21 Movie Villain Reveals, Ranked From “Yeah, Of Course It Was You” To “I Did NOT See That Coming”
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WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW!
With the recent release of Scream VI, fans have been debating about the film's twists and turns, including the shocking third-act reveals, and the gruesome new heights in the franchise's brutality.
Paramount Pictures
Of course, the Scream films are known for their "whodunit" elements, keeping viewers on the edge of their seat with regards to who the killer is until they face the final curtain.
Paramount Pictures
So, with this in mind, I've decided to re-evaluate and rank the most notable cinematic villain reveals in movie history, from sly supervillains to dramatic bad guys to the Ghostfaces of Scream films past. Here we go:
21.Mr. Glass in Unbreakable (2000)
It’s not exactly the biggest surprise in the world that Samuel L. Jackson’s eccentric Elijah Price was exposed to be the villainous mastermind at the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s grounded superhero flick Unbreakable, given his shady behavior and encyclopedic knowledge of comic book dynamics. That said, the climactic turn revealing the monstrous extent behind the actions of “Mr. Glass” is a bit of a gut punch, and worked especially well upon its release in a time before Shyamalan became synonymous with “big twists.”
20.Ransom Drysdale in Knives Out (2019)
Let’s be honest, was anyone really that shocked when Chris Evans’s cynical smart-ass was revealed to be the true villain of Knives Out? Having latched onto the sympathetic female lead and not-so-subtly guided herself toward perpetual incrimination, the revelation of his murderous nature won’t blow your mind, but the intricacies of his crime make for a supremely fun reveal, and Evans’s natural charisma is strong enough that you might overlook several of the red flags on display.
19.The Domergue Gang in The Hateful Eight (2015)
One of the major draws behind The Hateful Eight is the element that someone is not who they say they are, leading to a cinematic guessing game as to which of our very suspicious lodge inhabitants have nefarious ulterior motives. Though many could have guessed at least one of the people at the lodge was in league with Daisy Domergue, fewer could have assumed it was almost all of the people at the lodge, including a hidden Channing Tatum (who was entirely absent from advertising materials) as Daisy's trigger-happy brother, Jody.
18.The Cult in The Invitation (2015)
Not to be confused with the better-than-expected modern Dracula update released in 2022, Karyn Kusama's The Invitation is one of the most tense and paranoid films in recent memory, as the audience is put in the shoes of the protagonist (Logan Marshall-Green), who is unexpectedly invited to a dinner party by his estranged ex-wife. Learning soon that she is a part of a controversial religious sect, the viewer must decide if there's something truly wrong behind the scenes of this get-together or if the man's perspective is tainted by his personal trauma. If you guessed the former, you're right, and while it could be easy to forgive yourself for thinking the film was setting you up for a bait-and-switch, the reveal of the dangerous nature of the cult (and the shocking climactic image that insinuates something even more chilling afoot) remains a truly powerful and devastating cinematic moment.
17.Roman Bridger in Scream 3 (2000)
At this point, it's safe to assume that any movie buff is at least at the top of the list of suspects in a Scream movie, but when Scream 3 set the next chapter of the franchise on a Stab sequel film set (and firmly in meta territory), it truly felt like anyone could have been revealed as Ghostface. Alas, the killer was exposed as Roman Bridger, the faux film's director, which isn't quite as shocking as the (admittedly far-fetched) reveal that he is Sidney Prescott's long-lost half-brother, once again leaving the series' mainstay to pay for the sins of her mother.
16.Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker in Scream 4 (2011)
This one gets partial credit for being genuinely surprising, as I definitely didn’t see both Rory Culkin’s Charlie and Emma Roberts’s Jill being the team behind the Woodsboro massacre in Scream’s fourth outing, even if their reasoning was flimsy. But the shock of the reveal and the genuinely unnerving “staging” sequence is ultimately undone by narrative course correction, as the film’s weak script eventually makes Jill’s devious plan moot when she’s easily foiled by the original gang of Sidney, Gale, and Dewey in a borderline Scooby Doo-esque fashion.
15.Will Benson in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Okay, this one is definitely one of my personal favorite villain reveals due to the absolute silliness of it all, which somehow makes it even better. Now, the reveal of the Will as Ben Willis's murderous co-conspirator isn't the most unexpected, as fans couldn't just buy that Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Ray Bronson would be out of the picture that quickly. But when the surprise twist is literally in your face the entire time ("Will... BEN'S SON!!!"), you can't help but appreciate the ridiculous nature of the "gotcha" moment.
14.Quentin Beck/Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
You don't need to be a die-hard Spider-Man fan to know that Mysterio was going to become the villain of Spider-Man: Far From Home, as the high-profile casting and the "noble hero" charade telegraphed that something was definitely wrong with this "multiversal crimefighter." That said, I think there was a dually surprising and satisfying aspect to the reveal of Mysterio's master plan, one which ultimately rewards viewers on subsequent watches and perfectly lays the foundation for the character's sociopathic meltdown later in the movie.
