Not all villains are what they seem! We're diving into a list of cinematic baddies who initially appeared to be good guys, blurring the lines between hero and villain. Get ready for some mind-blowing plot twists that will make you question everything you thought you knew about these characters!
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The greatest trick the devil ever pulled
00:03was convincing the world he didn't exist.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're
00:09counting down our picks for cinematic villains
00:11who initially seem like good guys.
00:14This list will only focus on live-action characters
00:17rather than animated.
00:18Fair warning, there are spoilers ahead.
00:21It's time to let go.
00:23I want you to go home.
00:26Number 10, Leonard Shelby, Memento.
00:28In Christopher Nolan's mind-bending neo-noir,
00:31Leonard doesn't fit the typical villain mold
00:34because he doesn't even realize he's the villain.
00:36I should kill you.
00:38Quit it, Lenny, come on.
00:39You're not a killer.
00:41That's why you're so good at it.
00:42Suffering from short-term memory loss,
00:44Leonard embarks on a quest for vengeance
00:47against the man who killed his wife.
00:48However, as the story unfolds in reverse,
00:51we uncover a devastating truth.
00:53Leonard has been manipulating himself,
00:55deliberately erasing his memory of his own crimes
00:58to sustain his purpose.
01:00The torment and pain and anguish tearing her up inside,
01:04the insulin.
01:07That's Sammy, not me.
01:09I told you about Sammy.
01:10Yeah, right, like you tell yourself over and over again.
01:13His actions, driven by grief and denial,
01:15blur the line between victim and perpetrator,
01:18making him his own antagonist.
01:20Leonard's tragic flaw isn't malice,
01:22so much as his inability or refusal
01:25to face the truth about himself.
01:27We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are.
01:32I'm no different.
01:33Number nine, Max Lawrence, The Lost Boys.
01:36The boss and boyfriend of protagonist Michael's mother,
01:39Max initially appears to be an affable man
01:42trying to win over a single mom and her quirky kids.
01:45Well, you're the man of the house,
01:47and I'm not coming in until you invite me.
01:50You're invited.
01:52Thanks very much.
01:53As the local video store owner,
01:55he's polite, charming, and even a little awkward,
01:58partly the type you'd peg as a villain.
02:00But Max's true identity is revealed in a shocking twist.
02:04David and my boys misbehaved.
02:08I told you, boys need a mother.
02:10Max, what are you talking about?
02:12He's the head of the mysterious vampiric cult in town,
02:15and his plan to turn the family into bloodsuckers
02:18was hidden behind his genial demeanor all along.
02:21More unsettling yet, Max's calm and composed behavior
02:25stands in stark contrast to the wild and rebellious vibe
02:28of his vampire underlings.
02:30Great, the bloodsucking Brady Bunch.
02:34I still want you, Lucy.
02:38I haven't changed my mind about that.
02:39Number eight, Captain Dudley Smith, L.A. Confidential.
02:43As the leader of the LAPD,
02:44Captain Smith exudes authority, professionalism,
02:47and a fatherly concern for his officers.
02:50Would you be willing to plant corroborative evidence
02:52on a suspect you knew to be guilty
02:53in order to ensure an indictment?
02:55Dudley, we've been over this.
02:56Yes or no, Edmund?
02:58No.
02:59His calm demeanor and apparent dedication to law and order
03:02make him seem like a paragon of leadership
03:04in a corrupt system.
03:05But as the story unravels,
03:07so does Dudley's carefully crafted image.
03:10So, uh, what does Exley make of all this?
03:13No, I haven't told him yet.
03:14I just came straight from the record store.
03:16Beneath the facade lies a ruthless criminal
03:19pulling the strings of the city's criminal underworld.
03:21His betrayal is especially startling
03:24because he's someone the protagonist,
03:26not to mention the audience, trusted.
03:28Are you gonna shoot me or arrest me?
03:33Dudley's ability to mask his villainy
03:35behind a polished and composed exterior
03:37makes him a chilling antagonist.
03:40Number seven, Charlie Meadows, Barton Fink.
03:42Neighbor, I'd feel better about the damned inconvenience
03:46to let me buy you a drink.
