Scum of The Earth All-Stars!
The villains you most want to see die! (I.E., the most courageous performances of all time!) All of them are totally unsympathetic, completely irredeemable, and devoid of the "safety net" that comes with playing a comic book, sci-fi or fantasy villain. Plus none of them have any sequels or prequels (sorry, Hannibal), since these are villains you just want to see gone ASAP. If you're naive enough to think that the "all-time movie villain" competition is between the Wicked Witch of the West and Darth Vader ... it's time for you to meet one of these guys!
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- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsVictor MatureBrian DonlevyColeen GrayA crook arrested for a jewelry heist initially refuses to give up his accomplices, but he changes his mind once his wife dies under worrying circumstances.Richard Widmark's Tommy Udo is the founding father of cinematic scum.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsHumphrey BogartFredric MarchArthur KennedyThree escaped convicts move in on and terrorize a suburban household.Humphrey Bogart's penultimate performance blows away his 30's gangster roles.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.Andrew J. Robinson ushered in the MPAA ratings era.
- CreatorVince GilliganStarsBryan CranstonAaron PaulAnna GunnA chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.As did Raymond Cruz with the streaming era.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsAnders Danielsen LieJonas Strand GravliJon ØigardenA three-part story of Norway's worst terrorist attack in which over seventy people were killed. 22 July looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.Anders Danielsen came pre-approved, playing real-life mass-murdering terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HardyWill PoulterA frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.Capping off a spectacular 2015, Tom Hardy becomes the first actor to ever achieve back-to-back scum of the earth performances (following LEGEND) playing the kind of villain who could inspire a superhuman vengeance quest.
- CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.(Season 1) Glenn Fleshler is a scum-incarnate villain whose demise provides a payoff worthy of the journey it took to get him and confers hero status on Woody and Matthew.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoTakayuki YamadaYûsuke IseyaA group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.Gorô Inagaki is the most contemptible ever!
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRichard BohringerMichael GambonHelen MirrenAt Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.Close behind -- and #1 for 22 years -- is Michael Gambon in this movie. He's totally cretinous, and completely devoid of any positive qualities whatsoever. (For a real kick, watch this movie as a Harry Potter prequel titled, MY DINNER WITH DUMBLEDORE.)
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.Jo Prestia takes misogyny to the outer limits. In terms of bang for the buck, nobody ever packed more scum into a smaller role.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJon VoightBurt ReynoldsNed BeattyIntent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.In the doubles competition, I used to think that NO duo would ever surpass Bill McKinney and Herbert "Cowboy" Coward, the two fun-loving hillbillies in this movie ... (continued)
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.... until I saw THIS film, featuring Arno Frisch and Frank Giering as sicko serial killers out to demonstrate their Aryan sadistic supremacy over Leopold & Loeb.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.In a scum race to the bottom, Peter Stormare makes mincemeat out of Steve Buscemi.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsMichael BiehnAlex McArthurNicholas CampbellAlex is an outwardly normal man who goes on killing and mutilating sprees. When he is finally captured and brought to trial, the district attorney is torn between his own liberal ideals on guilt and the crimes the accused is being tried.The most underrated of all scum performances ... Alex McArthur is nothing less than Hannibal Lecter WITHOUT the class!
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.Career scum overachiever Dennis Hopper in his most memorable bad guy role. "Mommy ... MA-MEE!!!"
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.Fellow overachievers Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken and James Gandolfini all reached their scum peaks in this movie, due in no small part to having Tarantino dialogue to work with.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.Kevin Spacey's "John Doe" is even more unnerving than Gary Cooper's!
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.Christopher Plummer goes all-out to distance himself from THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsRay WinstoneBen KingsleyIan McShaneBrutal gangster Don Logan recruits "retired" safecracker Gal for one last job, but it goes badly for both of them.Ben Kingsley goes all-out to distance himself from GANDHI
- DirectorGeoffrey WrightStarsRussell CroweDaniel PollockJacqueline McKenzieA group of skinheads become alarmed at the way their neighbourhood is changing.Russell Crowe as an Aussie skinhead in a movie that makes "American History X" look like Romper ROOM.
- DirectorDominic SenaStarsBrad PittJuliette LewisKathy LarsonA journalist duo goes on a tour of serial-killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.Kudos to Brad for taking a detour from safe, "pretty boy" star-vehicle roles to get in touch with his dark side!
- DirectorRémy BelvauxAndré BonzelBenoît PoelvoordeStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJacqueline Poelvoorde-PappaertNelly PappaertA film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.Benoit Poelvoorde as the world's happiest serial killer.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.Al Pacino throws caution to the wind in the most memorable bad guy role by a leading man AFTER hitting it big.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.No shortage of scum in this movie ... but Michael Madsen towers above the others.
- DirectorPaul McGuiganStarsMalcolm McDowellDavid ThewlisPaul BettanyChronicles the rise and fall of a prominent, and particularly ruthless English gangster.Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell team up for the greatest COMPOSITE scum performance ever!"
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael BeckJames RemarDorsey WrightA street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.David Patrick Kelly's moment of glory. "Warriors ... come out and play-ay!"
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.What scum list would be complete without Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito?
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.Eric Bana's breakthrough role was his spot-on portrayal of real-life scum Mark 'Chopper' Read.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsNicole KidmanSam NeillBilly ZaneAfter a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.What, you thought Billy Zane was a baddie in TITANIC?! Watch him in this earlier seafaring yarn and find out how much he was holding BACK!
