Not all superheroes in Marvel or DC films leave the same vivid impression as the psychopaths portrayed in cinema. They’re not just cruel criminals – they’re psychologically complex and smart people whose actions defy all bounds of humanity and morality. Their unpredictability and manipulation intrigue viewers and force them to face their biggest fears.
The film industry admires dark psychology – it often portrays psychopaths’ real personalities and committed crimes, so viewers have a genuine reason to be scared. Many people consider the Joker (Joker, 2019) or Patrick Bateman (American Psycho, 2000) to be the most popular psychopaths in cinema; however, it’s important to remember other more realistic and terrifying psychopaths.
10. No Country for Old Men (2007)
The criminal drama, based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, hypnotizes the viewers and keeps their attention until the last second.
The name of the film was borrowed from William’s Yates “Sailing to Byzantium”. Nevertheless, the authors don’t rely on the classic poet’s authority, except for one line. They behave oddly with everything they’re trying to use. The storyline is shrouded in mystery and strays viewers onto the sidelines that eventually connect all loose threads to form a flexible and illogical coincidence web.
Apart from other Coen brothers’ films that are distinguished by their bright and colorful baroque style, this opus differs by its laconic minimalism. All distracting details are cruelly “amputated”. Everything that’s left is designed to attract the viewers’ attention to details that create the film’s atmosphere and special emotional climate.
Somewhere in a poor Texas state prairie, Vietnam war veteran Llewelyn Moss (actor Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a terrifying view – 5 abandoned cars, piles of armed bodies, a huge amount of Mexican heroin, and 2 million dollars. The cowboy decides to take this treasure with him home since those corpses surely don’t need it. Llewelyn already knows that this unexpected luck will bring him problems.
It becomes inevitably clear that Llewelyn’s path will lead him to Anton Chigurh – the killer seen at the beginning of the film. The so-called headhunter, played by Javier Bardem, is the perfect embodiment of unforgiving evil, who acts as a cruel monster and is scarier than the plague. He never misses and his signature weapon is… a captive bolt pistol. It’s a perfectly functioning killing machine that cannot be outsmarted. The actor, often compared to fantastic cyborgs and comic characters, awarded us with various nuances that quickly took over the viewers’ attention (and even sympathy).
The storyline reminds of an avalanche that’s provoked by one irresponsible action. This often happens in Coen brothers’ films. When the violence wave hits hard, it’s impossible to stop it. Even though the town’s sheriff Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) solves the crime first, he is unable to resist this disaster. Not because he is too old. Fate is unchangeable and fighting Titans is pointless. That’s why Coen films can’t have a traditional Hollywood ending or the triumph of good over evil.
This pessimistic mood can be called realism. Or perhaps it means that time moves in its own way and just recently, beaming with youthful exuberance, original movie creators’ tandem slowly turns into an “old men” category. And modern Hollywood’s country has no place for pessimists. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
9. Hannibal (2001)
The first film about Hannibal Lecter – “The Silence of the Lambs“ (dir. Jonathan Demme) – was released worldwide in 1991 and won 5 Oscars. Of course, this amount of luck influences the continuation of such popular cinema projects.
Exactly 10 years after launching “The Silence of the Lambs”, one scene in “Hannibal” (dir. Ridley Scott, 2001) reveals the FBI’s secret archive file which claims that “Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s place of birth is unknown. It is likely Lithuania”. It’s strange that in the world of Wikipedia and Google, a bestseller author didn’t bother fact-checking historical information and famous people’s biographies. But nobody cares about that, except for a handful of historians. Rules of bestsellers allow to interpret historical facts as one pleases.
Scott’s film is about a maniac, monster, and psychopath Hannibal Lecter who escaped Europe and settled in Florence to avoid stalkers. FBI agent Clarice Starling (this time played by Julianne Moore, not Jodie Foster) wishes to catch Lecter for his old and new sins.
Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) is a millionaire who wants revenge on Lecter for horribly disfiguring his looks. Being tied to life-support, Verger sees the world through his one healthy eye. He’s ready to give away every penny to watch Lecter’s agony.
Even though the scenes can traumatize sensitive viewers, it is a perfectly directed and impactful film. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
8. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
“A Clockwork Orange” is often described as one of the most controversial Stanley Kubrick’s films.
