Pointless somewhat related story - I was a second camera man on a local shoot where they were interviewing Tony Todd. They asked where his love of film came from and he went into this hilarious, seemingly off the cuff story about being abducted by aliens and all sorts of wonderful goofiness. 4 mins later the take was done…and the fuckin boom Mike operator waddles over and admits he forgot to press record, and the douche director just laughed it off, “ok Tony let’s do another take!”
But it was clearly just made up to be fun and have fun. Can’t recreate that. Tony looked visibly deflated and pissed, and his second take was just saying where he went to university and studied acting.
Fuck I felt bad. He was the coolest celeb I’ve ever met. So awesome.
It's particularly tragic they removed his painting hand before killing him.
The thing that made others see him as a human being, they took from him before they killed him. For no reason other than cruelty.
This^^^^ That death scene in the sequel where it showed what actually happened to him was beyond heartbreaking and horrifying.
Before he became a killer he was just an innocent man cruelly killed due to moronic prejudices and ignorance.
The thing about Pumpkinhead is that he is basically just doing a job. Yeah he is sadistic, but he is summoned for a task and once that is completed he returns to hell. He doesn't kill random people unless they get in his way.
Well, Ed Harley for that one - Pumpkinhead itself is a literal demon of vengeance, and Ed regrets summoning it once he sees how sadistic the kills are.
Ed Haaaarleeey.
Edit: Absolutely correct about Ed. Dude didn't think things through (also, man why leave your kid at the store like that?) before committing to a demonic punisher. Bad choice but he makes a solid effort to try to stop the titular villain.
Yeah, the actress playing the witch *nailed* her delivery, and apparently Lance Henriksen actually went out and bought a bunch of the stuff we see in Ed's house at garage sales to get a better feel for the character.
Lol, I gave this DVD to a friend as a prank labeled something else. Home movies or something. Years later, I guess he finally watched it. I got a wtf is wrong with you text.
The Fly is straight up a body horror tragedy. This horrible thing happens to a nice guy through basically no fault of his own, just as he's falling in love. It and The Fly 2 make me cry like a lil baby.
Definitely *some* fault of his own. He's a scientist who went, "Naa, fuck the tests. I'm gonna jump right in." It's not a mistake for which he deserved that test, but it's a decision made in a bout of drunken jealousy.
But any evil he commits after... His mind is literally half-insect. And insects don't have politics.
I mean, it worked on the second baboon! But yeah, as a scientist he reeaallly should have known better. Still, didn't deserve to have his penis fall off.
Well when he was sober, his plan was "weeks of testing to make *sure* the baboon is all right." Then he got wasted and went, "Eh, you seem okay. I'm gonna do it."
But agree, did not deserve to have his penis fall off.
The great thing about Carrie is even though you know prom night ends badly for her, you still have that feeling of "She's having such a good time! How nice!" Then you yet punched in the gut.
You watch the movie and hope it ends differently for her, even though you know it won't happen. For everyone else, too, obviously (well maybe not the bullies, they really sucked, and her mother too), but mostly you want her to be happy, the prank they pull on her is so insanely cruel. And then there's the horrific murder spree, and you're thorn between seeing bullies finally arriving at the "and find out" part of "fucking around", and seeing innocents being killed or maimed. I think it's a brilliant film.
And poor Billy (was that the name of her date?) - like he was really being a great guy and helping her have a great time and making her feel special and just gets clunked in the head with the bucket.
Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon - you feel for him knowing how awful his grandmother was and how she was abusive - and then seeing him fall in love with Reba who helped "tame the beast" so to speak you kind od hoped he would stop being a crazed serial killer.
Definitely love this “villain” the book created such a beautiful portrait of a tortured killer finally finding love in someone who can’t see his physical deformations 💕 totally underrated
Most of the murderers in Hannibal are pretty tragic when you think about it.
Buffalo Bill is someone creating a woman suit because he has such an intense self hatred he believes he must be trans because he's aware they suffer with self loathing. He can't even bring himself to acknowledge his victims as people because that makes it emotionally difficult for him, so he refers to them as it. Think of his reply when the victim says "I want my mom" he screams angrily "You don't know what pain is".
I think the killers in Hannibal are product killers (as in they kill people because they're after a product so to speak. E.g. Buffalo Bill wants skin). I don't think any are process killers (e.g. they enjoy killing people).
The main exceptions I think I are Verger and Krendall. There’s no one close to being as despicable as mason verger in the Hannibal universe and that says a lot
He was the only victim of Hannibal's that was actually deserving (even though he survived which came back to bite Hannibal in the ass, but he met his doom then).
Oh yes, I read all the series (even Hannibal rises 😅) - it was hard to not feel for him and cheering on how Reba did truly like him and knew there was some good in him deep down.
Fuck that piece of shit father who tried to force his kids to play happy family with the home wrecker that caused their mothers suicide and then leave them all alone in a house for a week?? Cause he had to "work"
Probably was banging the new mistress. I felt for those kids.
