JB: I must admit that I have a thing for brilliant villains. I don’t care whether they’re evil genius serial killers (John Doe was my favorite character in Se7en), mastermind world dominators (I’m thinking about all the Bond villains here) or the psychopath next door (I’m talking about you, Annie Wilkes!). Smart villains don’t get caught or stopped (at least not right away). Smart villains have interests other than killing (fava beans anyone?). Smart villains are a match for, or even superior to, the heroes and heroines they go up against. Smart villains make a story interesting!
Jenny: Man, do I love villains. They're always my favorite character in the story, even if I'm not rooting for them (I usually do root for the hero). Villains can do whatever they want. They don't have to worry about being likable and they definitely don't have to worry about being sympathetic. They don't have to play by the rules. They can be flamboyant or they can lurk in the shadows. I enjoy writing villains more than any other character because there's such freedom in it. My favorite kind of villain is smart, original, and has motives larger than what they seem. So I have to ditto JB that John Doe from Se7en is one of the best villains of all time. He was the ultimate mastermind.
Joann: Count me as third fan of Se7en's John Doe. It's funny, I love complex villains when I'm reading about them or watching them on the big (or small) screen, but I have a tough time writing them three-dimensionally. In real life, I think it's easier to understand an "evil" act when it's perpetrated by someone who is clearly bad or seriously dumb. Such a concrete view keeps the ickiness at arm's length. I think that's part of why John Doe and the Joker and Iago and all those other really freaky villains both appeal and scare the bejesus out of me: they're intelligent, often funny, ambitious AND they want to watch the world burn.
Your turn, killer friends. What qualities of a villain capture YOUR imagination?
9 comments:
I like bad guys that are sexy and there is a tension between them and the MC.... for some reason I'm thinking about The Phantom of the Opera. Not that the phantom was a totally evil villain necessarily, but there was something about him that attracted Christine to him, even though he was BAD news. This sort of bad tears at my heartstrings, and I like to get emotional in a book (or movie).
I like the monster in Dean Koontz The Watchers, I basically like Dean Kontz's villians slightly deranged love em
I like villains who know what they're doing, and plan ahead against their adversaries. They don't even have to be super-smart--just perceptive and somewhat like your average person.
Just watched Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs last night, so, of course, Hannibal Lector is the first villain to pop into my head. I love the insight he has into the minds of others. He's creepy, and oddly likeable. I didn't root for him against the FBI, but I was happy when Silence of the Lambs ended, and he was going to have an old friend for dinner. I wanted him to win something.
Taymalin, you took the words right out of my mouth. The ending of Silence was sweet for Lecter because he did win that battle, and Chilton (the psych ward director) was so unlikable (a bad guy in his own right) that it was cool to imagine him being on the receiving end of Lecter's revenge.
I love villains that are just as vulnerable as the heroe. I find a story much more nuanced and intriguing if the protagonist and antagonist are both struggling within themselves. It makes for a great fight.
Jai
Villains with cute cats. Or super cold and smart like Hannibal Lector. Alas, there are just not enough female villains- sexy and evil!
I like the ones who really believe that what they're doing isn't wrong. I also like the ones that challenge everyone's belief systems....
I love it when an author/story completely throws me for a loop: a nice guy who turns out to be the villian. So, I suppose I like villians who are pretty good liars!
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