100 GREATEST MOVIE VILLAINS

Pt. 13  61-65

HENRY F. POTTER

Who's he?: A member of the board of the Bailey Building and Loan Association of Bedford Falls, New York.
How bad is he?: The only thing Potter wants is for the Building and Loan to go away so he can become Bedford Falls sole lord and master. Don't worry, it ain't happening thanks to the efforts of one George Bailey, who pretty much sacrificed his own life to prevent it. This, on the other hand, has left George depressed and suicidal. In order to save his life, George was shown what would happen if Potter won, and Sweet Jesus it's not pretty. Now renamed Pottersville, Bedford Falls is basically the worst neighborhood on the entire planet: prostitution, poverty, violence and just about any other social ills you can think about. And with Potter at the top of the foodchain, bleeding the people dry. And let's not mention all the lives that have been ruined.
What happened?: George puts his suicide plans on hold and live to fight another day. Thanks to the decidedly grateful townsfolks of Bedford Falls, the Building and Loan is saved and Potter never gets his mitts on the town.
Appearance: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

FREDDY KRUEGER

Who's he?: A long time ago, Krueger was the groundskeeper at a school in Springwood, Ohio. Actually, Krueger was a child killer. He was arrested but, due to a technicality, was released. The victims' parents strongly objected to this turn of event, so they followed Krueger home, doused him in kerosene, set him on fire and promised never to speak of this again. Cased closed? Not by a longshot.
How bad is he?: Wouldn't you know it! Krueger survived his own death and became a disembodied spirit who, years later, tortured the sons and daughters of his executioners in their sleep. For Krueger has the ability to influence reality through dreams. One by one some of those kids were killed, leaving everyone none the wiser. Kruger can be fought, and even defeated, but he always come back. Because you can always dream of someone, even if they're dead and gone. In our dreams, no one is really dead, and can always come back. This is where Freddy comes in. Sleep tight.
What happened?: He came back, over and over again. It passed the point where Freddy sought revenge for his own murder, now he just IS. He even manifested himself in the Real World, terrorising the director and actors who made his own movies. This is how powerful Freddy is. Sleep tighter.
Appearances: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and all of its sequels and remakes.

MICHAEL MYERS

Who's he?: Michael Myers. That's about as much info as we have on the guy. His psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, believes that Michael is actually Evil personified.
How bad is he?: As a six-years old, Michael killed his own big sis Judith because...well, because he did. Locked in a mental institution for fifteen years, Michael eventually escapes, dons an expressionless Captain Kirk mask, equips himself with a large knife and set out to terrorise local teenager Laurie Strode...just because. Michael is very strong, and extremely resilient to pain and injuries. The guy was shot six times and survived to kill and kill again. He even survived being turned into a human fireball. Michael is relentless in his pursuit of killing people for no good reason other than 'because'. There's just no stopping that guy.
What happened?: Nothing, well, almost nothing. His ability to survive anything that would kill anyone else means that Michael is still out there, waiting for the perfect Halloween to go on yet another rampage...because.
Appearances: Halloween (1978), and all the rest, except for Halloween III.

WILBUR WHATELEY

Who's he?: Amateur occultist, Whateley is the son of a human woman (Lavinia) and an abomination named Yog-Sothoth.
How bad is he?: Imagine being the offpsring of a clan of inbreds and a powerful thing from out there. Obviously, Wilbur was brought up into the family business of securing Eldricht tomes of forgotten knowledge, perusing through the most potent spells contained within and conjuring up his dearl old Dad for a family reunion that would doom humanity several times over. And let's not forget that Willy here has a twin brother who must be kept locked at all times, because while Willy takes after his Mom, his brother most certainly takes after his Dad.
What happened?: Wilbur's bro was let out of the cupboard and started to kill the good townspeople of Dunwich, Massachussetts, Wilbur was busy at the time, trying to conjure up Dad and his friends. A well-placed lightning bolt prevented the End Of The World As We Know It. The Whateleys are all dead, save for an unborn child, growing up inside a woman unlucky enough to have attracted Wilbur's attention.
Appearance: The Dunwich Horror (1970)

JOSEPH CURWEN

Who's he?: Way back when, Joseph Curwen was a trader in Arkham, Massachussetts, and by that I mean that he was actually a warlock, worshipping demonic entities. Eventually, the citizenry of Arkham had enough of that. Curwen was summarily convicted of witchcraft, tied to a tree and burned alive. Case closed, right?
How bad was he?: Wrong! Due to his knowledge of magic, Curwen devised a way to come back from the dead, through a huge protrait of him that managed to survive for centuries. Enter Charles Dexter Ward, a remote descendant and actual Curwen look-alike. Soon, Curwen came back through Ward's body and had several words for the people of Arkham. None of them were Happy Birthday. Along with old cronies, Curwen sought to bring back friends from beyond.
What happened?: You know what they say? If you don't succeed at first, then try again. When the residents of Arkham got the suss, they eventually decided to settle this old score once and from all. Curwen's portrait was burned down, which liberated Ward from the curse...or did it?
Appearance: The Haunted Palace (1963)