Highlights
- Evil duos in movies are captivating to watch, as their dangerous disposition and lack of sympathy make them intriguing protagonists.
- The popularity of the evil duo trope continues to thrive in various genres, including action, thrillers, and horror movies.
- While often portrayed as romantic couples, the evil duo can also include family members and close friends, adding a refreshing variation to the concept.
The conventional way to tell the story in a movie is through the eyes of a heroic main character, but some movies don't follow the typical recipe of a good protagonist and choose a different approach instead. The story changes when the main heroes are less than sympathetic, complicated, or even downright evil.
These characters are dangerous enough alone, but when they join forces with someone who has no qualms about hurting others, they become even deadlier. While in the normal world, most people wouldn't enjoy empathizing with criminals and evil people overall, in movies, it's fascinating to watch some of the best villain duos take on the world together.
Updated September 27, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: The popularity of the evil duo continues to fascinate and entertain audiences, which is why it's a trope that keeps appearing. The concept works in every genre, but seems to appear most often in action, slashers, thrillers, and horror movies. Older media, like books and comics, use the evil duo just as often, giving villains a chance to network their talents instead of taking care of their nefarious plans alone. Although the evil duo is usually a romantic couple, the dichotomy can also include family members and close friends, and it's nice to have some variation.
13 Xenia Onatopp & Alec Trevalyn (Goldeneye)
Most viewers remember Famke Janssen as Jane Grey of the original X-Men movie franchise, but her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in Goldeneye. Her ruthless demeanor, stunning beauty, and alluring accent seem to have no equal, but Sean Bean also has a part in this movie. He plays the main antagonist, Alec Trevelyan, which also means the audience will get to see a dramatic and gory death at some point.
A former pilot who is always cheerfully sadistic, Onatopp is the brawn, doing the dirty work that she loves which includes mayhem, stealing, kidnapping, and driving a mean Ferrari. Trevelyan is the brains of the evil duo, pretending to be a double-0 while secretly running a Russian cartel that's made a deal with a crooked military leader.
12 John Hartley & Nolan Booth (Red Notice)
The Netflix action piece Red Notice uses the fact that even villains become sympathetic when they're effectively utilized as protagonists. Hartley and Booth, portrayed by Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, are forced by circumstances to work together, and the buddy chemistry between them as well as the strong amount of jokes they share more than makes up for the somewhat convoluted plot.
And whenever Gal Gadot enters the scene, and the duo becomes a trio, the movie gains even more energy and drive than it had before. If for nothing else, watching Red Notice for the main cast and the jokes between them is time well spent.
11 Johnny Bartlett & Patricia Bradley (The Frighteners)
It's interesting to see what Peter Jackson was up to before The Lord of the Rings made him a household name. This film is a funny comedy in addition to being a genuinely scary horror movie. The juxtaposition of love stories is one of the more interesting themes, abd the toxic coupling of Johnny and Patricia are on the negative side of the spectrum.
These two serial murderers are cringe on so many levels, likely just as horrible in life as in death, which only starts with the pile of dead bodies they leave in a hospital. Their murder spree was cut short when Johnny was sentenced to the electric chair for their crimes. But love never dies, at least not until its ashes are consecrated on holy ground and sent to Hell for all eternity.
10 Imhotep & Anck-Su-Namun (The Mummy)
The Mummy series is the ultimate adventure piece full of action, danger, beautiful settings, and, of course, the complex love story between the two main villains, Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun. The movie series subverts the usual plot in which a villain falls for an innocent woman, and things go wrong. In this scenario, neither of them is all that innocent. Imhotep will stop at nothing, killing people included, if it means getting back the woman he loves.
As for Anck-Su-Namun, when she had to choose to risk her life and save Imhotep or protect herself, she chose the second option. Whether that makes her selfish or not, that's up to every viewer to decide. Whatever the case, Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun were the ultimate evil duo while they lasted, and their shared history spanning thousands of years made for a fascinating story.
9 Veronica & J.D. (Heathers)
Most couples in movies focused on teenagers ultimately come across as sweet, even when they fumble and make their fair share of mistakes. That's not the case for Veronica and J.D. J.D. is the one who convinced Veronica it was okay to get back at the people who were mean toward her and others, even if it meant hurting them or worse.
Veronica went with it anyway, at least initially. While she might have had a reason for hating the Heathers, that doesn't justify killing them. It might be difficult to cheer on the couple, but Heathers offers an intriguing story of a twisted relationship. Plus, Winona Ryder and Christian Slater are excellent in the leading roles.
8 Gordon & Abigail Craven (The Addams Family)
The previous media related to the Addams Family franchise never explained the family's finances, but this 1991 movie had a secret vault of gold and jewels in the basement and the Cravens find out about it. With the help of the Addams' lawyer, who is also a grifter, they dress Gordon up as Uncle Fester, who's been missing for decades.
