Brian De Palma has opted for a quieter life lately. The director’s output has slowed down in recent years, suggesting that he is on the road to retirement. But even if the director puts down the camera, his work, which spans 4 decades, will always be revered.
Among the many things that make De Palma’s movies interesting are the villains. In the 30 movies he has made so far, the filmmaker has managed to feature a compelling antagonist for each, but which among the baddies can be considered the most dangerous?
Alejandro Sosa (Scarface)
The Bolivian drug lord Alejandro Sosa strikes a deal with Tony Montana to smuggle cocaine into the US through Miami. The two soon fall out, resulting in a feud that ends with Montana as the loser.
Omar’s empire never crumbles because he is as brutal as villains come. And the kills come with plenty of creativity. From hanging an informant on a helicopter to planting a bomb in an investigative reporter's car, the drug lord takes no chances throughout the movie. Even the deadly Tony Montana proves no match for him. In what is one of the greatest movie finales, Sosa sends his men to Montana’s compound, resulting in a shootout that concludes with Montana's death.
Jim Phelps (Mission Impossible)
Realizing that his Cold War-era skills are becoming outdated, the IMF founder decides to engage in illegal activities. When he makes plans to sell info to an arms dealer, one of the bravest IMF agents, Ethan Hunt, tries to stop him.
Villains of the “it was him all along” category are usually more deadly because they do plenty of harm before someone gets to ruin their party. Such is the case with Phelps, who even positions himself as a father figure for Hunt and earns his trust. His intelligence is evident throughout the proceedings, and the fact that he dies is quite a shame as he could have gone on to be an overarching villain in the franchise.
Al Capone (The Untouchables)
Al Capone is forced to spring into action when Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness forms a team to take him down. Ness is eventually successful, but the victory is more of a pyrrhic one for him, given how much his crew gets decimated.
Great villains have iconic moments and Capone has plenty. In what is one of the best scenes in fan-favorite gangster movies, he beats a warehouse manager to death with a baseball bat for letting the police take his liquor stock. And while most gangsters shy away from the police, Capone is so bold that he orders a hit on law enforcement officers right inside a police station. By the time Ness achieves a victory, his partner Malone has not only been killed but his family is also hiding in fear.
Margaret (Carrie)
Carrie’s pharisaic mother, Margaret, keeps tormenting her, making her think her misfortunes are caused by sin. This causes Carrie to become a killer.
What kind of mother would lock her daughter up in a “prayer closet” after her first menstruation and label her a witch? Margaret would. The overly religious parent earns herself despicable points by the minute. Furthermore, it takes a truly evil mother to stab her daughter, but that’s what Margaret does before Carrie is forced to defend herself and kill her.
Benny Blanco (Carlito’s Way)
The hot-headed gangster’s feud with Carlito starts when the newly paroled protagonist refuses to partner with him in his nightclub business. And it all ends badly.
Though he only appears in a couple of scenes in the movie, Blanco is one of the most iconic De Palma characters because he is one of the movie villains who won. In the third act, he shoots Carlito dead and never pays for it. He is good at buying his time too. Even though Carlito humiliates him early in the movie, he doesn’t do anything until the time is right.
Commander Kevin Dunne (Snake Eyes)
Dunne organizes the murder of his boss, the Defence Secretary, as part of a larger government conspiracy. When a few individuals, including his cop friend Nick Santoro, discover what he is up to, he tries to kill them all.
Pulling off the murder of such a high-profile individual presumably takes a lot of planning, but Dunne pulls it off without appearing as a suspect at first. And his true bloodthirsty nature is seen when he hunts everyone down to protect himself. From torture to bribes to shootings, Dunne uses everything in the baddie handbook before taking his own life when he realizes he is about to get caught.
Anthony Castelo (Wise Guys)
Mob boss, Anthony Castello, falls out with two of his henchmen after they place a wrong bet on a race he had fixed. Unable to pay the $259,000 they owe him, the henchmen decide to flee, forcing Castelo to hunt them down.
A quintessential Don, Castelo does everything that would be expected of a man in his position. He tortures the two for a whole night, forcing them to agree to whack each other before sending hitmen after them. And his hit is quite effective since one of them ends up dead.
Sergeant Tony Meserve (Casualties Of War)
Frustrated about his team being denied leave during the Vietnam War, Merserve orders his men to kidnap a girl. Angered by his boss’ actions, Private First Class Max Eriksson becomes insubordinate.
The inhuman acts that Merserve commits against the innocent girl forever paint him as one of the loathsome individuals to ever appear on the screen. Not only does he make his men assault the girl but also kills her in a rather tragic manner. Even sadder is that he doesn’t get a prison sentence when it’s all over.
Dr. Carter Nix (Raising Cain)
The child psychologist becomes devastated when his wife leaves him for another man. He thus decides to make her life a miserable one.
Carter is evil on many levels. Tied into the movie’s plot is the psychologist’s obsession with children as it’s revealed that one of his split personalities murders mothers to perform experiments on their children. Watching him try to frame his wife’s lover for the murders is as disturbing as trying to kill his wife.
Winslow Leach (Phantom Of The Paradise)
Leach, a young singer is tricked into giving his life’s work to a music producer. Angry, he goes on a mission to terrorize him.
Leach is a unique villain because he causes havoc in only one particular location, a concert hall. The mild supernatural elements also make him terrifying. And even though he doesn’t get to commit many murders, he provides plenty of scares, making the movie as a whole, a horror classic