the themes of the series, not to mention its main antagonist, Rowling has spared no expense. She has clearly drawn inspiration from some of the most vile individuals who have walked this earth, and Voldemort is nothing short of a full-blown fascist with ambitions Adolf Hitler would envy. He dreams of pure blood, takes over the media, controls those in power and sends his Death Eaters on murderous missions as if they were Gestapo soldiers with wands. His methods are eerily familiar and he is one of the most unsympathetic bastards in the history of cinema. Tyranny does not always come in uniform; sometimes rags and substandard social skills are enough.

(1) Emperor Palpatine- Star Wars (1977-2019)

The undisputed king of wickedness, the biggest and baddest of them all – evil personified. A manipulative senator with the most effective poker face in the universe, complete with grinning smile and “trust me” methodology that brings people down. His rocket career would certainly have been something for LinkedIn, although his wrinkled raisin face may not have made a great first impression on those who visited his profile. But all kidding aside, Darth Sidious and his masterful Order 66 are a textbook example of dictatorship. That he also managed to convince the most well-meaning and noblest Jedi knight in the galaxy to become a child killer says a lot about his nasty charisma. Palpatine is the CEO of evil, the dark puppet master of the universe.

What’s your list, who in your opinion are the most evil leaders ever?