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Movie-watchers have taken to Reddit to discuss their picks for the most unlikeable characters of all time – and we absolutely agree.
From a religious fanatic who takes advantage of a supernatural disaster to an idiot car salesman, here are the top picks.
Mrs. Carmody – The Mist (2007)
Marcia Gay Harden plays Mrs. Carmody in the 2007 adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist. The film follows a father and son who find themselves trapped in a grocery store as a thick fog filled with deadly creatures surrounds the store. Instead of becoming frightened, Mrs. Carmody, a religious fanatic, is convinced that The Mist is a divine punishment from God and quickly becomes an antagonist almost worse than the creatures themselves.
"I absolutely love Marcia Gay Harden, so for her to make me hate her character so thoroughly proves what a great actress she is," wrote u/robs104.
"So satisfying when she gets, uh, quieted down," commented u/b1sh0p.
"She won’t be Mist," mused u/The Phantom91.
Carter Burke – Aliens (1986)
Aliens takes place 57 years after its predecessor, where Ellen Ripley is finally rescued after drifting in hypersleep. Even though Burke was one of the first people to speak to Ripley when she wakes up, we quickly learn that he has ulterior motives. He's the worst kind of person to be in power in a life-or-death situation seeing as he doesn't care about anything but himself – and is regarded among franchise fans as one of the most hated characters.
"'This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it,'" u/Smooth_Riker quoted. "Burke is the perfect slimy corporate worm."
"I hated Paul Reiser for years because of this role... took me a long time to come around to watching Mad About You," said u/bishopthom.
U/1969Joshuah recounted the infamous story of Reisner taking his parents to the premiere: "Apparently, he took his mom to the film's premiere. Her son told her nothing about his character, so going in she was hoping she wouldn't have to watch her child die miserably (having seen the 1st film and its infamous 'chest-burster' scene). Watching her son playing such a terrible character, when Burke meets his fate the actor heard his mother say: 'GOOD!'"
Jerry Lundegaard - Fargo (1996)
Fargo, based on a true story, stars William H. Macy as Jerry Lundegaard, a bumbling car salesman so desperate for money that he hires two criminals to kidnap his own wife in order to collect the ransom money from her extremely wealthy father. The role earned Macy an Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actor, with his character going down in cinematic history as one of the most morally bankrupt of all time.
"What a pathetic, weaselly, chickenshit asshole. Absolutely phenomenal performance by William H. Macy, though," commented u/SmoreOfBabylon.
"Man, what a great great choice. Other selections are villains with stereotypical traits... But Jerry is just a class in his own. A greedy, selfish and meek coward," wrote u/bravetab.
"Lester is as bad as Malvo but refuses to actually own his badness, which makes him even more unsympathetic," said u/goingtodeletexb.
Marla Grayson – I Care A Lot (2020)
I Care A Lot, written and directed by J Blakeson, stars Rosamund Pike as Marla Grayson, a con artist who makes a living by convincing the court to grant her guardianship over elders who she insists cannot take care of themselves. She then seizes and sells their assets for cash. The film is cleverly told through Marla's POV, signifying to the viewer that she is indeed the hero of her own story.
"Oh she was so unlikeable and then at the end karma gets her and I’m supposed to feel bad for her? She was awful and took horrendous advantage of those in her care," wrote u/Always-Beets.
"Rosalind Pike was amazing, I wanted to rip her hair out more times than one," commented u/Elegant-Hair-7873.
"I wanted her to get what was coming to her the entire movie," said u/LarryStockton.
Nurse Ratched – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, stars Jack Nicholson as a new patient at a mental institution and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched – the head nurse who exercises near-absolute power and humiliates, abuses, and manipulates her patients. Nicholson spends the film not only trying to escape from the institution, but to defeat Ratched once and for all.
"Nurse Ratched is, without question, the most horrible, most hateable character ever put on film," wrote u/Greg0_Reddit.
"Every time I see Louise Fletcher in another role I hate that character too due to her being so perfectly awful in One Flew Over," commented u/LebrontogicalArmgt. "It makes her character in Deep Space 9 even more infuriating."
