Cinema's best psychopaths

[greenman]

'I realize that you are not a person in the strictest sense of the word'

Perhaps not so obviously psychopathic but...



Plus...



...and Lord Naritsugu from 13 Assasins....

[phantom_power]

Not a great film, and the character is undercooked compared to the novels, but James Cromwell's Dudley Smith is perfect. Just as I imagined him when I read the novels that feature the character, before seeing the film. Lad. 

Not a great film? LA Confidential is one of the best films of the 90s

[Dr Rock]

[chocky909]

Mrs Carmody from The Mist?

[Osmium]

Alpha psychopath Clarence Boddicker has got to be in with a shout.

https://youtu.be/QdZqKVcI9m8

[Blumf]

A bit OTT, you'd never get somebody so destructive in real life:



Not too keen on the sequel either:

[Custard]

Just cos I'm rewatching the series at the moment, Todd from Breaking Bad.

Dead-eyes, zero feeling, shoots kids without a second's thought, torturer

[zomgmouse]

Rev. Harry Powell from Night of the Hunter. Not a very good representative of the church.

Mitchum in Cape Fear would get my vote as well.

[Dr Rock]

Whaddya reckon, psychopath?

[Hangthebuggers]

Whaddya reckon, psychopath?

Nah - Just a ruthless bastard. I don't think he was a psychopath though..

[mothman]

"Warriors, come out to play-ayyyy..."

[Dr Rock]

Nah - Just a ruthless bastard. I don't think he was a psychopath though..

Hmm, I think I disagree. And for what it's worth, google comes up with lots of lists of psychopaths with Hans on them. Meanwhile a lot of people listed in this thread I'd argue aren't psychopaths, as defined by that Hare test.

[thraxx]

It's Scorpio from Dirty Harry isnt it?

[jobotic]

Not a great film? LA Confidential is one of the best films of the 90s

Okay, it is good, but not a patch on the novel. Good attempt though. I wouldn't slag it off.

[Kane Jones]

It's Scorpio from Dirty Harry isnt it?

Great shout. He's a fucking maniac.

[Dr Rock]

Maniac yes. Psychopath, maybe not. Again, check the Hare checklist

The twenty traits assessed by the PCL-R score are:

glib and superficial charm
grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
need for stimulation
pathological lying
cunning and manipulativeness
lack of remorse or guilt
shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
callousness and lack of empathy
parasitic lifestyle
poor behavioral controls
sexual promiscuity
early behavior problems
lack of realistic long-term goals
impulsivity
irresponsibility
failure to accept responsibility for own actions
many short-term marital relationships
juvenile delinquency
revocation of conditional release
criminal versatility

The rest are either true, arguable or unknown with Scorpio but I think the ones I crossed out are essential to be a full-blown psychopath. Sorry to be a pedant, otherwise this is just a 'great movie baddies' thread.

[PAGATRON]

And any character played by Michael Ironside.

[Dr Syntax Head]

This guy:

This guy is the ultimate. Because it's common for top boss types to be Psychopaths in real life.

The kid out of We need to talk about Kevin. Don't know what the kid's called (hardy har) but he's a nasty little fucker to him mum. Not on mate.

[Dr Syntax Head]

Alpha psychopath Clarence Boddicker has got to be in with a shout.

https://youtu.be/QdZqKVcI9m8

I have only just realised it's Leland there.

[Blumf]

I have only just realised it's Leland there.

And you've got Agent Rosenfeld too.

Why hasn't Peter Weller done anything with Lynch, seems like they'd be a good fit.

[Dr Syntax Head]

And you've got Agent Rosenfeld too.

Why hasn't Peter Weller done anything with Lynch, seems like they'd be a good fit.

Oh yes agree with that. Weller can do creepy so well

[ASFTSN]

Gary Oldman playing this haywire cunt in Leon:

[Dr Rock]

[Sebastian Cobb]

[Sambob]

Paddy Considine in 'A Room for Romeo Brass' and then again in 'Dead Man's Shoes' scares the fuck out of me.

Kathy Bates in 'Misery'.

That flappy thing from 'Jeepers Creepers'.

Paul Robinson from 'Neighbours'.

Eric Cartman.

Kevin Spacey in 'Se7en'.

[Dr Rock]

Kathy Bates in Misery is mental but not a psychopath. She doesnt disply almost any of the  right traits. Patrick Bateman does.


Oh I give up.

[Blinder Data]

Paddy Considine in 'A Room for Romeo Brass' and then again in 'Dead Man's Shoes' scares the fuck out of me.

Woah woah, Paddy Considine's character is clearly suffering badly from how his brother was treated, he's deranged but derives sympathy, it's a revenge movie in which the audience is pretty much behind him the whole way. He DOES NOT belong in this thread.

Paul Robinson from 'Neighbours'.

Excellent suggestion.

[Dr Rock]

Yeah I have no objection to that one.

[Dr Rock]

Except Neighbours isn't a movie.

[Ignatius_S]

Maniac yes. Psychopath, maybe not. Again, check the Hare checklist

The twenty traits assessed by the PCL-R score are:

glib and superficial charm
grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
need for stimulation
pathological lying
cunning and manipulativeness
lack of remorse or guilt
shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
callousness and lack of empathy
parasitic lifestyle
poor behavioral controls
sexual promiscuity
early behavior problems
lack of realistic long-term goals
impulsivity
irresponsibility
failure to accept responsibility for own actions
many short-term marital relationships
juvenile delinquency
revocation of conditional release
criminal versatility

The rest are either true, arguable or unknown with Scorpio but I think the ones I crossed out are essential to be a full-blown psychopath. Sorry to be a pedant, otherwise this is just a 'great movie baddies' thread.

Taking that a little further, there is debate whether there is such a thing as 'psychopathy'.

I was listening to a podcast where a guest psychologist was discussing a subject and the host asked whether something would qualify a person as a sociopath or a psychopath. The response was that neither term should be used.

The guest explained that the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the standard practice guidelines for North America, used to have clinical definitions for each 'condition'. However, these have now been phased out in favour of a combinations of antisocial personality disorders, which are defined by the APA. They also explained how the terms started in the first place – I couldn't remember the full details, but this article touches upon it: https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/psychopathy-vs-antisocial-personality-disorder/

James Fallon, who wrote The Psychopath and is famed for his expertise, has talked about the controversy over psychopathy – e.g.: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-simmons/interview-with-the-psycho_b_5534192.html