5 Most Disturbing Dexter Villains, Ranked

Being a serial killer-themed crime drama, "Dexter" has considerably higher demands for enticing antagonists than your average crime show. After all, when your protagonist is already one of the worst serial killers out there, you really have to scrape the bottom of the metaphorical barrel to come up with villains who seem even more dangerous than Dexter Morgan already is.

Fortunately, Michael C. Hall's murderous character has plenty of horrible figures to tussle with over the course of the series (as well as its spin-offs "Dexter: New Blood," "Dexter: Original Sin," and "Dexter: Resurrection"). While some of his most tenacious opponents are quite understandably members of the police force, he also encounters numerous people with a true killer instinct, and often ends up putting them down. Dexter's adventures feature several characters who are truly the worst of the worst, but which of them are the absolute scariest and most unnerving? Let's take a look at the five most disturbing villains from Showtime's "Dexter."

"Dexter" Season 3 introduces us to George King (Jesse Borrego), whose modus operandi befits his serial killer name, the Skinner. King is an extremely ruthless and driven criminal who's after Fred "Freebo" Bowman (Mike Erwin) after the latter did him wrong. However, instead of going the more traditional "vengeful criminal" route of crime shows, he doesn't bother with grandstanding or waving guns at people. No, his preferred method of getting things done is to capture persons of interest and spend long periods of time slowly removing their skin with his trusty machete. 

George King is a former Nicaraguan Contra torturer who values respect and knife-themed atrocities above anything else. Granted, he's not a particularly long-serving antagonist, as he only appears in six episodes of "Dexter" Season 3. But his overt brutalities and the way he seems to genuinely enjoy them make for one extremely unnerving villain who's well worth a spot on this list.

The late, great Ray Stevenson was a wonderful recruit for "Dexter" Season 7 as Isaak "Volk" Sirko. A big shot of the Koshka Brotherhood, Isaak brings a very specific brand of villainy to the show. He carries himself like a distinguished businessman but can easily put down just about any opponent, should the need arise. Combine his physical and mental might with the vast resources at his disposal, and he's a truly fearsome character who shouldn't be underestimated if one wants to stay alive.

Isaak is on a personal mission of revenge, and he's only after Dexter because the serial killer is responsible for the death of his lover, fellow Koshka Brotherhood man Viktor Baskov. He doesn't personally hate Dexter, and is even capable of somewhat affable conversation with the protagonist. The two simply stand on different sides of the line in the sand that Dexter unwittingly drew when he killed Viktor.

It is, however, Isaak's professionalism and relative calmness that prevent him from scoring higher here. Though he is incredibly dangerous and powerful, he still has his full wits with him. As such, he's not quite as unpredictable and unhinged as some of the other men on this list — even though he would almost certainly beat any one of them in a one-on-one fight.

Jonny Lee Miller makes for an amazing antagonist in Dexter season 5. Miller has made a name for himself for playing characters who can be incredibly charming but have hidden dark depths, such as Sick Boy in "Trainspotting." Here, he taps into this ability with a vengeance. Jordan Chase presents himself as an incredibly affable and respected motivational speaker who's something of a celebrity in such circles. He's seemingly easy to like and comes across as extremely intelligent. In reality, however, he's all this — and something much, much worse.

Chase lives a secret life as a ringleader of terrifying serial killers known as the Barrel Girl Gang. This group of five friends has systematically abused and tortured women for years, which has resulted in 12 murders. Terrifyingly, the five have been at it since they were teenagers, and their cooperation throughout the years has made them a formidable group that poses a potential threat to whoever ventures too close to their periphery.

Chase is in full control of the other members of the gang. This makes him so scary that even other members of his group are unnerved by him, and for good reason. Granted, he may never physically participate in the killings himself, but he is the biggest monster in the Barrel Girl Gang all the same.

Christian Camargo's Brian Moser is the "Dexter" villain whose connection to the main character is by far the most personal. The first and arguably most memorable serial killer antagonist on the show, the Ice Truck Killer of "Dexter" torments Dexter Morgan both in visions and in person. His murders are as memorable as they come, and "Dexter" Season 1 uses them to communicate that somehow, there are even worse people than Dexter out there. The eventual revelation that Brian is Dexter's brother and a dark mirror of what the protagonist could have become with a different upbringing is more than enough to send shivers down our spines.

"Dexter" features many memorable and disturbing villains, and Brian is one of the two who belong in the conversation of television's all-time greats. In most other circumstances, Brian Moser would land at the number one spot with ease. Unfortunately for him, Dexter eventually encounters an even more monstrous villain.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top spot holder from our ranking of 12 best "Dexter" villains continues his reign here. There are many shows like "Dexter" out there, but only one Arthur Mitchell (John Lithgow). Both physically and in pure complexity, the Trinity Killer looms head and shoulders above most other villains that "Dexter" introduces. So much of this is because of the surprisingly soulful and simultaneously soulless performance by Lithgow, whose "3rd Rock From the Sun" comedy chops are nowhere to be seen in this all-timer of a bad guy.

Arthur Mitchell is a seemingly perfect family man and an influential community member, who's secretly a complete monster. He's locked in a kill cycle of an identical series of murders that he is psychologically forced to do over and over again. Yet he's no stone-faced beast. He can and very much does show emotion, and he's far from invulnerable — on the contrary, Arthur comes across as both extremely human and completely inhuman, which only serves to make him all the more terrifying.

Dexter Morgan comes to consider Arthur the most dangerous man he'd ever met, and the Trinity Killer does not disappoint this assessment, either. He's responsible for some of the most personal losses in Dexter's life, and every single minute he spends on the screen here leaves "Dexter" viewers no room for doubt about who the most unnerving Dexter antagonist is.