Right after editing “2001: A Space Odyssey” the director decided to collaborate with a controversial British writer Anthony Burgess. They both liked the idea of creating a costume drama about Napoleon and the most important events in the life of a warlord. As time passed by, it was apparent that the two ambitious personalities had a hard time deciding on a shared vision. The director did not like the storyline, so he put this film project to the side. Meanwhile, the writer decided to independently write a book “Napoleon Sympathy: A Novel in Four Movements”, which was released in 1974 and dedicated to his wife and… S. Kubrick.
However, S. Kubrick got the chance to work with A. Burgess on “A Clockwork Orange” which was released in 1971. It’s a gloomy and shocking futuristic satire that portrays a near-future world, overtaken by violence. Action takes place in an authoritarian Great Britain, and in the center of attention is a gang of thugs led by a teenager Alex (Malcolm McDowell) – a sadist, drug addict, and… classical music lover. He and his thug friend wander the streets, scare people with their looks and vulgar manners, spend a lot of time at the bar that serves milk mixed with drugs, and talk to each other in a specific language made of Russian slang and London’s cockney jargon (used by lower class people). Drugs influence them to attack people on the street, terrorize the homeless, and act violently.
After committing a cruel act, Alex gets taken by the police. The government gets concerned with growing violence in the community and decides to use the “Ludovico Technique” experiment. The point of this medical therapy is to forcibly show acts of cruelty to sadists (even including World War 2 crime scenes). The scenes are accompanied by Alex’s favorite classical music. This is supposed to condition Alex to associate violence with intense feelings of discomfort.
In America, this film was rated X (only for adults) and in Great Britain, it was pulled from theaters. Interestingly, S. Kubrick was the author of this initiative. The controversy reached its peak when one gang committed a crime dressed as “Clockwork Orange” characters and the director’s family started receiving anonymous death threats.
The film’s boycott was cancelled in 2000, after S. Kubrick’s death. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
7. There Will Be Blood (2007)
„There Will Be Blood“ by Paul Thomas Anderson is about Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his path from a miner to an oil baron. This two Oscar-winning drama is a true epic of human ambition. It’s a story about triumph, downfall, and the cruel price of ambitions, experienced by an American-dream-chasing silver miner Daniel Plainview.
Once, he heard that a town in the state’s southwest was hiding a vast amount of oil underground. He moves to Little Boston with his son and manages to find “black gold” in this barren land. Daniel, then, buys Eli Sunday’s (Paul Dano) family’s ranch because of the oil buried underneath. Eli is a local pastor and wants to get money from Daniel in order to pay for his church.
“There Will Be Blood” is a masterpiece, that Gawker.com included in the general list of the best films of the decade assembled by film critics, and in 2016, BBC claimed it as the third-best film of the 21st century. At the end of the film, Daniel becomes an alcoholic and outsider, living on his ranch. Eli is looking for money, so he visits Daniel. They get into a fight, where Daniel beats Eli to death with a bowling pin.
Some claim that Daniel’s and Eli’s story is a metaphor for capitalism and religion in America. It shows what happens when these two notions collide and get in conflict. In the last scene, Daniel’s servant comes downstairs to ask Daniel what happened, when he suddenly declares: “I’m finished”. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
6. The Shining, 1980
Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “The Shining” blessed American’s eyes on May 23rd, 1980. The film’s popularity kept increasingly growing which influenced “Variety” to place “The Shining” in the top 10 list of the season’s most profitable hits. The film was also shown in other countries, especially Great Britain and Japan.
“The Shining” is based on Stephen King’s novel. The so-called “King of Horror” admitted that he did not like the film, so in 1997, he decided to produce his own version of “The Shining” (dir. Mick Garris turned it into a 4.5-hour boring TV series).
According to the “New York Times” film critic Vincent Canby, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”: “In some eerie fashion, [it] gets better every year”.
“Warner bros” studios bought the screening license before the book was released to the public. One of the bosses knew S. Kubrick’s love for mystery, so he sent him a copy to England. After reading the book, he claimed that it was one of the most ingenious and exciting stories of the genre he had ever read.
He immediately realized that the protagonist must be played by Jack Nicholson, whom he had known from the past since they both tried making a film about Napoleon.