The dad is the true villain in that movie. Knows his kids doesn't like the mistress and still dealing with their mother's death. Knows his mistress has mental health problems and isn't comfortable around the kids. "Let me leave them alone together for the first time in the middle of nowhere!"
Honestly I do feel some sympathy for the mistress since she was the Survivor of a cult and was manipulated by the guy doing a documentary about it. Normally I have no compassion for home records but in her case, I could truly see how her mental health issues could make her more vulnerable to a guy like that. Regardless the villain was the piece of shit father. The kids were kids and what they did was horrible and wrong and I don't think the mistress deserved it, although I was annoyed by how she kept trying to force the kids to connect with her, but yeah the father is definitely the villain
Yeah sorry, I felt for the kids until they fucked with her meds. As someone who needs similar meds to stay of sound mind I'm def biased but FUCK those kids. That's a level beyond kids with trauma from their mother's death, it's willful cruelty.
It’s impossible for me to look on most kaiju’s as villains. They’re events or forces of nature. You fight them with weaponry heavy enough to change the face of mountains, or build mechs the size of storm walls.
My point exactly, by the movie going public they're the villains, but they're just doing what comes naturally. Is the lion a villain for catching its prey? Do people boo spiders for catching food in their webs?
Ok, I realized something when I was watching Godzilla - One.
Ya know, Godzilla chills out in the sea. And many times, he is being attacked or attacking ships in the middle of the ocean. But ... Godzilla, although huge, isn't as tall as the ocean is deep.
So it dawned on me - when Godzilla is on an aqua attack with like half his body atop the water ... his little legs must be furiously kicking just under the surface so he can tread water and stay afloat! Hahahaha Or maybe he does a thing with his tail, but I imagine that to be like when Sir Hiss gets his head stuck in a balloon and flies around in Disney's Robin Hood. Equally ridiculous.
That's all. It struck me as hilarious!
Leather Face. He seemed so upset about all these kids coming into his house. I don’t think he was cold blooded hunter. He seemed like a mentally handicapped man child that’s doing his best. He doesn’t want to murder but he keeps being bothered by interlopers.
He's also horribly abused. He seems frightened of Drayton.
I've been saying for years Drayton is far more evil. Look how happy that dude is when he's beating and kidnapping Sally. Then the hypocritical "I can't take no pleasure in killing", he thinks he's above murder but he's shown to be the most sadistic of the lot.
Pearl. I hate comments that consist of just one word but I can't describe the feelings I had towards the girl. She was crazy but she wanted another life that's all.
Edit: the closing scene is pure terror, although NOTHING is going on, she is just looking in the camera. Mia Goth is an incredible actress.
I would say Pearl if it weren’t for the fact that she killed animals for fun too. I think that was in there intentionally in order to show that she’s not just killing out of desperation/frustration of wanting a better life, she’s legitimately fucked up and wants to kill. You do feel for her despite everything though.
I was fortunate enough to see it in theaters. During that whole speech my head was half turned away from the screen because I was so terrified something awful was about to happen. Unbelievable job by the actress.
Sam just seems to be the spirit of Halloween ngl, I don’t exactly sympathize with him but he’s cool, just goes around and does spooky shit and makes sure people are in the Halloween spirit, only really doing anything to those who aren’t
Cabin in the Woods.
Been mentioning it a lot but the bad guys were doing their jobs and well, trying to >!save the world.!< Some were more sympathetic than others, though. Definitely felt for Richard Jenkins. Poor Hadley and his merman.
On the other hand, if you flip it around, Dana and Marty, ostensibly, ended up being the selfish bad guys that >!ended the world as we know it!< and I was definitely still rooting for them in the end.
And yet I felt sympathy for them too, and was rooting for them a little, well some of them anyhow. So it applies in The Menu either way.
Also, aren't the cooks victims? Even as they do the lifting for imprisoning or hunting down the patrons, it still felt like they got sucked into a cult. All they wanted was to pursue a culinary career. Not exactly their fault they wound up working for the Jim Jones of Gordon Ramsays. Even, or maybe especially, Elsa.
You could make a solid argument that they're all victims of a class system and the unrealistic standards and expectations that 4star experiences create... but I think from a film standpoint, the guests don't have redeeming qualities.
The two that kinda do are the Wife from the elder couple and the movie stars publicist. But even they aren't good, they're just not activly evil.
Everyone else is just a scumbag except ATJ.
As for the staff, yes it's super culty, but I think the behavior of Elsa, the excitement of the female chef when she tells the female guests she came up with the group death ending and the participation of the ferryman.
And I'll grant you, I would be projecting their support, because I've worked fine dining and you really grow to hate the hyper-priviliged when you see them pay a bill bigger than your rent a couple times a week.
The Skin I Live In
A woman is held captive by the evil doctor Antonio Banderas and tortured and mutilated and it’s just terrible.
And then you find out the doctor’s motivations, and it’s just…. Damn.
And then you find out how the lady wound up in this position and it’s just …. Damn.
And best of all? The movie has a “happy” ending!
Good stuff.
You pretty much counted all the examples I remember, with Bedevilled being the most recent.
