Just about every film features a struggle between heroes and villains. In the usual endings, Good triumphs over Evil, peace is brought across the lands, and the characters live happily ever afters.
Even when the lines are blurred, we tend to go for the lesser evils. But while most movies convince you to cheer for the heroes (or those with the potential to be), there are those that offer a darker alternative.
Popular movies where the bad guy wins
Sometimes movies throw their audience for a loop by having the bad guys come out on top. They get away with their crimes or live to fight another day.
From conmen and thieves to egotistical rulers and serial killers, below are some of the most popular movies where the bad guy wins.
Spoiler Alert! It was necessary to reveal the endings to explain how the bad guys win in the movies below.
1. Saw
Two men wake up locked inside a bathroom with a corpse between them. Clues scattered around the world reveal that they’ve been caught by the Jigsaw Killer—a serial killer who plays with his victims by forcing them to participate in his murderous games.
Forced to kill or be killed, they desperately look for ways to escape. In the end, the only one who wins the games is the killer, who is revealed to have been inside the room the whole time.
2. Watchmen
As anti-vigilante sentiments spread throughout the Cold War, dozens of superheroes are forced to retire. One of them is murdered, and his former mates deduce that someone’s been going around killing former supes.
They ultimately discover the culprit is one of their own, orchestrating a plot that he believes will bring world peace. Unfortunately, they find out too late and are unable to prevent the massive death toll around the world.
3. The Silence Of The Lambs
A serial killer named Buffalo Bill is terrorizing the populace, having already murdered and skinned multiple women. The FBI is at the end of its rope and turns to another serial killer in hopes of gaining any insight.
While Hannibal Lecter does prove useful to the case, he also gains a hold on the agent assigned to him. And while they put a stop to Buffalo Bill, Lecter kills his guards and disappears.
4. Funny Games
A wealthy family arrives at their vacation house only to be disturbed by two strangers. The family is held hostage and forced to play the strangers’ sadistic games.
The movie teases the audience with multiple scenarios of the family nearly escaping but is always caught at the last second. Finally, the strangers grow bored and kill the family before looking for their next victims.
5. The Wicker Man
A devout Christian detective travels to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young woman. There he finds evidence that the girl is to be sacrificed to the islanders’ pagan gods for a bountiful harvest.
He soon learns that the girl was never the sacrifice. Instead, the islanders lock him up in a wicker man, set it on fire, and dance around his pyre.
6. The Empire Strikes Back
Luke and his crew are separated following the Empire’s attack on the Rebel base on Hoth. After narrowly escaping, they converge on Lando Calrissian’s floating haven, Cloud City where they are captured.
Han is frozen in carbonite and given to bounty hunter Boba Fett. Calrissian loses his city. Luke has his hand severed and learns the truth about his father. While Luke and company (minus Han) eventually escape, there’s no doubt that Darth Vader won this one.
7. Valkyrie
A cabal of German officers plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and establish themselves as the new rulers of the country. As the new leaders, they would make peace with the Allies and negotiate favorable terms.
The plot comes close to success, but the Fuhrer survives the initial bombing. The masterminds are then rounded up and executed.
8. Avengers: Infinity War
This is perhaps one of the darkest movies currently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It opens up with Thanos terrorizing a spaceship full of people who’ve only just survived their realm being destroyed.
Then he turns his focus on Earth, where the broken-up Avengers struggle to defend the planet. In the end, Thanos gets hold of all the infinity stones and disintegrates half of life across the universe.
9. Se7en
Two detectives investigate a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as a motif for his murders. But the killer, John Doe, unexpectedly turns himself in, covered in the blood of one of his victims.
Doe leads them to the location of his last two victims where he goads one of the detectives into killing him. While the villain did die, the events never left his control, even to the last seconds of the film.
10. The Dark Knight
This film pretty much revolves around the Joker cheerfully antagonizing Batman through a series of showdowns across Gotham city. In the end, he is apprehended but not before doing irrevocable damage.
First, he terrorizes the populace then converts Harvey Dent, the city’s most brilliant district attorney into a villain who goes on a killing spree. To protect Dent’s “White Knight” reputation, Batman takes on the blame for his crimes and is called a murderer.
11. Rosemary’s Baby
Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband have just recently moved into an apartment building with a dark past. She soon comes to suspect her nosy neighbors are part of a satanic cult.
She gets pregnant and safely gives birth only to discover she’s delivered a child of Satan—a result of her husband’s deal with their neighbors. So not only did her husband sell her out, but the cult has also obtained the antichrist.
12. The Usual Suspects
Verbal Kint, a criminal with cerebral palsy, is the only survivor of a robbery gone awry. The police interrogate him to piece together events and learn of the crime lord, Keyser Söze, behind everything that has happened.
Believing they’ve already gotten everything they can from Kint, they allow him to post bail and leave. As he steps out of the precinct, he loses the limp he’s been faking all the time. Moments later, a fax arrives at the police station, revealing that Kint is Söze all along.
13. The Guest
Spencer and Laura Peterson are visited by David Collins, who claims to have been their dead son’s best friend in the army. He stays and grows close to the family, especially their son, Luke.
But David is also hiding a terrible secret. When his cover is blown, he kills Spencer and Laura, along with the people pursuing him. After killing so many people, he’s able to disguise himself and quietly escape to safety.
14. Alien: Covenant
The spaceship Covenant and its crew discover a habitable planet that is too good to be true. Further investigation leads them to discover the android David, who is physically identical to their own android, Walter.
In the final moments of the film, David assumes Walter’s identity and puts the crew on stasis, planning to use them to breed a new type of alien.
15. Arlington Road
A man begins suspecting that his neighbors are hiding a dark secret. As his suspicions grow, people begin viewing him as unstable from the recent death of his wife.
When he does discover that his neighbors are planning to blow up a government building, he rushes in to prevent the disaster. He realizes too late that they used him to get the bomb inside. It explodes, and the real terrorists are able to get away without any suspicion.
Victory for the Baddies
Hollywood has made the “good guys always win” endings a staple. But everyone knows that real life is far from what the big screens portray.
Some writers and directors aren’t afraid to portray the dirty bits of reality in the movies they create. While their movies may not sit well with you, you can still appreciate their brilliance simply because you know the world isn’t a perfect place. They’re reminders that life doesn’t always go the way you want it to.
Plus, it’s not always bad to root for the bad guys now and then. With so many films choosing to go for happy endings, it’s both refreshing and satisfying to see the good guys failing sometimes.
What’s your favorite movie where the bad guy wins? Share it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Big Baddies: The 30 Best Villains On Screen and Paper
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- Dark Fairy Tales: The Disturbing Stories Behind Your Childhood Favorites
- 40 Most Hated Characters on Screen and Paper
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
