10 Best Movie Villains of All Time Ranked

Sometimes movie villains have questionable relationships with their mothers, and Norman Bates (based loosely on Ed Gein) from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is one such villain. Afflicted with dissociative identity disorder, Bates channels his mother’s rage, and this rage manifests in the form of violence.

The most startling thing about Norman Bates, though, is his willingness to put up a front of normalcy when he’s brought in by the authorities. At this point, we already know what he’s capable of, but his willingness to act like he won’t even hurt a fly is truly unsettling, given what we already know.