What makes a good movie villain? It might be the heinous evil plots for world domination, the creepy evil lairs, or henchmen. A good villain needs one main characteristic that sets them apart from the rest. A creepy, maniacal, and downright evil laugh. There have been popular cult classic movie villains from superhero movies, sci-fi, and horror to parody movies.

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These evil laughs have a way of staying with audiences for their ability to elicit fear and chills. Between the Joker and Bobafet, some laughs have become more iconic and done the job of bringing a sense of eeriness and doom to certain tense movie scenes.

Dr. Evil

Dr.Evil laughing surrounded by henchmen in Austin Powers

Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) is unarguably the most well-known villain character from the parody movie genre. He first appeared in 1997 in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Dr.Evil's laugh is the definition of what a villain should sound like.

It's very resonating and has a deep tone that comes straight from the lungs. It's the definition of the "muhaha" sound that a villain is known for. Dr.Evil's laugh fits perfectly with his character. Not to mention his habit of holding his pinky to his mouth while doing so only adds a special touch. He may be known as more of a goofy villain, but his laugh still does the trick of being maniacal.

Cruella De Vil

Cruella laughing after talking to Anita in 101 Dalmatians

Cruella De Vil is one of Disney's most recognized animated villains, but it's the live-action version with Glenn Close that took the cake in the evil laugh department. The lyrics of the character's song in the animated version, "Cruella De Vil. If she doesn't scare you. No evil thing will," perfectly describes the resonating evil that comes from her laugh in 101 Dalmatians and the sequel.

Cruella's laugh often raises in pitch as she starts low and only raises in octaves the more she gets invested in her laugh. Her laugh is memorable and only cemented the live-action character as purely evil. In an interview with The Jonathan Ross Show in 2016, Glenn Close recounts scaring a poor child in the street with Cruella's laugh.

Jafar

Jafar laughing with purple sky in Aladdin

Many fans agree that Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) from Aladdin wasn't well-liked. He wanted ultimate power, the throne, and was even willing to marry a young Jasmine just to do it. While his nefarious ways are well disliked, his evil laugh is the one thing about the character that fans agree is highly memorable. There's a whole short scene dedicated to his laugh.

At one point in the movie, Genie (Robin Williams) even calls Jafar a "senior psychopath" and it certainly fits the bill. The scene starts with Jafar bathed in a purple-hued tone as he starts with a short squeal that soon turns into a pitched laugh. The added thunderstorms only elevated the sound of his laugh.

Chucky

Chucky with head titled up laughing in Child's Play franchise

Who knew a possessed doll would create so much chaos and be hard to kill? The Child's Play franchise movies became horror movie classics and so did its main villain/killer. Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) was possessed by a notorious serial killer who escaped death by performing a voodoo ritual to transport his soul to a doll. Throughout the movies, Chucky became well known for his laugh.

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Chucky's laugh wasn't deep in tone but instead a bit high-pitched and rapid. It was effective in making even the toughest adults cower in fear. Add in the scarred face, the crazy red hair, and the character wielding a knife, and the laugh ties it all together.

Dracula

Dracula laughing looking at Harker in Bram Stroker's Dracula

There are many different versions of the vampire legend, Dracula. Some versions range from epic horror movies, origin stories to even an animated comedy. Fans of the bloodsucker all recall the maniacal laugh of Dracula (Gary Oldman) in Bram Stroker's Dracula. In the scene, Dracula gives his brides a newborn to feed on as Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) watches in horror.

The scene does a close-up of Dracula as a red light illuminates his face. What makes his deep laugh even scarier to watch is how he breaks out into a sinister smile and clasps his hands together. The scene only showcases how much fun and joy Dracula is getting out of scaring the witts out of Harker.

The Wicked Witch Of The West

The Wicked Witch of the West holding broomstick in the Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz has been a classic since 1939. While the movie is well known for its magical story, a huge takeaway was the central villain, The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton). She had the complete look from the full black outfit, broomstick, and her unmistakable green skin.

What took the cake was her evil laugh. It helped cement what a villain laugh should sound like and proceeded to haunt children's dreams. The character's laugh became notorious amongst other witch characters. The laugh was pitchy, nasally, and made anyone's ears hurt.

Joker (Heath Ledger)

Joker laughing in interrogation with Batman in The Dark Knight

The comic book villain, the Joker, has had many variations on the big and small screen. Movie and comic book fans all agree that Heath Ledger's rendition in The Dark Knight is simply one of the best. This character was truly sister, vile, and fed on absolute chaos. He even had some fun messing with Batman (Christian Bale) in the interrogation scene.

Besides Joker's evil tendencies, fans often remember the character's laugh. It fits into a character that lost his wits and is a bit deranged. Joker's laugh is often high-pitched and breathy. It's a type of laugh that once hearing in a dark and dim-lit room will have anyone quivering and expecting the worst.

Joker (Jack Nicholson)

Joker laughing with face paint dripping in Batman

Actor Jack Nicholson has played many notorious roles in his career. One of them was the Joker in the 1989 movie, Batman. In this version, Joker has the unique and terrifying pointed smile that the character is known for. His overall looks weren't the only thing that terrified him as a villain. When Joker gets revenge on the mob boss that planned to murder him, Joker lets out a deep laugh from his chest that also has a pitched tone.

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Fans of the movie character might realize that Joker's laugh can vary. One minute it has a high pitch but goes on for much longer. In other cases, it's short and has a more squealed sound. At times Joker laughs as if he can't get much air out making a more whistled noise.

Predator

Predator death scene with maniacal laugh in Predator

The movie, Predator only proved that even alien villains can have a maniacal laugh. The evil laugh occurs near the end of the movie when Major Alan Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) finally gets to destroy the technologically advanced alien, Predator. In this case, the villain got the final laugh and it stuck with movie fans.

One of the reasons the laugh is so memorable is because the Predator doesn't talk. It was a surprise to hear the alien mimic a human laugh as he's dying. The laugh was the definition of being pure evil. The way it was delivered was almost mocking Schaefer in him thinking he won. His laugh starts low and deep that rises in pitch as Schaefer realizes Predator set off a bomb.

Agent Smith

Agent Smith laughing after becoming the oracle in The Matrix Revolution

Agent Smith's (Hugo Weaving) laugh and facial expression are downright sinister and the look of pure evil. There's a reason why his laugh become one of the most recognized for being maniacal. Smith is an agent of the Matrix and isn't meant to show any real emotion. In The Matrix Revolutions, Smith returns to try and destroy Neo (Keanu Reeves).

In one scene, Smith takes over the Oracle's powers and breaks into a Cheshire cat grin as he belts out an evil laugh. The entire scene is scary to watch as Smith laughs wholeheartedly while his eyes remain focused and almost void of any emotion. As he gets deeper into his laugh, audiences can see his full unhuman-like smile.

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