- In a Total Film poll, U.S. President George W. Bush – one of the orchestrators of the catastrophic Iraq War and a key figure in Michael Moore’s documentary blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11 – was chosen as the year’s scariest movie villain.
U.S. President and Fahrenheit 9/11 character George W. Bush voted year’s Scariest Movie Villain
What was the scariest movie villain of this past year?
According to a poll conducted by Total Film magazine, the answer isn’t Meryl Streep’s fascist/incestuous mom in Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate, Kenneth Welsh’s U.S. vice president in Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow (the moron dismisses the issue of global warming), or Karl Urban’s Russian assassin in Paul Greengrass’ The Bourne Supremacy.
Who was it then?
Try real-life U.S. President George W. Bush, one of the orchestrators of the calamitous Iraq War that has wholly destabilized that country and a key figure in Michael Moore’s critically acclaimed documentary blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11.
Why W.?
Total Film editor Matt Mueller has attempted to explain why George W. Bush – who may or may not have a mysterious Jesus Christ connection – has been chosen by the magazine’s readers as the most frightening movie villain of the year:
“It is possible that people have been a little bit tongue in cheek here, but they are also saying that Bush was very scary in Fahrenheit 9/11. He was absolutely terrifying in that film. He looked like a man who had lost control – the famous scene where he sits there in a school, absolutely paralyzed, after being told about the twin towers, is just one example.”
Stiff competition (but no Supreme Court intervention)
Bush – who, as it happens, ascended to the White House despite having lost the popular vote to Democratic competitor Al Gore – beat some stiff competition*. Among these were the following†:
- The creepy Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2).
- The cannibalistic Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski in Marcus Nispel’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).
- The Deadly Viper Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1).
- The scheming Gollum (Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).
A reported 10,000 people took part in Total Film’s “scariest movie villain” poll.
* The United States’ Supreme Court didn’t put its finger on the scale this time around.
† Late 2003 releases are obviously included.
“George W. Bush Is Year’s Scariest Movie Villain” notes
Matt Mueller’s George W. Bush quote via The Register.
See also: Michael Moore and John Sayles quotes against the Iraq War, while Oliver Stone excoriates Hollywood warmongering.
George W. Bush Fahrenheit 9/11 image: Lionsgate Films | IFC Films.
“George W. Bush Is Year’s Scariest Movie Villain” last updated in March 2023.