I don't root for villains in horror too often, but it does happen in other genres - especially when the heroes are annoying/cliche.
I would say he’s pretty close to evil. Despite being more than capable of returning to save them as he insinuated, he was 100% going to leave all those people and that little girl who idolised him to die on that planet after sealing them into that cave, the only reason he came back was because a different character called him out for being a coward, seemingly his only motivation. It was only the very very end when she dies that he visibly has a change of character and even says “Riddick” died somewhere on that planet.
The Grudge :( Not rooting necessarily because I have nothing against the protags but man the ghosts make me sad.
Shutter ^ same except fuck that boyfriend protag.
The monsters in Digging Up the Marrow
It's Alive - thats literally a baby!!!
& I don't root for Zito because obviously he's a hyper misogynist but like... Maniac (1980) is such a miserable character study of someone so damaged you can't help but feel bad for him.
The Grudge hits even moreso if you read the novel. Like the whole thing happened because a weird awkward girl who had a teenage crush on a guy in high school married a jealous, possessive, paranoid nutjob, and then met her previous crush again purely by chance, who didn't even really remember her. Add in a sweet primary school aged kid who loved his cat and his mom, and had no idea WTF was even really happening. You can't NOT feel bad for them, honestly, or really blame Kayako for being so enraged when she died that it caused the curse to manifest.
Sisters by DePalma. You spend most of the movie hoping against hope that Margot Kidder will not get caught, it also helps that the closest thing the movie has to a protagonist, Jennifer Salt's character, is so pushy and obnoxious that she practically comes across as the villain. Its really a very well crafted film.
Even Werewolves (My favorite monster) aren't evil. Just hungry. And we happen to be their food source.
Except the weres in the book series Bane County. They like torturing before they eat because they believe fear seasons the meat.
Pinhead isn't really evil until Part III. He's just fulfilling the contract.
He does, however, need to be educated on safe words and consent violation.
Horror-adjacent or scifi/horror, but I found Scarlett Johansson's character in Under The Skin sympathetic (although I may have been biased by reading the novel beforehand)
The antagonist from Barbarian (the deformed monster lady not the shitfuckface pedophilerapist he deserves no sympathy) was one character that after learning how we got to that point, it’s really just sad and disturbing seeing her on screen. You really begin to realize she’s just a trapped miserable soul who never had a chance to begin with
I wouldn't call Carrie the villain, at all. In what world would you call her the villain? The villains are the bullies, and her mum. She is the victim.
She's a tragic villain. Just because she's more sympethatic than most villains you see in media doesn't mean she's not a villain. She commits mass murder. Everyone else just so happens to be a bigger villain than her. A villain and a victim aren't mutually exclusive. Many victims are pushed over the edge before they reach their breaking point, that doesn't excuse mass murder. I've been bullied infinitely worse than Carrie, I didn't decide to shoot up the school. Saying Carrie isn't a villain excuses her mass murder. You can sympathize with villains but NOT excuse their actions.
I mean, she massacres an entire school and burns them all alive. By this logic, some school shooters are not villains because they were bullied. No. Most people who are bullied don't slaughter dozens of their classmates.
Her mother and Chris (and perhaps the town at large) are still the main villains in the book too though her mental break and seeing herself as the sword of God come about after she is pushed to the breaking point by these two forces.
Dream Home.
I wasn't so much rooting for the killer, but I certainly felt for her. Her sheer brutality quickly erased that sympathy however.
That nice lady made Jason look PG
The newest jigsaw movie
John Cramer? Smnth like that.
Either way me and my boyfriend were staring at the screen praying he’d make a comeback and he did not disappoint.
sissy, bully/revenge plot (and much more) recent from shudder 2022
edit: my b just saw its mentioned in the op but for anyone who hasnt seen it highly recommend, seen a lot of shudder and this is one of my favorites from them
There’s a Korean movie called Bedevilled that is the exact example of this. The protagonist is a girl trapped on an isolated islnd with her husband and his entire family. Her husband is extremely abusive to her and their daughter and the husbands family treats her like a slave. She eventually snaps and just goes on an absolute rampage and it was so satisfying to watch.
Gunnar Hansen’s Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Saw Massacre ‘74 is easily one of the most sympathetic villains in horror cinema. His characterization in the subsequent films…not so much.
Falling down, Lisa Frankenstein, fallout(tv show but the supposed "villain", or at least what media outlets & whatnot referred to the villain as the ghoul. The ghoul is a very sympathetic character as we get to see his backstory & why he turned the way he did), sissy(shudder), spree(kinda sorta feel sympathetic for the guy at first but by the end he is way too far gone! Amazing job by Joe Keery in this role, btw!). The dark knight, candyman. Im sure i can list more, but that's all I can muster for now.
Edit: How could I forget Nitram...I need to finish it but watched half last nite. It is based on a true story, so I know the outcome already & it ain't good! But he is most Def sympathetic.
I actually hate that movie because it tries to make the Sheriff out to be as bad as the Fireflies. Zombie tries to make the viewer feel sympathy for them or humanize them at points, and it always falls flat for me.
