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They lurked in the shadows of some of the decade's most underrated films, but these sinister characters deserve another moment in the spotlight. Join us as we count down our picks for the most overlooked and underappreciated antagonists from '90s cinema! Which forgotten '90s villain do you think deserved more recognition? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the antagonists from 90s movies who are underrated today.
00:13There will be spoilers.
00:20Number 10. Grosser. Gross point blank.
00:35Given that he's a comedy icon, it can be easy to forget. Dan Aykroyd can play a good villain.
00:40In this film about a hitman going home to his high school reunion, Aykroyd played Grosser, a fellow contract killer
00:46looking to create a union for assassins.
00:48Grosser's affably evil schtick is played to perfection by Aykroyd.
00:52Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, chatty Cathy. Clip your string, I don't need to know. But just for the record, here's
00:56what I heard. The Marks borrowed your client's prize hunting pup. So bad luck for Boudreau and bad luck for
01:02Blank. Poodle pumper. Hound hitter. Pooch puncher.
01:08While protagonist Martin Blank is pretty blasé about his chosen profession, Grosser seems to revel in it. Grosser comes across
01:14like a particularly enthusiastic salesman determined to give Martin the hard sell, even if it means setting him up or
01:19trying to kill him.
01:20Hey, comrade! What? Why don't you just join the union? We'll go upstairs together and cap daddy. This union, is
01:27there going to be meetings? Of course. No meetings.
01:31Number 9. Mr. Hand. Dark City.
01:34Be confused.
01:42This late 90s sci-fi movie is often overshadowed by The Matrix, which took a shocking amount of inspiration from
01:48it.
01:48One of the startling parallels lies in its villain, Mr. Hand.
01:52A member of the alien Strangers, which runs the titular city of Perpetual Night, Mr. Hand is the primary antagonist
01:58in pursuit of amnesiac protagonist, John Murdock.
02:01We're very lucky when you think about it.
02:04I'm sorry?
02:05To be able to revisit those places which have meant so very much to us.
02:10I thought it was more that we were haunted by them.
02:13Perhaps.
02:15But imagine a life alien to yours,
02:20in which your memories were not your own, but those shared by every other of your kind.
02:25Mr. Hand's fascination with John leads him to implant himself with memories and personality intended for John,
02:31namely that of a murderer.
02:33Mr. Hand's infection with the darker side of humanity makes him more than just a proto-Agent Smith.
02:37He's also a terrifying villain in his own right.
02:40Why do I care?
02:42She's not my real wife.
02:43She's nothing to me.
02:44But you do still care.
02:47Don't you, Mr. Murdock?
02:48You see, I have become the monster you were intended to be.
02:52Number 8.
02:54Maria Minchin, A Little Princess
02:56Don't you understand what I'm saying?
02:59You are alone in the world.
03:04Unless I decide to keep you here.
03:07Out of charity.
03:09Unreasonable authority figures are the bane of many of our childhoods.
03:12And adulthoods, for that matter.
03:14Miss Minchin is the bane of young Sarah Cruz's life,
03:16when she comes to an expensive boarding school in New York.
03:19After Sarah's father is mistakenly reported dead,
03:22and she loses access to the girl's money.
03:24Miss Minchin takes it out on Sarah.
03:27I expect you to remember Sarah, crew.
03:30You are not a princess any longer.
03:35Miss Minchin is bitter and envious of Sarah's wealth,
03:39joy, and her friendliness,
03:41spitefully using her position to make the life of a supposedly orphaned child more difficult.
03:45While there are plenty of villains like Miss Minchin,
03:47particularly in real life,
03:49she's often overlooked compared to some of her contemporaries.
03:51Even if they aren't pretty,
03:53or smart,
03:54or young,
03:55they're still princesses.
03:58All of us.
04:00Didn't your father ever tell you that?
04:03Didn't he?
04:14This sci-fi thriller was a major failure upon release,
04:18but it has acquired a cult following over the years,
04:20allowing it and its villain to become more appreciated.