A mother-son evil duo in this case, or at least it seems that way at first. Part of the twist here is that Gorden isn't exactly who Abigail says he is and only the authenticity of the Addams Family can get through the facade she's created. This family has some experience with evil, and the Cravens are no match for them. If they were antagonists, Morticia and Gomez could be on this list.
7 Sweeney Todd & Mrs. Lovett (Sweeny Todd)
The worst thing about this couple (other than the fact that they murder people and bake meat pies from their victims' flesh) is that they don't stand on equal ground. Mrs. Lovett is in love with Sweeney Todd and dreams about the future they will share, but all that Todd is focused on is getting revenge on the man who ruined his life.
Unlike other romances between two evil people, this one comes across as one-sided, especially since the movie later reveals that both Todd and Mrs. Lovett are lying to each other. Thanks to all of this, as well as Helena Bonham-Carter's and Johnny Depp's performances, it's interesting to watch how the relationship between the two main evil characters evolves.
6 Harley Quinn & The Joker (DCEU)
While the DCEU movies don't give this villainous couple as much space as they would have deserved, some animated movies fixed this problem and show Harley and Joker living their best life of terror in Gotham while Batman's after them. The first Suicide Squad offers only a glimpse into how dangerous these two truly are, and then Harley eventually breaks free from her boyfriend.
That doesn't change the fact that together, Harley and Joker are both intelligent and unpredictable, which makes for a fatal combination for many. Luckily, Harley later changes her ways and becomes one of the anti-heroes. She even helps to create the superhero team Birds of Prey and stop the villainous Black Mask.
5 Roy Batty & Pris (Blade Runner)
This pair are the last two survivors of a plot hatched by some of the most sympathetic villains in movie history. Roy Batty and Pris were replicants with only four years to live because of a deliberate design failure. Anyone can agree that's a valid gripe. They and their companions were indiscriminate about killing anyone that got in their way, including the innocent crew of a ship they hijacked to reach Earth.
The saga of replicants and "born" humans now spans two movies, and the main character in the sequel us a combination of both hero and villain, depending on who's asking. Roy is the character that voices the now famous "tears in the rain" line as his time runs out, but he has enough time to act out of character and save Deckerd's life before his body reaches its termination date.
4 Mickey & Mallory (Natural Born Killers)
When watching Natural Born Killers (1994) for the first time, the audience might recall Bonnie and Clyde. But this story is even more brutal than theirs. Mickey and Mallory are very much in love but instead of settling down and leading a peaceful life, they choose a different road.
They kill dozens of people, all the while running from the law and enjoying their love. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis give their best performances in the movie. The film is full of action but also has the power to make the viewers think, for example, about how the media portrays violence.
3 Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde)
Bonnie and Clyde are the ultimate evil duo, and the 1967 movie is one of the classics that no one should miss. Once again, real life proved stronger than anyone's imagination as the movie is based on real events that happened in the 1930s.
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty star as lovers who ride around the USA and rob banks. Bonnie and Clyde became a huge hit and was nominated for ten Academy Awards but only won two. Whether the audience sympathizes with Bonnie and Clyde or not, their affection comes across as genuine and the movie is so fast-paced and intelligent that it makes for an unforgettable experience.
2 Chucky & Tiffany (Bride of Chucky)
What's more evil than a murdering doll? Let's add another doll, along with a sordid love story, and the result is the supernatural-evil duo of Chucky and his bride, Tiffany. She didn't take on a main role until Bride of Chucky, which is the fourth installment in a franchise that includes eight movies and two seasons of a TV show.
Viewers are introduced to Tiffiany as the person who steals the remains of a serial killing doll from a vault and enacts a voodoo ritual to resurrect him again, so that's some good exposition if a character is unhinged mentally. Tiffany is eventually resurrected as a killer doll herself, and the two are made for each other. The saga of Chucky and Tiffany overlaps with comedy-horror. Tiffany is the more sensitive and even remorseful of the two, but she is still given to bloodthirsty urges.
1 Macbeth & Lady Macbeth
A collection of the most deadly evil duos in movies would have to include the couple that started the whole trope. That's one of the reasons both Hollywood and independent filmmakers keep putting "that Scottish play" on film, and Roman Polanski is only one of many directors who have interpreted this story in their way. His 1971 version of the story is particularly brutal, making the husband in the equation a willing participant.
Some versions of this play view the titular character as more of a sympathetic character who was misled, while others portray him as an arrogant, entitled snob and a paranoid coward. This is the latter, and this character is as much beyond redemption as his notorious partner in crime, Lady Macbeth. It's a duo that goes down together, in a puddle of gore, and it's ideal for those who want to see Shakespeare at his very darkest.