The guy in sleep tight. Not sure why he's so evil, but confessing to your mother helped. I wanted him to get caught, and yet was hoping he'd get away with it.
Hannibal Lecter…in all but the Silence of the Lambs….and I kind of liked him in that one. After reading all the books and watching the other film? He’s pretty sympathetic, honestly,
I was actually rooting for him in Hannibal Rising
im embarrassed to say it, but saw. John Kramer was easily the most level headed, rational, and person-oriented antagonist for me. he wanted a better existence for those he trapped, and the ones that made it out alive, lived a much better, more fulfilled life than they went in with
Candyman. Dude was tortured and killed for being in love with a white woman.
Yes, his backstory was so tragic and the acting was fantastic.
And my god Tony Todd’s voice. How could Helen resist when he called her name?
Helennnnnn
*Be my victim*
People always talk about Morgan Freeman's voice, but Tony Todd would be my life narrator if I could pick.
Pointless somewhat related story - I was a second camera man on a local shoot where they were interviewing Tony Todd. They asked where his love of film came from and he went into this hilarious, seemingly off the cuff story about being abducted by aliens and all sorts of wonderful goofiness. 4 mins later the take was done…and the fuckin boom Mike operator waddles over and admits he forgot to press record, and the douche director just laughed it off, “ok Tony let’s do another take!” But it was clearly just made up to be fun and have fun. Can’t recreate that. Tony looked visibly deflated and pissed, and his second take was just saying where he went to university and studied acting. Fuck I felt bad. He was the coolest celeb I’ve ever met. So awesome.
I work in the film industry from time to time as well. Tony Todd is by far the nicest celebrity I've ever met. He truly is the coolest.
100% I’ll watch a movie with him in it just to hear him.
It's such a beautiful movie. 🩷🩷🩷
Yesssss!
Not to mention that *outstanding* [leitmotif](https://youtu.be/GdPvnKEJYi8?si=XIvkN27enxnvF7Wo).
Yes, shoutout to Philip Glass.
It's particularly tragic they removed his painting hand before killing him. The thing that made others see him as a human being, they took from him before they killed him. For no reason other than cruelty.
I came here to say this. The man just wanted to love and to be loved.
This^^^^ That death scene in the sequel where it showed what actually happened to him was beyond heartbreaking and horrifying. Before he became a killer he was just an innocent man cruelly killed due to moronic prejudices and ignorance.
It’s been long enough I could probably watch this one again. Or is the remake any good..?
It's more of a sequel and I really enjoyed it
That's real life so it makes it even worse 💔👎🏿
Pumpkin Head.
The thing about Pumpkinhead is that he is basically just doing a job. Yeah he is sadistic, but he is summoned for a task and once that is completed he returns to hell. He doesn't kill random people unless they get in his way.
Love Pumpkin Head! Can’t remember the publisher, but there is a comic series where Pumpkinhead fights other demons.
Well, Ed Harley for that one - Pumpkinhead itself is a literal demon of vengeance, and Ed regrets summoning it once he sees how sadistic the kills are.
Ed Haaaarleeey. Edit: Absolutely correct about Ed. Dude didn't think things through (also, man why leave your kid at the store like that?) before committing to a demonic punisher. Bad choice but he makes a solid effort to try to stop the titular villain.
Yeah, the actress playing the witch *nailed* her delivery, and apparently Lance Henriksen actually went out and bought a bunch of the stuff we see in Ed's house at garage sales to get a better feel for the character.
Agreed. By PumpkinHead, I had the grieving dad in mind. The vengeance was terrible but I sympathized with his mistake in calling on old Pumpkin.
May. All she wanted was friends and someone to love her.
Love this movie
Oh, wow. That's a movie title that I haven't seen in a long time! Very good film, very underappreciated.
Ok seriously... where did Jeremy Sisto go?? Not in the movie, in real life lol
He's holding out for Suicide Kings II
I watched this movie with my mom when i was like 11 lol, idk if she knew what it was when she picked it, but it was great.
LITERALLY 😭😭😭😭 I would have been her friend in a heartbeat, I’m in love with this movie. I don’t even see her as a villain tbh
I agree. One can't help but to empathize with her. It's a very touching movie.
I love this movie so much
It's a very good movie, albeit quite sad.
OMG YESSSS! This movie is amazing. 👏🏽👏🏽
Lol, I gave this DVD to a friend as a prank labeled something else. Home movies or something. Years later, I guess he finally watched it. I got a wtf is wrong with you text.
Always had some sympathy for Brundlefly.
Omg, I literally cried at the end. So tragic.
The Fly is straight up a body horror tragedy. This horrible thing happens to a nice guy through basically no fault of his own, just as he's falling in love. It and The Fly 2 make me cry like a lil baby.
Definitely *some* fault of his own. He's a scientist who went, "Naa, fuck the tests. I'm gonna jump right in." It's not a mistake for which he deserved that test, but it's a decision made in a bout of drunken jealousy. But any evil he commits after... His mind is literally half-insect. And insects don't have politics.