04:23For most of the film,
04:25Max Peltier seems like a stand-up guy.
04:27The private investigator helps protagonist Lenny Nero uncover the conspiracy,
04:31involving his ex-girlfriend Faith and the illegal memory storage devices that Lenny sells.
04:36However,
04:36in the movie's climax,
04:38Max is revealed to be deeply involved in the conspiracy.
04:41Don't make any assumptions about our friendship, okay, Lenny?
04:45Max is far from the firm friend he pretends to be,
04:47instead taking sadistic joy in his many crimes,
04:50and going to great lengths to set Lenny up for them.
04:52He's a surprise villain of the most uncaring and despicable kind.
05:05Oh, God!
05:08Number 6.
05:09Roland Tempo.
05:10The Lost World Jurassic Park.
05:12Peter,
05:12if you want me to run your little camping trip,
05:15there are two conditions.
05:16Firstly,
05:16I'm in charge,
05:17and when I'm not around,
05:18Dieter is.
05:19All you need to do is sign the checks,
05:21tell us we're doing a good job,
05:22and open your case of scotch when we have a good day.
05:24These dinosaur disaster movies have no shortage of short-sighted idiot villains.
05:28However,
05:29Roland Tempo is no fool.
05:31While he may be antagonistic toward the heroes,
05:33Roland is a consummate professional hunter,
05:35who isn't afraid to tell his employer when he's being a moron.
05:38I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death.
05:41Hired as part of a mercenary team to capture dinosaurs from the island,
05:44Roland doesn't care about the money.
05:46He just wants to do what no human in history has ever done,
05:49hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
05:50Even if you don't agree with his goals,
05:51you can't help but admire Roland's competence and drive.
06:06Number 5.
06:08Courtney Shane.
06:09Jawbreaker.
06:10This is a joke, right?
06:11This is a total joke.
06:13Say it's a joke.
06:14It was supposed to be for fun.
06:15Oh my god!
06:17This isn't happening!
06:18Say this isn't happening!
06:19I just didn't want her to scream.
06:20Oh god!
06:22Villainous high school queen bees are a dime a dozen,
06:24so it's understandable one of them fell through the cracks.
06:27Courtney Shane is worse than most mean girls, though.
06:29After a prank on her rival Liz goes wrong and ends up killing the girl,
06:33Courtney doubles down and does all she can to cover it up.
06:36It's just, I don't know if I should be talking about this.
06:39About what?
06:40It's just Liz was a private person, you know?
06:45But I want to help.
06:47Well, that's why I'm here, Courtney.
06:49This includes coercing a witness to the crime,
06:52seducing a man to make it seem like Liz was assaulted,
06:54and various other lies and manipulations.
06:56Rose McGowan's candy-coated performance of this budding sociopath
07:00has helped turn this underrated movie into a fan favorite.
07:20Number 4, Sean Noakes, Sleepers.
07:37While hit at the time, Sleepers is rarely discussed these days,
07:41nor is its absolutely vile villain, Sean Noakes.
07:44A guard at a boy's juvenile detention center played by Kevin Bacon,
07:47Noakes heaps torture and sexual abuse upon those in his care.
07:51To make them feel what we feel.
07:53Just for a couple of hours.
07:57Nah, don't try anything funny, Sambo.
07:59The lead'll get hurt.
08:00I mean, do we even have to say anything else to convince you
08:03that this piece of trash deserves to die?
08:05And die he does, when two of the four boys the film focuses on
08:09encounter him again as adults and shoot him dead.
08:12In this case, the six degrees of Kevin Bacon
08:14is the temperature at which we'd like to see Noakes freeze to death.
08:17Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
08:19Ah, you were scared little pricks.
08:22Above these.
08:24All yous.
08:26Number 6, Charlie Meadows, Barton Fink.
08:29Strange as it may seem, Charlie, I guess I write about people like you.
08:33The average working stiff, the common man.
08:36Well, ain't that a kick in the head?
