Movies often follow a predictable formula where the hero saves the day, and the villain gets their comeuppance. However, some films choose to break this mold by allowing the villain to emerge victorious in the end. Here are 23 such movies.
Nightcrawler
“His character is called a villain protagonist, so yes, still technically a villain.”
“He has no internal struggles or good intentions; he benefits society in no way.”
“Jake is my favorite actor, and he kills it in his role; he is so freaking unnerving the entire time.”
No Country for Old Men
“I avoided films with Javier Braden for years after that movie; such a terrifying villain!”
“The Counselor, The Road, and No Country For Old Men are all Cormac McCarthy, and his stories never end well for the lead characters.”
A Clockwork Orange
“Definitely with A Clockwork Orange, if you consider Alex the bad guy after his forced redemption.”
“Agree 100%. A Clockwork Orange) is so hard to watch for this reason, but it’s a great movie.”
The Dark Knight
“Joker wins. His goal is to prove that everyone is as twisted as he is when push comes to shove, and he does manage to drive Harvey Dent insane.”
“Where Joker won really was in turning Harvey into a monster, who would hold Gordon’s son hostage, forcing Batman to break his one rule and then cover it up.”
Life
“That ending really unnerved me; the alien looked so gross.”
“Came to say this. That ending made my stomach flip upside down.”
“Life uh…finds a way.”
Se7en
“It’s a great movie for real, but I just hate the end of it; it makes me angry every time that Kevin Spacey’s villain character plays them all.”
“It’s a great, great film but so hard to watch. And it stuck with me for so long after.”
The Silence Of The Lambs
“Buffalo Bill is a villain, and Clarice defeats him, but Dr. Lecter is also a villain, and he escapes justice. We are not supposed to see him as some hero.”
“At the end, when he says, ‘I’m an old friend for dinner. Bye,’ and Clarice just says, ‘Dr. Lecter….Dr. Lecter’.”
Gone Baby Gone
“Everybody loses at the end. Especially that poor baby. That ending made me so angry.”
“That was a shock, so yeah, definitely not a ‘happily ever after’ ending. Hard to watch but excellent story-telling.”
“The ending to Gone Baby Gone: I was so annoyed!”
Funny Games
“I would argue that the villain is the audience, and therefore, the villain does lose because you were robbed of what you wanted. I love that movie.”
“When they just grab the steak knife from her and throw it in the lake like it’s nothing. The whole movie, I waited for that steak knife to pay off, and then it was just gone.”
The Thing
“You see a wolf running at the end of the movie from where the two men sat. The Thing won.”
“There are only two characters left by the end. In all scenarios, the Thing survives, while the human freezes to death.”
Fallen
“It’s my favorite edited-for-TV dub when John Goodman’s character realizes they’re both going to die in the woods.”
“Came here to say this! It’s the most distinctive ‘evil triumphs over good’ movie I’ve ever seen.”
Oldboy
“I saw the original when I was a lot younger, and it messed with my head for months and months.”
“Oldboy, the original, to be sure!”
The Mist
“The Mist man…. now that I’m a father, it hits so hard.”
“I don’t even have kids & the end destroyed me!”
Fight Club
“Tyler is only NOT a villain if you enjoy seeing civilization collapse. If you don’t, you’ll have to watch the censored Chinese version.”
“I prefer the more realistic actual ending (not Edward Norton turning himself into the police, while no buildings collapse.”
Whiplash
“Because the protagonist does exactly what Fletcher wants (puts up with Fletcher’s abuse and destroys his life for the sake of his craft).”
“Villain most definitely did win. Fletcher pushes musicians to their limits so they destroy their personal lives to achieve greatness. At the end, Andrew proves this by playing a masterful performance.”
Arlington Road
“Absolutely. Scrolled WAY too far down to see this.”
“This is the one I was going to post. Total gut punch at the end!”
“Good call. Very underrated.”
Usual Suspects
“This is the answer! I came here to find this one.”
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 neo-noir mystery film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey.
Megamind
“I’m surprised that I had to scroll down this far to find this answer – it was the first movie I thought of.”
Megamind is a 2010 American computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation.
Brightburn
“The most obvious one – an evil superman in a world without powers. That world is toast.”
“There was going to be a sequel, it had random other kids in it, and they’d have different horrific powers.”
Sleep Tight
“It really is one of the most downbeat, disturbing endings I’ve ever seen.”
“This one is so, so icky and tense. The actor who plays the antagonist, Luis Tosar, is ridiculously versatile.”
Watchmen
“I loved the extended version but wished they had gone with the comic book ending.”
Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero thriller film based on the 1986–1987 DC Comics series of the same name. It was a commercial success, receiving critical acclaim, both in the comics and mainstream press.
Gone Girl
“Gone Girl is a dual protagonist movie about an imperfect person who cheated on his partner in a failing marriage and a murderous psychopath who is bringing a child into the world to act as her hostage. There is no ambiguity as to who the villain is.”
“Honesty, if Rosamund Pike was that obsessed with me, I would just let it happen.”
Requiem For A Dream
“In the sense that the villain here is life on drugs, which sucks.”
“Although I don’t think you can consider the characters to be heroes, they certainly aren’t villains either. The villain is addiction.”
MORE FROM LOVED BY CURLS
A movie may be a cinematic masterpiece, but there’s a chance it may get overlooked if the title doesn’t immediately capture the audience.
24 INCREDIBLE MOVIES THAT WERE ALMOST RUINED BY THEIR AWFUL TITLES
25 ACTORS WHO CRUSHED A ROLE SO HARD THAT NOBODY ELSE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE UP TO IT
A few select actors have taken on a role so masterfully that it has become synonymous with their name.
25 ACTORS WHO CRUSHED A ROLE SO HARD THAT NOBODY ELSE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE UP TO IT
40 CRITICALLY PANNED MOVIES THAT WE ACTUALLY LOVED
As movie lovers, we often turn to reviews and critics to help guide our choices in selecting the next film to watch, but they aren’t always right. Someone recently asked, “what is a movie that critics hated but you actually loved,” and people were quick to respond.
40 CRITICALLY PANNED MOVIES THAT WE ACTUALLY LOVED
15 MOVIES FEATURING FEMALE CHARACTERS THAT WERE CLEARLY WRITTEN BY MEN
A recent internet poll asked, “what movie featuring female characters was clearly made without a single woman being involved?”
15 MOVIES FEATURING FEMALE CHARACTERS THAT WERE CLEARLY WRITTEN BY MEN
25 MODERN FILMS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CLASSICS
We all know the classic films of the 80s and 90s, but there are some modern films that have already proven themselves to be timeless works of art. These 25 films have captured the hearts and minds of audiences around the world with their innovative storytelling, stunning visuals, and unforgettable performances.
25 MODERN FILMS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CLASSICS
Source: Reddit