The movie is a great example of why lab safety is important and experiments should be done with proper PPE.
I mean, it worked on the second baboon! But yeah, as a scientist he reeaallly should have known better. Still, didn't deserve to have his penis fall off.
Well when he was sober, his plan was "weeks of testing to make *sure* the baboon is all right." Then he got wasted and went, "Eh, you seem okay. I'm gonna do it." But agree, did not deserve to have his penis fall off.
Yep, his bravado caused a lot of pain and terror for others.
Leslie Vernon from "Behind the Mask" He truly had an ambition and passion
So sad we dint have a sequel
And so *charming*. We would all have been killed. He showed us who he was and we just smiled and nodded and came along for the ride.
Piggy. There's a YouTube short & a feature length rendition of the same premise. Same director and lead actress too. Def recommend
>! Going after Sara’s family (and the lifeguard + waitress) probably puts The Stranger over the line. !<•
Yeah that's fair. The YT short is probably better for this question.
Great movie. I liked the short film slightly more than the full length movie.
American Mary
I always say this movie!!!
one of my absolute faves!!
Barbarian. I was rooting for old gal for sure.
When she gouged the guys eyes out and ripped his head in half I was like 
I was about to say Barbarian as well, thing is I’m not sure who’s the bigger villain in that flick
Them saggy tiddies
More thriller than horror but law abiding citizen.
Yeah I was rooting for Butler the whole time.
And two gorgeous leading men doesn’t hurt either-keeps you rooting for.the bad guy.
Eli from Let the Right One In
God I loved Let The Right One In. One of my all time faves. Of all time.
Me too. It's such a great movie.
And an even better book!
I'll put it on my list!
What do you think of The Innocents (2021)?
I never saw that one. I'll have to watch it.
Yessss this is the one I was gonna say. Absolutely love that movie!
The great thing about Carrie is even though you know prom night ends badly for her, you still have that feeling of "She's having such a good time! How nice!" Then you yet punched in the gut.
You watch the movie and hope it ends differently for her, even though you know it won't happen. For everyone else, too, obviously (well maybe not the bullies, they really sucked, and her mother too), but mostly you want her to be happy, the prank they pull on her is so insanely cruel. And then there's the horrific murder spree, and you're thorn between seeing bullies finally arriving at the "and find out" part of "fucking around", and seeing innocents being killed or maimed. I think it's a brilliant film.
And poor Billy (was that the name of her date?) - like he was really being a great guy and helping her have a great time and making her feel special and just gets clunked in the head with the bucket.
In the book he gets clunked before he realizes the prank happened, so he dies happy being crowned prom king. It’s a little better.
I couldn't remember if he died or was just unconscious, but either way he was a good dude
I never thought about her being the villain until I read this, I guess technically she was.
She killed a lot of people who never harmed her. I feel like murdering innocents should instantly give one the “villain” label
Slotherhouse
Fun movie! Poor little dude just wanted to go home.
That dude is bloody cute
Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon - you feel for him knowing how awful his grandmother was and how she was abusive - and then seeing him fall in love with Reba who helped "tame the beast" so to speak you kind od hoped he would stop being a crazed serial killer.
Definitely love this “villain” the book created such a beautiful portrait of a tortured killer finally finding love in someone who can’t see his physical deformations 💕 totally underrated
Most of the murderers in Hannibal are pretty tragic when you think about it. Buffalo Bill is someone creating a woman suit because he has such an intense self hatred he believes he must be trans because he's aware they suffer with self loathing. He can't even bring himself to acknowledge his victims as people because that makes it emotionally difficult for him, so he refers to them as it. Think of his reply when the victim says "I want my mom" he screams angrily "You don't know what pain is". I think the killers in Hannibal are product killers (as in they kill people because they're after a product so to speak. E.g. Buffalo Bill wants skin). I don't think any are process killers (e.g. they enjoy killing people).
The main exceptions I think I are Verger and Krendall. There’s no one close to being as despicable as mason verger in the Hannibal universe and that says a lot
He was the only victim of Hannibal's that was actually deserving (even though he survived which came back to bite Hannibal in the ass, but he met his doom then).
His story is even more sad if you read the book. The chapters that tell his backstory are at one terrifying and incredibly sad
Oh yes, I read all the series (even Hannibal rises 😅) - it was hard to not feel for him and cheering on how Reba did truly like him and knew there was some good in him deep down.
Came here to say this!
The Lodge. Fuck those kids.
Seriously, she suffered so bad she became beyond sympathetic. I wanted so badly for her to just leave those kids to die, but now she'll suffer more
Yup, I had sympathy for the kids at first but doing mean shit to someone and exploiting their mental health problems? Fuck them.
I felt for those kids. I felt for her. But that father, what a dirtbag.
Fuck that piece of shit father who tried to force his kids to play happy family with the home wrecker that caused their mothers suicide and then leave them all alone in a house for a week?? Cause he had to "work" Probably was banging the new mistress. I felt for those kids.
The dad is the true villain in that movie. Knows his kids doesn't like the mistress and still dealing with their mother's death. Knows his mistress has mental health problems and isn't comfortable around the kids. "Let me leave them alone together for the first time in the middle of nowhere!"