08:38Yeah, I guess it is.
08:39One of the Coen brothers' most underrated movies,
08:42Barton Fink defies categorization.
08:44As does its villain.
08:45Charlie Meadows initially seems like an affable salesman
08:47who befriends the title character while staying next to him in a hotel.
08:51He helps Barton out with advice on how to better write the common man
08:54that Barton doesn't listen to,
08:55as well as with disposing of a headless body he wakes up to.
08:58However, detectives reveal that Charlie is actually Carl Madman Munt,
09:02a serial killer who decapitates his victims.
09:04Are you leaving?
09:06I have to, old-timer.
09:07Just for a little while.
09:09Jesus.
09:11Charlie, I...
09:12Everything's okay, believe me.
09:14I know it's rough mentally, but everything didn't take me care of.
09:17Munt's calm personality, violent outbursts,
09:21and his potential murder of Barton's family makes him scary enough,
09:24but his apparent ability to summon fire
09:26has us questioning if he's also the literal devil.
09:29Jesus, people can be cruel.
09:32It's not my build, it's my personality.
09:41They say I'm a madman, Barton, but I'm not mad at anyone.
09:46Honest, I'm not.
09:48Most guys, I just feel sorry for.
09:51Number 2.
09:52Cyrus the Virus Grissom.
09:54Con Air.
09:55But he's bettered himself inside,
09:57earned two degrees including his Juris Doctor,
09:59and he also killed 11 fellow inmates,
10:01incited three riots, and escaped twice.
10:04You know what villains got swagger
10:05when they claim to have killed more men than cancer.
10:07The ringleader of the aerial escape attempt
10:09this action blockbuster gets its name from,
10:12Cyrus the Virus is a career criminal
10:14and devious mastermind.
10:15One went and tied a rope to our plane,
10:19so I ask you,
10:21what is going on?
10:23And I answer,
10:25we have a traitor in our midst.
10:28His plan would have been perfect,
10:30but he didn't count on an ex-army ranger
10:32working against him from the inside.
10:33Even so, Cyrus' ruthlessness in pursuit of his goals
10:36and John Malkovich's mercurial, unhinged performance
10:39help make the character a highlight
10:41of this somewhat forgotten thriller.
10:42What kind of lunatic threatens a stuffed bunny?
10:46Make a move and the bunny gets it.
10:49Before we continue,
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10:58Are you not entertained?
11:01Number one,
11:02Mr. Benedict,
11:03Last Action Hero.
11:05If God was a villain,
11:09he'd be me.
11:11These days,
11:12Charlie Dance is internationally recognized
11:14from Game of Thrones,
11:15but in the 90s,
11:16nobody knew how great he was.
11:18Except for fans of this cult-favorite
11:19meta-action movie, that is.
11:21Dance plays Mr. Benedict,
11:22a villain in the movie within the movie,
11:24Jack Slater 4.
11:25An expert marksman and killer
11:27with an artificial eye,
11:28Benedict is suave,
11:29threatening,
11:30and funny.
11:31I've just shot somebody,
11:33I did it on purpose.
11:40I said I have murdered a man,
11:43and I want to confess.
11:46Hey, shut up, dude.
11:47He's cool enough within Jack Slater 4,
11:49but once Benedict discovers
11:51the magic movie ticket
11:52that brought young Danny into the film
11:53and uses it to leave,
11:54he becomes iconic.
11:56Benedict styles himself as a hero
11:58to all the villains
11:59who can never win.
12:00After all,
12:00in the real world,
12:02evil triumphs all the time.
12:03It's a shame Benedict
12:04nor the movie got a sequel.
12:06See Jack,
12:09bad guys can win.
12:13Is there a forgotten 90s movie villain
12:15that we failed to remember?
12:16Remind us of your favorites
12:17in the comments.
12:18I think you're going to be about it.
12:18it's a great time because
12:18that's it.
12:19You know,
12:22here's the good one
12:23And there's no sign
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