15 Fan-Favorite Films with Characters Who Are Far from Perfect

While many films rely on displaying likable and relatable characters to capture viewers' attention, some take the opposite approach and tell the stories of a bunch of horrible people. One user on a popular online movie forum asked others for suggestions of films where every character in the story sucks. Fans replied with their recommendations.

1 – The Hateful Eight (2015)

The Hateful Eight is a Western drama about eight not-so-great people traveling together toward Red Rock, Wyoming. The group includes two bounty hunters, one criminal, a sheriff, and four strangers who huddle together at a stagecoach stop while waiting for a blizzard to pass.

2 – Happiness (1998)

This dark comedy is about three sisters and their unseemly lives. One sister is a poet with a creepy neighbor, the second is a teacher in a deadbeat job who falls for one of her adult students, and the third is stuck in a marriage with a man who lives a dastardly secret life. Can the three sisters finally find happiness?

3 – Heat (1995)

When a criminal mastermind and a rogue cop battle to the bitter end, they form a strange relationship. At the same time, the criminal attempts his final heist before retiring, and the cop deals with issues at home.

4 – There Will Be Blood (2007)

In this dramatic film, a predatory oil prospector manipulates locals into selling him their land for oil extraction. But when a local minister realizes what's happening, he and the oil prospector enter a deadly battle against one another.

5 – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

When an alcoholic and her history professor husband visit her father after a night out, they join another couple for a nightcap. But what began as a lovely get-together becomes a despicable feud after the couples drink a few more.

6 – A Clockwork Orange (1971)

7 – Taxi Driver (1976)

When a lonely, cynical man takes a job as a taxi driver, he's wrought with delusions of singlehandedly ending crime in the big city. As he picks up more passengers, the taxi driver gets closer and closer to acting on his terrifying desires.

8 – Joker (2019)

The Joker's tragic and terrifying backstory comes to light in this 2019 film. When a failing clown who faces daily bullying reaches his breaking point, he loses his mind and slowly transforms into the infamous Joker.

9 – Barry Lyndon (1975)

Barry Lyndon follows a man's transformation from a kind gentleman to a manipulative and dangerous criminal when he's tricked into a duel that costs him his home. He grows cold as he attempts to rise up the ranks of society.

10 – Unfriended (2014)

This found-footage horror film takes place entirely on a video chat where friends discuss the tragic death of a classmate who took her own life. The story of why she ended her life becomes apparent when the deceased classmate enters the chat to play a deadly game with friends.

11 – Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a murder mystery film about a group of friends stuck in a vast manor during a violent hurricane. During a game gone wrong, someone in the mansion dies, leaving the rest of the inhabitants to solve the murder before they're the next victim.

12 – Saint Elmo's Fire (1985)

When friends gather at a bar to catch up, they each reveal that they're no longer satisfied with their lives after graduating college. As the story unfolds, each character grows less likable by the minute.

12 – Climax (1985)

In Climax, a group of dancers is practicing in an empty building, fueled with a sangria drink for all of them. But the night turns very dark when the hallucinations start and the LSD-laced sangria turns the entire experience into a nightmare. 

12 – Ruthless People (1986)

Ruthless People is a comedy that flies under a lot of people's radars but is full of hilariously bad people. Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) married his wife Barbara (Bette Midler) for her money, but it took too long for her inheritance to kick in. So Sam creates a plan to kill his wife, only to have her kidnapped for ransom. No one is a good person in this story, but it's a good, fun watch!

12 – The Menu (2022)

This dark, satirical film takes on the trendiness culture and the lengths people will go to for an experience for social media. When a group of foodies goes out to a remote island for a top-notch dining experience, the experience turns out to be a lot darker than anyone expects.