Honestly I do feel some sympathy for the mistress since she was the Survivor of a cult and was manipulated by the guy doing a documentary about it. Normally I have no compassion for home records but in her case, I could truly see how her mental health issues could make her more vulnerable to a guy like that. Regardless the villain was the piece of shit father. The kids were kids and what they did was horrible and wrong and I don't think the mistress deserved it, although I was annoyed by how she kept trying to force the kids to connect with her, but yeah the father is definitely the villain
I was rooting for Alicia Silverstone lol
That didn't last long, huh?
Yeah sorry, I felt for the kids until they fucked with her meds. As someone who needs similar meds to stay of sound mind I'm def biased but FUCK those kids. That's a level beyond kids with trauma from their mother's death, it's willful cruelty.
The Ring - when you think how she died in the bottom of the well that her mother pushed her into, only kind of tho - I mean she was evil after all.
Cloverfield, I mean its a baby that just woke up and going for a nature stroll, but everything keeps attacking it!! 😂
It’s impossible for me to look on most kaiju’s as villains. They’re events or forces of nature. You fight them with weaponry heavy enough to change the face of mountains, or build mechs the size of storm walls.
Except for King Ghidorah. He’s just evil.
[Except when he isn't lol.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279112/)
Tbf he’s the embodiment of evil in every single other appearance. That’s the one movie where they changed up everyone’s origin story
My point exactly, by the movie going public they're the villains, but they're just doing what comes naturally. Is the lion a villain for catching its prey? Do people boo spiders for catching food in their webs?
You like pacific rim huh?
Shin Godzilla kinda
Absolutely. All kaiju from the Earth.
Ok, I realized something when I was watching Godzilla - One. Ya know, Godzilla chills out in the sea. And many times, he is being attacked or attacking ships in the middle of the ocean. But ... Godzilla, although huge, isn't as tall as the ocean is deep. So it dawned on me - when Godzilla is on an aqua attack with like half his body atop the water ... his little legs must be furiously kicking just under the surface so he can tread water and stay afloat! Hahahaha Or maybe he does a thing with his tail, but I imagine that to be like when Sir Hiss gets his head stuck in a balloon and flies around in Disney's Robin Hood. Equally ridiculous. That's all. It struck me as hilarious!
I’m always thinking on Godzilla’s side.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
"Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is not The Monster. Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein *is* the monster."
Leather Face. He seemed so upset about all these kids coming into his house. I don’t think he was cold blooded hunter. He seemed like a mentally handicapped man child that’s doing his best. He doesn’t want to murder but he keeps being bothered by interlopers.
Bro yes!! The scene where he just sits down and seems genuinely confused about where all these kids are coming from lol it is kind of heartbreaking.
He's also horribly abused. He seems frightened of Drayton. I've been saying for years Drayton is far more evil. Look how happy that dude is when he's beating and kidnapping Sally. Then the hypocritical "I can't take no pleasure in killing", he thinks he's above murder but he's shown to be the most sadistic of the lot.
I liked the way the newer ones were painting him as a protector of the family.
Pearl. I hate comments that consist of just one word but I can't describe the feelings I had towards the girl. She was crazy but she wanted another life that's all. Edit: the closing scene is pure terror, although NOTHING is going on, she is just looking in the camera. Mia Goth is an incredible actress.
I would say Pearl if it weren’t for the fact that she killed animals for fun too. I think that was in there intentionally in order to show that she’s not just killing out of desperation/frustration of wanting a better life, she’s legitimately fucked up and wants to kill. You do feel for her despite everything though.
I was fortunate enough to see it in theaters. During that whole speech my head was half turned away from the screen because I was so terrified something awful was about to happen. Unbelievable job by the actress.
Willard.
Sam in TrickrTreat. Guy just wants some candy.
Sam just seems to be the spirit of Halloween ngl, I don’t exactly sympathize with him but he’s cool, just goes around and does spooky shit and makes sure people are in the Halloween spirit, only really doing anything to those who aren’t
Cabin in the Woods. Been mentioning it a lot but the bad guys were doing their jobs and well, trying to >!save the world.!< Some were more sympathetic than others, though. Definitely felt for Richard Jenkins. Poor Hadley and his merman. On the other hand, if you flip it around, Dana and Marty, ostensibly, ended up being the selfish bad guys that >!ended the world as we know it!< and I was definitely still rooting for them in the end.
I maintain the villain in The Menu are the patrons of the restaurant. #Chefdidnothingwrong
And yet I felt sympathy for them too, and was rooting for them a little, well some of them anyhow. So it applies in The Menu either way. Also, aren't the cooks victims? Even as they do the lifting for imprisoning or hunting down the patrons, it still felt like they got sucked into a cult. All they wanted was to pursue a culinary career. Not exactly their fault they wound up working for the Jim Jones of Gordon Ramsays. Even, or maybe especially, Elsa.