The novel’s screening wasn’t up to par with S. King’s favorite mysterious monsters. It’s a very realistic story of insanity. Writer Jack Torrance comes to an isolated hotel with his wife and son to spend the winter, maintain the hotel, and maybe even write a new book. Suddenly Torrance hears rumors about strange things happening at the hotel. And soon, incomprehensible things start happening. They slowly cause Torrance to lose his mind.
Kubrick didn’t like explaining his directing decisions, yet he perfectly accomplished his imaginative approach: “Don’t explain something you don’t understand”. “The Shining” always tries to mix reality and nightmares, even though Kubrick put a lot of effort into keeping a balance between psychological and supernatural things.
Discussions about the film have been going on for the past 40 years and it seems that there’s no end. So, it’s worth agreeing with “New York Times” film critic Vincent Canby who wrote: “If you haven’t seen “The Shining” recently, rent the video sometime soon. In some eerie fashion, it gets better every year”. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
5. Gone Girl (2014)
Based on Gillian Flynn’s bestseller of the same name, David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” is a stylish but messy thriller about a deteriorating marriage and the need for revenge.
On their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick returns home to find his wife missing. Even though Nick strongly defends his innocence, he becomes the main suspect after discovering evidence of struggle and bloodstains in the house. The police also find Amy’s diary, where she describes Nick’s abusive behavior towards her. The media depicts Nick as a careless husband, which forces him to desperately fix his public image and convince everyone of his innocence.
The storyline takes an unexpected turn when we find out that Amy is alive and well. She set up this plan to get money and revenge from Nick, who had an affair with one of his students. This plot twist quickly changes the viewers’ perception and mood of the movie. Such an unpredicted turn gives a big adrenaline rush.
David Fincher is definitely one of the best “dark” movie directors. He proved it with “Se7en”, “Fight Club”, and now with “Gone Girl”. It’s not just a criminal drama. It’s cloaked in mystery. But that’s expected from David Fincher.
Just like the book, the movie is exceptional – it’s not just a story about solving a murder case. The story doesn’t follow a predictable path – each development is surprising.
4. Se7en (1995)
20 years ago, Hollywood crime filmmakers tried to expand the border of one genre by mixing detective fabula with elements of other popular genres. These fabulas were often enriched by slight erotic scenes, Hitchcock-type tension growth, violent and horrifying scenery, and even necrophilic motives.
It’s easy to notice them gravitating towards psychological films where the main conflict between a criminal and a detective (policeman, FBI agent, journalist) becomes a metaphysical clash of the good and the evil. Antagonists with extraordinary abilities are necessary to reach these philosophical conclusions. That’s why modern film killers no longer resemble their distant ancestor Jack the Ripper. Modern maniacs are characterized by sadistic cold-bloodedness, hypnotizing effect on their victims, pathological self-destruction, and extraordinary intellect. For a while, this “benchmark” perfectly fit Anthony Hopkin’s Hannibal Lecter (“The Silence of The Lamb” and its sequels). These characteristics perfectly fit “Se7en’s” cruel murderer.
Several murders were committed in a small, rain-drenched town. The crimes have two things in common: cruelty and dead bodies with the words “gluttony”, “greed”, and “pride”. 2 detectives William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt) quickly figure out that they’re dealing with people who have committed the seven deadly sins. But who is this mysterious “angelic destroyer”? The answer can be revealed not only by deduction but also by classical literature – Dante’s “The Divine Comedy”, Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”, and John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”.
Along the way, viewers will be reminded of the seven heavenly virtues. It’s important to note that cinematographers love the number “seven”. It is meaningful in Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” (1957), Compton Bennett’s “The Seventh Veil” (1945), and the screen adaptation of a medieval detective story by Umberto Eco “The Name of the Rose” (dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1987). (Gediminas Jankauskas)
3. Primal Fear (1996)
A young man, Aaron Stampler, is on trial for Archbishop Rushman’s murder. Martin Vail is a famous and arrogant Chicago defense attorney, who offers to defend him pro bono. He does this for fame, of course. He genuinely believes that the boy is innocent since Aaron was a homeless kid before he was taken in by the Archbishop. He’s a shy kid with a severe stutter. All of the evidence is against the calm, quiet, and mentally challenged orphan, who served at church. He looks so innocent and weak that it’s hard to believe he’s guilty.
