Addison
Auror
All characters have depth. NEED depth. Evil, like good, is made not born.
That said my favorite villains are:
TV: Regina/Evil Queen, Once Upon a Time. A complex, powerful woman to be feared and receive sympathy. On the other hand her psycho mother takes a close second to her. She wanted to be so much more than what she already wanted, not seeing what she had, that she destroyed her daughter's life so she would be as miserable as Cora so Regina would follow her foot steps. While on the subject I'm not convinced that Cora only found out about Daniel when Snow told her. She just used and played on Snow's heart so that she would tell her so that Regina would have someone to hate so much that she would go completely evil.
Movie:...this one is close. But I'd have to say the caves from Sanctum. It's a thriller/survival movie about a team of cavers and explorers working to map out the caves of the world's largest, dangerous and most mysterious cave system "Esa-ala". A flash flood blocks their exit, kills one member. Slowly the water and dangers of the cave climbing, loss of food, water and the toll of losing others takes everyone else out. There's no physical person that can be beat up to stop the suffering. No phone call or antidote to solve it. The perfect depiction of man vs. nature.
Book: This one was hard to pick, I read a lot of books. But I have to say Voldemort. Not just for who, or maybe what, he is but for how he affected Harry's life through the series. The first three he was more from a distance, ethereal, as a villain. The fourth he transitioned. The fifth and sixth he was both but still a force to be feared. Then the seventh he is more subtle then really brings down the force at Hogwarts. His background, while it helps readers to understand him, doesn't help him get as much sympathy as Regina, but I think Mac Taylor said it best on CSI:NY "There are people out there with worse stories than you, they never hurt anyone. You're not getting any sympathy from me."
That said my favorite villains are:
TV: Regina/Evil Queen, Once Upon a Time. A complex, powerful woman to be feared and receive sympathy. On the other hand her psycho mother takes a close second to her. She wanted to be so much more than what she already wanted, not seeing what she had, that she destroyed her daughter's life so she would be as miserable as Cora so Regina would follow her foot steps. While on the subject I'm not convinced that Cora only found out about Daniel when Snow told her. She just used and played on Snow's heart so that she would tell her so that Regina would have someone to hate so much that she would go completely evil.
Movie:...this one is close. But I'd have to say the caves from Sanctum. It's a thriller/survival movie about a team of cavers and explorers working to map out the caves of the world's largest, dangerous and most mysterious cave system "Esa-ala". A flash flood blocks their exit, kills one member. Slowly the water and dangers of the cave climbing, loss of food, water and the toll of losing others takes everyone else out. There's no physical person that can be beat up to stop the suffering. No phone call or antidote to solve it. The perfect depiction of man vs. nature.
Book: This one was hard to pick, I read a lot of books. But I have to say Voldemort. Not just for who, or maybe what, he is but for how he affected Harry's life through the series. The first three he was more from a distance, ethereal, as a villain. The fourth he transitioned. The fifth and sixth he was both but still a force to be feared. Then the seventh he is more subtle then really brings down the force at Hogwarts. His background, while it helps readers to understand him, doesn't help him get as much sympathy as Regina, but I think Mac Taylor said it best on CSI:NY "There are people out there with worse stories than you, they never hurt anyone. You're not getting any sympathy from me."