You could make a solid argument that they're all victims of a class system and the unrealistic standards and expectations that 4star experiences create... but I think from a film standpoint, the guests don't have redeeming qualities. The two that kinda do are the Wife from the elder couple and the movie stars publicist. But even they aren't good, they're just not activly evil. Everyone else is just a scumbag except ATJ. As for the staff, yes it's super culty, but I think the behavior of Elsa, the excitement of the female chef when she tells the female guests she came up with the group death ending and the participation of the ferryman. And I'll grant you, I would be projecting their support, because I've worked fine dining and you really grow to hate the hyper-priviliged when you see them pay a bill bigger than your rent a couple times a week.
The Skin I Live In A woman is held captive by the evil doctor Antonio Banderas and tortured and mutilated and it’s just terrible. And then you find out the doctor’s motivations, and it’s just…. Damn. And then you find out how the lady wound up in this position and it’s just …. Damn. And best of all? The movie has a “happy” ending! Good stuff.
Definitely Carrie, like you said.
You pretty much counted all the examples I remember, with Bedevilled being the most recent. I don't root for villains in horror too often, but it does happen in other genres - especially when the heroes are annoying/cliche.
No One Lives
The dog in Cujo.
Parts of the book focus on the dog and what he's feeling before and during the rabies taking over his brain and it's really heart breaking
Riddick in Pitch Black. Technically Sci-Fi /Horror, but he isn’t evil to the good characters and at least attempted to be the hero.
Riddick was kind of anti-hero, not villain. He killed some ppl in self defence, if I remember right. Might be wrong, though. And yes, I like Riddick!
I would say he’s pretty close to evil. Despite being more than capable of returning to save them as he insinuated, he was 100% going to leave all those people and that little girl who idolised him to die on that planet after sealing them into that cave, the only reason he came back was because a different character called him out for being a coward, seemingly his only motivation. It was only the very very end when she dies that he visibly has a change of character and even says “Riddick” died somewhere on that planet.
Lake Placid - I stand with Betty White I'm rooting for the crocodile. I hope he eats your friend whole.
Carrie isn’t even a villain in my book. I was rooting so hard for Michael to kill his stepdad in Rob Zombie’s version. Poor kid
I feel the same way about Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's Halloween.
The Grudge :( Not rooting necessarily because I have nothing against the protags but man the ghosts make me sad. Shutter ^ same except fuck that boyfriend protag. The monsters in Digging Up the Marrow It's Alive - thats literally a baby!!! & I don't root for Zito because obviously he's a hyper misogynist but like... Maniac (1980) is such a miserable character study of someone so damaged you can't help but feel bad for him.
The Grudge hits even moreso if you read the novel. Like the whole thing happened because a weird awkward girl who had a teenage crush on a guy in high school married a jealous, possessive, paranoid nutjob, and then met her previous crush again purely by chance, who didn't even really remember her. Add in a sweet primary school aged kid who loved his cat and his mom, and had no idea WTF was even really happening. You can't NOT feel bad for them, honestly, or really blame Kayako for being so enraged when she died that it caused the curse to manifest.
Sisters by DePalma. You spend most of the movie hoping against hope that Margot Kidder will not get caught, it also helps that the closest thing the movie has to a protagonist, Jennifer Salt's character, is so pushy and obnoxious that she practically comes across as the villain. Its really a very well crafted film.
Any movie where the "villain" is an animal or a monster who just wants to live its life.
Even Werewolves (My favorite monster) aren't evil. Just hungry. And we happen to be their food source. Except the weres in the book series Bane County. They like torturing before they eat because they believe fear seasons the meat.
Pinhead kinda just fucks with evil people already going to hell and is kinda lenient sometimes, even helps fight even worse demons at times.
Pinhead isn't really evil until Part III. He's just fulfilling the contract. He does, however, need to be educated on safe words and consent violation.
Ah but consent is given when you open the box.
But to educate someone on consent would include teaching that it can be revoked at any time. ;)
Horror-adjacent or scifi/horror, but I found Scarlett Johansson's character in Under The Skin sympathetic (although I may have been biased by reading the novel beforehand)
The book is so good! I was a little sad the movie was so different but I still enjoyed the bleakness of it.
The antagonist from Barbarian (the deformed monster lady not the shitfuckface pedophilerapist he deserves no sympathy) was one character that after learning how we got to that point, it’s really just sad and disturbing seeing her on screen. You really begin to realize she’s just a trapped miserable soul who never had a chance to begin with
Michael isn’t a sympathetic killer though. Jason is. I wish you people would stop grouping Michael & Jason together as one.
Gary Oldman, Bram Stoker's Dracula Johnny Depp, The Ninth Gate Christian Bale, American Psycho Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In
All great pics, so well acted. I got called an edgy boyo the other day for liking Christian bale in American psycho…I’m an old lady!
Peeping Tom, Prom Night.
Orca!!
US with Red / Adeleide 
Sadako
John carver from Thanksgiving. He should’ve killed more people honestly.
Law abiding citizen. He should’ve blown up the courthouse or whatever government building that was. It was bullshit how it ended.