Martin Vail quickly finds out that Aaron has a dissociative identity disorder, making him not criminally responsible, and plans to administer him to a psychiatric hospital. Even though Vail is sure of Aaron’s innocence, the attorney accidentally discovers a pornographic tape, where the Archbishop coerces Aaron and other kids. Vail realizes that Aaron could have had a valid reason for Archbishop’s murder.
He starts questioning Aaron’s innocence. Psychologists examine the kid and discover his other personality – Roy. The trial is in process, so Vail cannot change Aaron’s defense. He decides to find a way and show the judges Aaron’s other personality and, most likely, mental disorder. However, Arron has tricks up his sleeves too. At the end of the film, we find out that Aaron/Roy is completely mentally healthy. He planned to fool doctors with his mental issues and convince them to set him free after “getting better” in order to get away with murder. After being fooled by his own client, Vail leaves Aaron’s prison cell through the back door and never shows himself in public again.
2. Nightcrawler (2014)
The film isn’t complex. People are interested in the content of TV reports, but they don’t care about the methods that make this content possible. The protagonist is a jobless thief who likes to look for sensations as he wanders through the night. Mostly sensations, where blood is pouring freely. Independent TV network channels love to buy this type of news. The main character, Louis Bloom, buys a camera and starts filming various incidents in illegal, rude, and often incriminating ways. He doesn’t care about others. He lies, cheats, and cold-bloodedly lets people die right in front of his eyes. Louis is determined to reach his goal – to film rare and intriguing scenes.
“Nightcrawler” is a typical independent American film with a small budget. Unexpectedly, it became a new hit and was loved by viewers and critics. The film’s success was determined by 3 reasons.
First – the storyline. Every Louis’s further action was easily understandable and logical for the viewer. No matter how immoral and cruel it was. Second – the film’s atmosphere. If it weren’t for modern dynamic scenes, you would think that it was shot between the 1980s and 1990s. The nighttime view and soundtrack remind of crime and police films of that time. Only the cameraman never stops moving– he always follows the protagonist but doesn’t forget wide shots that show off the main characters’ emotions.
Screenwriter Dan Gilroy doesn’t waste time on sentiments and humor. Instead, he gives us two hours of tension and adrenaline rush. The film is interesting; it shows cruel reality and an immoral character but doesn’t moralize. The third reason for the film’s success is Jake Gyllenhaal, who not only significantly improved his acting skills but also remarkably changed his appearance. His weight loss made him unrecognizable – he no longer resembled any of his previously played romantic and handsome characters. Real Hollywood – real star. In this film, Jake Gyllenhaal reminds of a mix between Christian Bale’s role in “The Machinist” and Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver”. However, he does create his own version of American Psycho. (Marijus Kulvietis)
1. Psycho (1960)
Interestingly, A. Hitchcock started filming the most popular Hollywood beauties and handsome actors while working in America. It’s easy to notice that they often embodied villains, sadists, and killers. That was Hitchcock’s way of breaking the Hollywood canon, where beautiful actors had to play only positive characters. He wanted to warn us to not judge a book by its cover – a gorgeous facade can hide a very ugly inside.
The director follows this rule in “Psycho”, based on Robert Bloch’s novel. The film starts with a banal theft: a sexy secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), steals a big sum of money and gives it to her boyfriend. However, she won’t be able to use this easy-earned money. The growing tension is also maintained with subtitles (another important Hitchcock’s stylistic element). As a psychologist, studying human nature and fear mechanisms, he knew that the source of fear isn’t on the outside, it’s on the inside.
His films proved that people’s biggest nightmares are hiding in everyday lives. Even the film’s title “Psycho” can be seen as a specific type of psychosis, where deadly danger can strike in a non-suspicious reality. Bernard Herrmann’s music alerts viewers right from the beginning of the film up to the climax of the first act, better known as the shower scene. A magnificent montage of this scene (where viewers see 70 different angles of enclosed environment plans in 45 seconds) is a true masterpiece.
Anthony Perkins, who played the proprietor of the Bates Motel – Norman Bates, so convincingly embodied a complicated case of schizophrenia, that even a professional psychopathologist had to comment on the character’s behavior. Unfortunately, this artistic triumph ruined Perkin’s career – he was forced to play other monsters that were hiding under the surface of a handsome and sensitive human. The actor had to play Norman Bates three separate times (1983, 1986, 1990), one of them was directed by him. But that was only another mundane copy of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. (Gediminas Jankauskas)
