Top 10 Worst CGI Movie Villains (Live-Action)

Top 10 Worst CGI Villains in Live-Action Movies

The heroes couldn’t protect our eyes from these horrible looking villains. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Worst CGI Villains in Live-Action Movies.



For this list, we're looking at the worst-looking computer-generated antagonists in film. We’ll only be picking CGI villains who were unintentionally bad, so purposely cheesy effects like the abominations featured in “Sharknado” will not make the list.

#10: Incubus

“Suicide Squad” (2016)



In ancient times, the powerful being known as Incubus was treated like a god. But we had trouble seeing why people followed him when he arrived in the present day. While Incubus’ armor and headdress have a unique design, it’s hard to appreciate them once you see his face. It looks like he put on a mannequin mask on before lighting it on fire. Incubus’ wooden face made it hard for him to show complex emotions. Although considering that Incubus barely had any lines or personality, he didn’t really need that much range. He mostly stomped around with an angry expression. If we woke up with a face like his, we’d be angry too.

#9: The Lizard

“The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012)



There are some comic book characters who don’t translate well to live-action. The Lizard made a strong case and he should’ve stayed on the page during “The Amazing Spider-Man.” After Dr. Curtis Connors injects himself with a special serum, he becomes a hideous man/reptilian hybrid and his humanoid face looks so wrong. It could be forgiven if the rest of the Lizard’s body had a cool design. But with the exception of his tail, his green and scaly body isn’t that interesting to look at. The combination of a bland body with an unsettling face resulted in Spidey’s ugliest live-action villain yet.

#8: Proxima Midnight

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)



Since “Avengers: Infinity War” is filled to the brim with excellent CGI, underwhelming special effects like Proxima Midnight stick out like a sore bluish-tinted thumb. Proxima’s body and facial features are notably smoother than the rest of her evil family. The lack of facial depth made her feel less authentic when compared to other CGI creations. While Proxima’s “brothers” look like they could exist in the real world, she looks like she stepped out of a “World of Warcraft” cinematic. With a little more detail, Proxima could have been something truly special. Unfortunately, her lackluster appearance made her one of the worst effects in an excellent Marvel film.

#7: The Xenos

“Alone in the Dark” (2005)



Throughout “Alone in the Dark,” the vicious Xenomorphs – or Xenos for short – attack from the shadows and can turn invisible. You may think they're doing this to be scary. In reality, director Uwe Boll probably didn't want us to see how terrible the special effects were. Whenever we glimpsed the deadly Xenos in the light, they looked laughably bad. These CGI creations don’t blend in well with the sets and backgrounds. This makes it hard to believe the human characters are in real danger. The effects used to render the Xenos are also so dated that you'd be forgiven for thinking this movie was released in the ‘90s. Unfortunately, Boll unleashed these pixelated abominations upon unsuspecting audiences in 2005.

#6: David Banner & His Gamma Dogs

“Hulk” (2003)



While Hulk is having a quiet moment, he's attacked by a trio of the ugliest dogs ever committed to film. Their large sizes and misshapen bodies made them into giant eyesores every second they were on the screen. Unfortunately, the CGI wasn’t much better when the twisted David Banner used his powers. David's abilities allowed his body to take on the properties of whatever element he absorbed. Although that sounds cool in concept, the execution left much to be desired. David transforms into a blurry electric creature and a ridiculously fake pile of rocks before turning into a lame giant bubble. Between the abysmal absorbing man effects and hideous dogs, we can see why Marvel rebooted the Hulk franchise only five years later.

#5: Scrappy-Doo

“Scooby-Doo” (2002)



At the climax of 2002’s “Scooby-Doo,” the obnoxious Scrappy-Doo absorbs the souls of dozens of innocents to become a giant creature. And before you ask, no we're not making any of that up. The puppy actually steals souls. In any case, once Scrappy-Doo reaches his final form, he assaults the heroes and our eyes. He has a bulging stomach, scaly tail, jagged rows of teeth, and an oddly colored coat of fur. Scrappy's new form is held together by special effects that look like they were rushed together in an afternoon. We never thought we’d say this, but can we have the original Scrappy-Doo back?

#4: Parallax

“Green Lantern” (2011)



Believe it or not, Ryan Reynolds’ infamous green suit wasn't the worst special effect in “Green Lantern.” That dishonor goes to the villain, Parallax. Parallax is basically the embodiment of fear in the “Green Lantern” universe. With a reputation like that, the filmmakers could’ve created a horrifying original creature. They could’ve also taken comic inspiration and made him into a terrifying alien bug hybrid. But the filmmakers chose to make Parallax into a giant space cloud with a face. To say this design was a disappointment would be an understatement. It’s so lazy and uninspired that it’s hard to come up with ways to insult it. The intimidating Parallax deserved so much better than the formless cloud he became.

#3: Doomsday

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)



The monstrous Doomsday was created from a combination of Kryptonian DNA, Lex Luthor’s blood, and terrible CGI. Doomsday's dull skin color made it extremely difficult for it to stand out against the darker backgrounds of the film. When it came into the light, we were surprised by how generic it looked. You could easily insert Doomsday into any 21st century alien movie without missing a beat. And while Doomsday is usually portrayed as a mindless monster, its lack of any dialogue or personality here made him a boring antagonist. Although there are plenty of things we’d like to change about “Batman v Superman,” Doomsday is definitely at the top of the list.

#2: Steppenwolf

“Justice League” (2017)



Steppenwolf ticks off all the usual boxes for a bad CGI antagonist. He has a boring, gray color scheme, his costume is bland, and his motivations are generic. To top it all off, looking into his face is like diving into the uncanny valley. What makes Steppenwolf’s lackluster design particularly bad is the amount of money behind him. “Justice League” had a production budget of $300 million and this was the best they could do for their main villain? Films like “Thor: Ragnarok” were able to produce convincing CGI creations in the same year with nearly half that budget. Since the creators clearly weren’t lacking resources to make a better-looking villain, Steppenwolf’s poor design probably came from a lack of imagination.





Before we look away from our top pick, here are some dishonorable mentions.



Ares

“Wonder Woman” (2017)





Vortigern

“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017)





Azog the Defiler

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013)





The Anaconda

“Anaconda: The Offspring” (2008)

#1: The Scorpion King

“The Mummy Returns” (2001)



After making a pact with the god Anubis, the warrior Mathayus was resurrected as the CGI abomination known as the Scorpion King. His body, made up of a human torso and scorpion legs, would be nightmare fuel if it didn’t look so fake. Scorpion King’s body is rubbery while lacking texture. Although the creature’s face was modeled after the Rock, the final result looks like an artist was given ten minutes to draw the actor’s face from memory. While he’s supposed to be the big bad of the movie, it’s impossible to take the Scorpion King seriously when it never feels like he’s actually there. The movie would’ve been better off putting the Rock in an actual scorpion costume than using this abysmal CGI creation.