03:48When a character is portrayed
03:49by human teddy bear John Goodman,
03:51you really don't expect him to go bad.
03:53But Goodman certainly plays against type
03:55in this 1991 black comedy.
03:58Fire, theft, and casualty are not things
04:00that only happen to other people.
04:01That's what I tell them.
04:02Writing doesn't work out, you may wanna look into it.
04:05Providing for a basic human need, a fella could do worse.
04:07Meadows starts off as a friendly,
04:09talkative insurance salesman
04:11who befriends the titular screenwriter.
04:13With his jovial personality,
04:15Charlie appears to be a comforting, down-to-earth neighbor.
04:18As such, his true identity as the menacing serial killer,
04:21Carl Madman Munt, turns the story on its head.
04:25I'll show you the life of the mind!
04:27I will show you the life of the mind!
04:30Meadows' ability to switch between
04:31a warm, unassuming companion
04:33and a terrifyingly violent killer
04:35makes him a baddie who's as deceptive as he is memorable.
04:39Number six, Neighborhood Watch Alliance, Hot Fuzz.
04:42You're what?
04:43A slasher of prices.
04:47Ha ha ha, just kidding!
04:49In the idyllic village of Sanford,
04:51the Neighborhood Watch Alliance is a group of cheerful
04:53and community-minded citizens
04:55dedicated to keeping the town picture-perfect.
04:57On the surface, they come off as harmless do-gooders,
05:00organizing local events and upholding civic pride.
05:03Would I trust you had a pleasant trip, fascist?
05:06I beg your pardon?
05:07System of government characterized
05:09by extreme dictatorship, several across.
05:12However, beneath their friendly front
05:14lies a dark truth.
05:16They are cold-blooded murderers
05:18willing to kill anyone who threatens their idea
05:20of the greater good.
05:21The greatest good.
05:23How can this be for the greater good?
05:24The greatest good.
05:26From sabotaging rival businesses
05:28to outright assassinations,
05:30the NWA's methods are as shocking as they are extreme.
05:34Their chipper attitudes and polite personas
05:36make their sinister actions all the more jarring,
05:39creating a unique band of villains
05:41who initially seem anything but threatening.
05:44Fascist!
05:50Number five, Mark Hoffman, Saw IV.
05:54Are you the head detective?
05:56If so, you are probably the last man standing.
06:00The Saw saga is full of hill turns,
06:03but we usually go into these twists
06:05knowing that Jigsaw's victims-turned-apprentices
06:08were selected for their dark past.
06:10Mark Hoffman was the most shocking and consequential 180.
06:14How'd you get in here?
06:15We cut the door down.
06:16Why?
06:17Because somebody heard an explosion and called us.
06:20The callous detective leads Saw IV
06:22as law enforcement tries to identify a successor
06:25to the late John Kramer.
06:27A colleague rushes to rescue the kidnapped Hoffman,
06:30only to discover that he orchestrated the horrific game.
06:34Game over.
06:38It turns out that Jigsaw previously captured Hoffman
06:41for framing him for his own vigilante killing.
06:44Though blackmailed into becoming the next Jigsaw,
06:47he proved to be even more sadistic than Kramer.
06:50He didn't deserve a chance.
06:51He was an animal.
06:52Everybody deserves a chance.
06:53You didn't see the blood.
06:55The original apprentice affirms
06:57that those seemingly dedicated to ethical justice
06:59in this morally twisted series can be its worst monsters.
07:03Number four, Roger Verbal Kent, The Usual Suspects.
07:07This timid, talkative con man
07:09becomes the key witness in a police investigation
07:11into a brutal crime spree.
07:13It was all the cop's fault.
07:15You don't put guys like that into a room together.
07:18Who knows what can happen?
07:20With his mild manner, demeanor, and physical disability,
07:23Verbal appears innocent and even pitiable
07:25as he recounts a harrowing tale
07:27involving the elusive criminal mastermind, Kaiser Soze.
07:30A spook story that criminals tell their kids at night.
07:34Rat on your pop and Kaiser Soze will get you.
07:38No one ever really believes.