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.Harvey Keitel was too nice a guy in RESERVOIR DOGS and TAXI DRIVER to quite make the club ... here's the role that finally earned him admission.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsMariel HemingwayEric RobertsCliff RobertsonA successful young model finds trouble when her obsessive manager-turned-husband becomes dangerously jealous.Eric Roberts gives the career performance that he could never quite shake off. (His "Oscar-winning" sister should live to give a performance HALF as good!)
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenDan O'HerlihyIn a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.Kurtwood Smith's warmup lap for THAT 70's SHOW.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn TravoltaNancy AllenJohn LithgowA movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.John Lithgow's warmup lap for THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsTyrin TurnerLarenz TateJune Kyoto LuA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.Larenz Tate's "O-Dog" is a rabid pit bull of a youth offender ... (continued)
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsTom CourtenayChristopher EcclestonEileen AtkinsThis drama reveals the controversial postwar 1950's London murder trial that sent an intellectually challenged young man to the gallows for a murder he did not commit.... but Paul Reynolds helps build an even more convincing case for instituting the death penalty for minors!
- DirectorPeter BergStarsChristian SlaterDaniel SternCameron DiazA prostitute is killed during a bachelor party and the attendees turn on each other as the wedding approaches.Christian Slater shows what overexposure to Tony Robbins' motivational lectures can DO to a guy!
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.Sweden's Peter Haber is the decade's first addition, thanks to his blazing performance in this movie.
- DirectorDaniel AlfredsonStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceLena EndreLisbeth is recovering in a hospital and awaiting trial for three murders when she is released. Mikael must prove her innocence, but Lisbeth must be willing to share the details of her sordid experiences with the court.Two sequels later, Mikael Spreitz made the club with his stylish delivery of a greeting card.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.Javier Bardem joins Dennis Hopper, Eric Roberts, Michael Madsen and Kevin Spacey in the special 'Toys R Us' subcategory, becoming only the second (after Joe Pesci) Scum of the Earth Oscar winner.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.After near-misses with DIRTY PRETTY THINGS and WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY, Sergi Lopez finally made the club with his scum-incarnate performance in this 2006 movie.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason FlemyngDexter FletcherNick MoranEddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.P.H. Moriarty ("Hatchet Harry"), Lenny McLean ("Barry the Baptist") and Frank Harper ("Dog") all make the grade! (Vinnie Jones' "Big Chris" disqualified for being too responsible a father...sorry!)
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason StathamBrad PittStephen GrahamUnscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.Vinnie Jones as "Bullet Tooth Tony" earns the admission previously denied him for his role in LOCK STOCK & 2 SMOKING BARRELS ... but Alan Ford as "Brick Top" takes top honors.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsChristopher ReeveKathy BakerMimi RogersA New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.Morgan Freeman's first Oscar-nominated performance is still his most indelible.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsJohn SavageJames WoodsFranklyn SealesAn LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.Scum overachiever James Woods' breakthrough role!
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.Ray Liotta's performance in GOODFELLAS wasn't strong enough to cut it. Fortunately, he'd already made the team by then via his character in THIS movie.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsMelanie GriffithTommy Lee JonesStingA crooked American businessman tries to push the shady influential owner of a nightclub in Newcastle, England to sell him the club. The club's new employee and the American's ex lover fall in love and inadvertently stir the pot.Similarly, Tommy Lee Jones couldn't have earned admission via UNDER SIEGE or BLOWN AWAY, but had already made the grade via this earlier performance.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.Leandro Firmino as Li'l Z shows the scum necessary to become top dog in the slums of Rio.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTom HanksMichael Clarke DuncanDavid MorseA tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.Sam Rockwell pushes the envelope on scum performances in a mainstream movie."
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary KempMartin KempBillie WhitelawThis fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.Gary Kemp is even scarier in this film than he was with Spandau Ballet!
- DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsTom HardyEmily BrowningTaron EgertonIdentical twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray terrorize London during the 1960s.25 years after THE KRAYS, Tom Hardy more than matches Kemp while playing BOTH brothers!
- DirectorTim HunterStarsCrispin GloverKeanu ReevesIone SkyeA high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.Daniel Roebuck out-scums both Dennis Hopper and Crispin Glover in this movie!
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahOm PuriIn colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose husband is away in the city, to sleep with him. She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town's teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor's wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape. The stage is set for a final confrontation.Think Bollywood can't match Hollywood when it comes to scum? Naseeruddin Shah will make you think otherwise.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsNicolas CageJoaquin PhoenixJames GandolfiniA private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not.Chris Bauer and Peter Stormare's performances are definitely up to snuff!
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.Leonardo DiCaprio shows us that maybe GONE WITH THE WIND *did* understate things a bit regarding slave ownership.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsSean PennRyan GoslingEmma StoneIt's 1949 Los Angeles, the city is run by gangsters and a malicious mobster, Mickey Cohen. Determined to end the corruption, John O'Mara assembles a team of cops, ready to take down the ruthless leader and restore peace to the city.Sean Penn makes the team playing real-life gangster Mickey Cohen in this film, the original Ryan Gosling-Emma Stone rom-com. In addition, he makes the special "Toys-R-Us" subdivision with flying colors, joining such luminaries as Dennis Hopper, Kevin Spacey, Eric Roberts, Javier Bardem and Michael Madsen.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsSam ClaflinMax IronsDouglas BoothTwo first-year students at Oxford University join the infamous Riot Club, where reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of a single evening.Sam Claflin vents his sadistic urges against the proletariat with all the glee and carefreeness that his upper class aristocratic wealth entitles him to. He has a scene that makes Malcolm McDowell's "Singing in the Rain" number from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look like a Disney production.
- DirectorChristian TafdrupStarsMorten BurianSidsel Siem KochFedja van HuêtA Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.Fedja van Huêt as the last guy in the world you'd ever want to rent an Airbnb from.