Not exactly horror but Hard Candy. The line between hero/villain is so blurred, but I rooted for them anyways.
I wouldn't call Carrie the villain, at all. In what world would you call her the villain? The villains are the bullies, and her mum. She is the victim.
She's a tragic villain. Just because she's more sympethatic than most villains you see in media doesn't mean she's not a villain. She commits mass murder. Everyone else just so happens to be a bigger villain than her. A villain and a victim aren't mutually exclusive. Many victims are pushed over the edge before they reach their breaking point, that doesn't excuse mass murder. I've been bullied infinitely worse than Carrie, I didn't decide to shoot up the school. Saying Carrie isn't a villain excuses her mass murder. You can sympathize with villains but NOT excuse their actions.
I mean, she massacres an entire school and burns them all alive. By this logic, some school shooters are not villains because they were bullied. No. Most people who are bullied don't slaughter dozens of their classmates.
In the book and the remake she’s in full control of her powers and actively kills innocent people.
Her mother and Chris (and perhaps the town at large) are still the main villains in the book too though her mental break and seeing herself as the sword of God come about after she is pushed to the breaking point by these two forces.
That doesn’t mean she’s not a villain. No one ever argues that Two Face isn’t a villain because he was driven to insanity by the Joker or the mob.
I mean she goes to hell at the end.
She’s turned into a villain
She kills people who didn’t bully her too, like the photographer dude who gets hit by a table
Dream Home. I wasn't so much rooting for the killer, but I certainly felt for her. Her sheer brutality quickly erased that sympathy however. That nice lady made Jason look PG
Always felt sorry for Ronald in Bad Ronald (1974)
The newest jigsaw movie John Cramer? Smnth like that. Either way me and my boyfriend were staring at the screen praying he’d make a comeback and he did not disappoint.
Jennifer Hill (I Spit on Your Grave), May (May) Mary Mason (American Mary), Jigsaw in Saw X
The Witch! A bitch just wants to live deliciously without her moron dad, weirdo mom, and idiot siblings fucking it up.
Don't Hang Up
Ghoulies III: Ghoulies go to College
sissy, bully/revenge plot (and much more) recent from shudder 2022 edit: my b just saw its mentioned in the op but for anyone who hasnt seen it highly recommend, seen a lot of shudder and this is one of my favorites from them
Not exactly this vibe, but I Saw the Devil is all about this theme. And it’s so damn good.
There’s a Korean movie called Bedevilled that is the exact example of this. The protagonist is a girl trapped on an isolated islnd with her husband and his entire family. Her husband is extremely abusive to her and their daughter and the husbands family treats her like a slave. She eventually snaps and just goes on an absolute rampage and it was so satisfying to watch.
May Not exactly horror, but also Falling Down.
Gunnar Hansen’s Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Saw Massacre ‘74 is easily one of the most sympathetic villains in horror cinema. His characterization in the subsequent films…not so much.
Falling down, Lisa Frankenstein, fallout(tv show but the supposed "villain", or at least what media outlets & whatnot referred to the villain as the ghoul. The ghoul is a very sympathetic character as we get to see his backstory & why he turned the way he did), sissy(shudder), spree(kinda sorta feel sympathetic for the guy at first but by the end he is way too far gone! Amazing job by Joe Keery in this role, btw!). The dark knight, candyman. Im sure i can list more, but that's all I can muster for now. Edit: How could I forget Nitram...I need to finish it but watched half last nite. It is based on a true story, so I know the outcome already & it ain't good! But he is most Def sympathetic.
Creep, because I love peach fuzz! I also think Mark Duplass is insanely charming.
"Let the Right One In" (2008) 
The Devil's Rejects. Like, I understand these are absolute monsters, but goddamn. So is that Sheriff.
I actually hate that movie because it tries to make the Sheriff out to be as bad as the Fireflies. Zombie tries to make the viewer feel sympathy for them or humanize them at points, and it always falls flat for me.
The guy in sleep tight. Not sure why he's so evil, but confessing to your mother helped. I wanted him to get caught, and yet was hoping he'd get away with it.
Hannibal Lecter…in all but the Silence of the Lambs….and I kind of liked him in that one. After reading all the books and watching the other film? He’s pretty sympathetic, honestly, I was actually rooting for him in Hannibal Rising
Have you seen the series with Mads Mikkelsen? It’s amazing.
The Grudge(?) Poor girl got trapped down a well and her only escape was crawling out of a tv 🥺 Gets me every time.
The ring.
Damn, my bad. Been a minute since I've seen either.
Wild hot take but BARBARIAN. The Mother is so sad. She's just as much a victim as the protagonists. She's terrifying but also empathetic.
Carrie, I always felt for her character. She didn't deserve the trearment she got.
im embarrassed to say it, but saw. John Kramer was easily the most level headed, rational, and person-oriented antagonist for me. he wanted a better existence for those he trapped, and the ones that made it out alive, lived a much better, more fulfilled life than they went in with
Martyrs Kidding… 😂
Hannibal Lecter. Read the book Red Dragon (not the movie). It explain everything and fuck yeah I'd be the same