07:40Do you believe in him, Verbal?
07:41But at the film's very end,
07:44we learn that Verbal is none other than Soze himself
07:47and has masterfully manipulated both the police
07:50and the audience with his fabricated story.
07:52His unassuming nature and ability to weaponize perception,
07:55hiding his true identity in plain sight until the very end
07:58makes him an unforgettable villain.
08:01The greatest trick the devil ever pulled
08:03was convincing the world he didn't exist.
08:08And like that, he's gone.
08:13Number three, Aaron Stampler, Primal Fear.
08:16Gregory Hoblet's thriller introduces us to Aaron,
08:19a shy, stuttering altar boy
08:21accused of murdering an archbishop.
08:23I was the third person?
08:24Yes, sir.
08:25Did you tell the police this?
08:26Yes, yes I did, but they didn't believe me.
08:30Amidst the intense legal drama,
08:31Aaron suddenly transforms under pressure,
08:34revealing a violent alter ego named Roy.
08:37What the hell you want from me now?
08:38Quit your crying,
08:39I can't understand a goddamn word you're saying.
08:42You little sissy, you make me sick.
08:44At first, this shift leads others to believe Aaron
08:46is a tragic victim of dissociative identity disorder,
08:50but the truth is quite the opposite.
08:52Aaron is the Fabrication,
08:54a carefully crafted persona designed by Roy,
08:56the true perpetrator to bamboozle the court
08:59and evade justice.
09:01There never was a Roy.
09:03Jesus Christ, Marty, if that's what you think,
09:06I am disappointed in you, I don't mind telling you.
09:11There never was an Aaron, counselor.
09:16It's no surprise that Edward Norton's portrayal
09:19of this duplicitous character earned him widespread acclaim
09:23and an Academy Award nomination.
09:25Number two, Elijah Price, Unbreakable.
09:28Played by the legendary Samuel L. Jackson,
09:31Elijah Price is a soft-spoken comic book enthusiast
09:35with a rare condition that makes his bones incredibly fragile.
09:38If there is someone like me in the world
09:41and I am at one end of the spectrum,
09:43couldn't there be someone else
09:45the opposite of me at the other end?
09:47His intellect, refined demeanor, and passion for heroism
09:50make him feel like an empathetic, if tragic, figure.
09:53But the audience soon learns Elijah's dark secret.
09:56He orchestrated countless deadly disasters
09:59in a ruthless quest to find his quote-unquote opposite.
10:02You know what the scariest thing is?
10:09To not know your place in this world.
10:10Upon his reveal, he adopts the sinister moniker Mr. Glass.
10:14Although his calm, thoughtful manner
10:16sharply contrasts with his violent actions,
10:19you could argue that Glass' tragic backstory
10:21still earns him some sympathy.
10:23In a comic, you know how you can tell
10:25who the arch-villain's going to be?
10:28He's the exact opposite of the hero.
10:31Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
10:34and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
10:37You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
10:41If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
10:44and switch on notifications.
10:47Number 1. Norman Bates, Psycho
10:51She just goes a little mad sometimes.
10:55We all go a little mad sometimes.
11:00He's the character that cemented this trope into cinematic history.
11:04Portrayed by Anthony Perkins,
11:06Bates presents as an awkward reserve motel owner,
11:09seemingly naive and deeply devoted to his domineering mother.
11:13Mother! Oh, God! Mother!
11:15Blood! Blood!
11:17His gentle, almost pitiable nature
11:20raises no suspicions about what's to come.
11:23The movie's shocking finale reveals that Bates himself is the killer,
11:27having assumed his mother's identity in a frightening turn of events.
11:30Well, if the woman up there is Mrs. Bates,
11:34who's that woman buried out in Green Lawn Cemetery?
11:38Bates's innocent demeanor and tragic backstory
11:41make him both a sympathetic figure
11:43and one of film's most unsettling antagonists.
11:45This approach to on-screen villainy redefined the horror genre.
11:50Which of these antagonists do you feel is most sympathetic?
11:52Let us know in the comments down below.
11:55I won't do that.
11:58You can't pick me.
12:03Kill her.