Top Ten Cinematic Psychopaths

These are the type of folks whose bad side we don't want to get on. Hello Bloggers, and here is a list of the top ten scariest cinematic psychopaths. Just to narrow it down, I've omitted any supernatural killers, which I will discuss on a future top ten list, and I've went with psychopaths that are much more realistic and people could more easily run to. Here we go:

#10. Patrick Bateman, American Psycho: Bateman is a yuppie Wall Street stockbroker who enjoys his own particular brand of hobbies like picking up prostitutes, snorting cocaine, and even murder. Bateman is a psychopath that is so detached from reality that (*Possible Spoiler Alert*) the killings that are portrayed in the film may or not be imagined. But if he happens to hang with you, be sure to run whenever he talks about music. You'll have to watch the film to find out why.

#9. Tommy DeVito, Goodfellas: Tommy DeVito is a Mafia member who is a bit of a hothead, yet is very unpredictable. Whenever he has a snap, you can never tell whether he is kidding or if he really is going to come at you and that's what makes him so intimidating. The scene that best displays his psychopathic nature is without a doubt, the film's famous "Funny How?" scene.

#8, Annie Wilkes, Misery: When author Paul Sheldon gets in a car accident in a snowstorm, he is rescued by Annie Wilkes, who appears to be a kind-hearted woman and just happens to be his #1 fan. At first it seems like Paul's care is in good hands, but the only problem is she won't ever let him leave. She even bludgeons his ankles to make sure of it.

#7, Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange: Alex DeLarge and his band of "droogs" are frightening because of how careless they are. No matter how cruel the acts they commit are, they get pure joy out of it, whether it is an act of rape, murder, or a home invasion. If this guy can take a lovely tune like "Singin' In The Rain" and incorporate it into a brutal rape scene, then there is definitely something wrong with this guy.

#6, The Joker, The Dark Knight: We have seen many portrayals of Batman's archnemesis over the years, but to me, the best thus far is Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight. From his stories about how he got his scars making his past more mysterious to his love for deadly magic pencil tracks and just wanting to see anarchy in Gotham City, The Joker has never been scarier nor deadlier. I swear, nowadays I get the willies whenever I think of his sinister laugh.

#5, Alex Forrest, Fatal Attraction: Alex Forrest is pretty much "Exhibit A" on why you never cheat on your spouse. After Dan Gallagher has one harmless fling with her, things don't become much harmless afterwards as she goes through deadly attempts just to cling to him, even going as far as  cutting her wrists and boiling his pet bunny. To quote Alex, she just "won't be ignored".

#4, John Doe, Seven: John Doe to me is quite terrifying because of his stillness and how calm he is. Despite the gruesome murders that he commits which pertain to the Seven Deadly Sins, he sees no shame or wrong in those murders as he tries to justify them, saying he turned the sin against the sinner, and he talks in a normal tone of voice without going too crazy. I swear, the second time I saw this movie, in the scene in the police car after he is caught, I felt like he was working his way inside my head as he kept talking.

#3, Jack Torrance, The Shining: What's worse, being cooped up in an isolated hotel for the entire winter or being cooped up in an isolated hotel for the entire winter with a man who suffers from such sever cabin fever that it makes him go crazy and try to kill his own family? I would say the latter rather than the former. As Jack Torrance is staying at the Overlook Hotel with his wife and son, the isolation takes its toll on him as he hallucinates and sees the ghost of the former caretaker who killed his own family who tells Jack to do the same thing. Afterwards, Jack looks for a little "REDRUM".

#2, Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs: While the other psychopaths on the list are ones that we wouldn't want to side with, Hannibal Lector is a psychopath that ironically, one would want on their side as he is a killer that helps Clarice, the film's main protagonist, catch a killer. When you watch the film, he even gets you to forget the fact that he is a cannibal. However, if you do get on his bad side, he'll have no problem having you for dinner, even with a Chianti and some flava beans.

#1, Norman Bates, Psycho: While John Doe is scary because of his calmness and The Joker is frightening because of his adulation for chaos and anarchy, Norman Bates, in my opinion, is the scariest cinematic psychopath because of how on the outside, he is the innocent "boy next door" but underneath that lies a monster. He reminds me of Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and even Ed Gein, who was the inspiration for Norman Bates, whereas they were serial killers that seemed like everyday nice human beings, but behind their smiles, there lies a psychopathic monster. In my opinion, those are the scariest type of human monsters.

So, that was my top ten list of the scariest cinematic psychopaths, and if there is anybody else you would add to the list or any choices you disagree with, feel free to comment. Thanks for reading!