The Bible teaches that we should all strive to be good and virtuous but any actor knows that it’s a lot more fun to be bad. And who’s the baddest of the bad? Well the Devil of course, or perhaps you prefer to call him Satan or Beelzebub or Lucifer or just Prince of Darkness. But whatever you call him, actors love to play him. Here are the ten most devilishly good depictions of Satan on film.
1. Tim Curry in Legend (1985)
Yes, Tom Cruise is utterly ridiculous in this Ridley Scott fantasy but Tim Curry has such wicked fun as the Lord of Darkness (yet another name for the ultimate in evil) that he has to top my list. Curry’s performance is delicious in its seductive power. And even though he’s buried under extravagant make up effects by Rob Bottin, Curry’s voice alone (and laugh) create a vivid portrait of the devil in love. Bottin’s make up is also brilliant, giving us the most visually impressive personification of evil on film – massive, red, hooved, and with such enormous black horns that you marvel Curry doesn’t topple over.
Best lines: “You think you have won! What is light without dark? What are you without me? I am a part of you all. You can never defeat me. We are brothers eternal!”
2. Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
That the Devil is a lawyer is probably no surprise to anyone. In this outing he goes by the clever name of John Milton (the poet who penned Paradise Lost about the Fall of Man and the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan) and he’s played with scenery-chewing ferocity and pleasure by Al Pacino. Just as Curry faced off against the pathetically bland Tom Cruise; Pacino’s raging talent is set off in bold relief by the acting vacuum left by Keanu “Whoa” Reeves.
Best lines: “Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He’s a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It’s the goof of all time. Look but don’t touch. Touch, but don’t taste. Taste, don’t swallow. Ahaha. And while you’re jumpin’ from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He’s laughin’ His sick, f**kin’ ass off! He’s a tight-ass! He’s a SADIST! He’s an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER!”
3. Peter Cook in Bedazzled (1967)
Just for a change of pace, here’s a comedic but no less impressive depiction of heaven’s fallen angel Satan. Peter Cook is George Spiggott a.k.a. The Devil and he spends the whole film toying with the hapless Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore). George gets Stanley to sell his soul and in exchange Stanley gets seven wishes in which to create the perfect life with the woman of his dreams. But of course each time he makes a wish, George figures out a way to make it go maddeningly wrong. Cook is petty, vain, arrogant, petulant, and absolutely hilarious as the all too human Devil who’s a little more than pissed at those goody-two-shoes up above. He’s also surrounded by his seven deadly sins, most notably Raquel Welch as Lust. And the magic word to get Stanley out of each wish gone bad: Julie Andrews. Brilliant.
Best lines: “I’m the Horned One. The Devil. Let me give you my card.”
4. David Warner in Time Bandits (1981)
Terry Gilliam’s wildly imaginative Time Bandits gives us a group of little people traveling through time and trying to make off with history’s great treasures thanks to a map of time holes courtesy of the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson). But Evil (David Warner) wants the map too. As with Peter Cook, David Warner gives us the most hilariously petty and petulant Evil, and both have little patience or respect for the powers above. Warner – with a constipated look of displeasure and ennui frozen on his face — is further annoyed by his imbecilic lackeys, who constantly try his patience and make him roll his eyes in a “look what I have to put up with” plea to the audience. And in the end we get concentrated Evil.
Best lines: “If I were creating the world I wouldn’t mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o’clock, Day One!”
And this too: “Oh, Benson… Dear Benson, you are so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence.”
5. Viggo Mortensen in The Prophecy (1995)
How can you resist the temptation of Christopher Walken as Gabriel facing off against Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer? You can’t. The film opens with two angels falling to Earth. One ends up dead and among his personal effects is an ancient, hand-written Bible that includes a Twenty-Third chapter of the Book of Revelation. It reveals a second war in Heaven, and includes a prophecy about a “dark soul” on Earth that can be used as a terrible weapon. Gabriel wants to use that soul to orchestrate a coup in Heaven but Lucifer fears that if Gabriel takes power in Heaven he’ll prove unwelcome competition in the business of evil. It all ends with a wicked showdown between two actors who make evil so delectable.
Best line: “I can lay you out and fill your mouth with your mother’s feces, or we can talk.”
6. Peter Stormare in Constantine (2005)
Lucifer and Gabriel are on friendlier terms here. Although the film is cursed by Keanu Reeves’ soulless performance, Peter Stormare and Tilda Swinton as Lucifer and Gabriel are riveting. Barefoot and dressed in a white suit, Stormare gives us an unexpected incarnation of Satan. He’s twisted and evil but not exactly clever. When Stormare enters the film, he’s absolutely mesmerizing.
Best line: “Sonny, I’ve got a whole theme park full of red delights for you.”
7. Walter Huston in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
Based on the short story by Stephen Vincent Benet, a hapless farmer makes a deal with the devil for seven years of prosperity. When Satan, a.k.a. Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston) comes to collect, orator and champion of the common man Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) comes to the rescue. Walter Huston (John’s dad and Anjelica’s grandpa) is an absolute delight as the fast-talking and conniving Mr. Scratch.
Best lines: “And who has a better right? When the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on the deck. Am I not still spoken of in every church in New England? It’s true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but I’m neither. Tell the truth, Mr. Webster – though I don’t like to boast of it – my name is older in the country than yours.”
8. Ray Walston in Damn Yankees (1958)
George Abbott’s Broadway musical has a Washington Senators fan making a pact with the Devil to help his baseball team win the league pennant. Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian) plays Mr. Applegate, a.k.a. Lucifer, who’s a lot like Walter Huston’s Mr. Scratch in terms of being like a slick con man. In Damn Yankees, the devil gets a sexy assistant in Gwen Verdon’s Lola (and she gets the memorable song, ‘Whatever Lola Wants’). As with Bedazzled, Damn Yankees gives us a humorous take on Satan and it proves sinfully fun.
Best line: “Wives! They cause me more trouble than the Methodist church.”
9. Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
The film is a trifle but how can you ignore Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne. Nicholson’s prince of darkness is a womanizer and gets to shack up with Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Van Horne practically leaves an oily trail wherever he goes and Nicholson flashes those devilish pearly whites an awful lot. It’s a highly entertaining performance and all the more fun when the sexy ladies take him down.
Best lines: “Men are such c**ksuckers aren’t they? You don’t have to answer that. It’s true. They’re scared. Their dicks get limp when confronted by a woman of obvious power and what do they do about it? Call them witches, burn them, torture them, until every woman is afraid. Afraid of herself… afraid of men… and all for what? Fear of losing their hard-on.”
Oh and of course this: “I always like a little pussy after lunch.”
10. Trey Parker (voice talent) in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999)
And finally, how can I ignore Trey Parker’s romantic softie Satan who falls for an indifferent Saddam Hussein. The film is politically incorrect in the most outrageous way as it suggests that Satan might be a nicer guy than Saddam. This animated Satan looks a bit like Tim Curry’s Lord of Darkness in that he’s a big red horned creature. But as poor Satan pursues a troubled relationship with Saddam, we almost feel sorry for him. Wait, sympathy for the devil? That’s just wrong! But in the hands of Matt Stone and Trey Parker it’s so hilarious.
Best lines: [to Saddam] “How come you always want to make love to me from behind? Is it because you want to pretend I’m somebody else?”
And for diversity: there’s the color blind casting of Rex Ingram as Lucifer in the musical Cabin in the Sky (1943); the gender bending casting of Elizabeth Hurley in the remake of Bedazzled, and Rosalinda Celentano in Passion of The Christ; and the two-for-one casting of George Burns as both the devil and god in Oh God You Devil.