13.Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980)
It may be one of the most legendary cinematic villain reveals of all time, but the original Friday the 13th really skates on the shock factor of the reveal as there’s very little set-up or narrative deception to indicate Mrs. Voorhees's involvement in the murders throughout the film. Yet there’s no denying the staying power of this particular twist, which ultimately was given a nod in the now-iconic opening sequence of the first Scream movie.
12.The Neighbourhood Watch Alliance in Hot Fuzz (2007)
In this writer's opinion, Hot Fuzz is the undisputed masterpiece of Edgar Wright's "Cornetto Trilogy," as the action-horror-comedy hybrid rides high on its influences while offering sharp humor at every turn. But the film absolutely deserves some recognition for its fantastic subversion of audience expectations, as the flip from the sole, hooded killer to an entire town council of homicidal nosey neighbors with the thinnest excuses for their crimes was one of the more inspired twists in contemporary cinema.
11.Gabriel in Malignant (2021)
Malignant was one of the more divisive genre pictures released during the middle of the pandemic, and a lot of that discourse arose from its absurdly awesome "big twist." With the reveal that the villain of the movie was actually the main character's secretly conjoined twin living out of the rear side of her head, the only thing that could really top that turn would be an ultra-violent police station massacre in which the lead character walks around backwards and tears people apart, and thank goodness that the filmmakers knew what they had to do to deliver!
10.Captain Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential (1997)
One of the most gasp-worthy movie moments ever, the moment the previously upstanding Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) is revealed to be the villain in L.A. Confidential also works a shocking vibe shift for the character, whose manipulative and ruthless side comes out in rare form throughout the remainder of the film.
9.Holly and Alex Jones in Prisoners (2013)
Prisoners is a truly compelling mystery film, one in which you have to follow the morally tumultuous rollercoaster of drama between grieving parents, a determined detective, and a suspicious local outcast. While there are plenty of red herrings, and the film's prime suspect does indeed turn out to be partially at-fault, not many people might have guessed that the suspect's elderly mother is the brains behind the sordid operation, leading to a supremely tense third act that'll keep you glued to the screen.
8.Norman Bates in Psycho (1960)
With his boyish charm and good looks, audiences in 1960 would have no reason to suspect that Norman Bates was nothing more than an unlikely lackey for his murderous mother prior to the third act of Psycho. Little did they know they would be in for one of the biggest shocks in film history when Bates emerges in the basement, donning his mother's visage while wielding a large knife and revealing himself to be the film's mysterious killer after all. It's a twist strong enough to elevate the property to relevancy more than 60 years later.
7.Frank and The Mother in Barbarian (2022)
Barbarian solidified itself as the most unpredictable horror flick of 2023 last fall, and with its slew of unsettling twists, it's an honor that's justly deserved. After all, anyone who has seen it won't soon forget the gory introduction to "The Mother" and perhaps the even more stomach-churning introduction to her father, Frank, which in turn lays out a putrid picture of the horrific history of the house on Barbary Street. Barbarian also gets extra credit for slowly revealing the villainously selfish lengths that AJ (Justin Long) will go to ensure his survival in the film's third act.
6.Rose Armitage in Get Out (2017)
Get Out remains one of this writer's personal favorite in-theater experiences, with Jordan Peele's mind-melting cinematic nightmare having the audience in the palm of his hand from start to finish. But the reaction to the reveal that Rose, the film's then-de-facto female lead, was in on the evil conspiracy perhaps elicited the second-biggest reaction from the crowd, with so many caught off-guard by the twist that a wave of "HOLY S**T" loudly erupted from the front to the back of the theater.
5.Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman from Scream (2022)
"It's a bummer, I know. But it's what's best for the movie." These words cut like a knife during the third act of 2022's Scream "requel," as Sam Carpenter's charming and dedicated boyfriend, Richie, turned out to be one of the fiendish killers behind the Ghostface mask next to Amber, who exposed her role in a more bombastic (but nearly equally surprising) way earlier in the film. While many had Amber at the top of their suspect lists, others simply didn't want Richie to turn out the same way as Billy Loomis did in the role of the psychotic lover, but alas, that's the way the cookie crumbles in this slasher franchise.
4.Billy Loomis and Stu Macher from Scream (1996)
Speaking of Scream, the original film was certainly operating on levels far above other "scary movies" from the get-go, but the movie really went into unforgettable territory with the remarkable reveal of Stu and Billy as the first pair of Ghostface killers. Outside of the fact that dual killers were somewhat of an untapped novelty in the genre at the time, given slashers so often relied on hulking solo acts for so long, the reveals themselves were so incredibly inspired, from Billy faking his mortal wounds to Stu revealing himself after desperately pleading for his own survival. It's a testament to Wes Craven's skill as a filmmaker that he was able to pull it off without telegraphing the turns too early, despite laying out clues to their unusually demented behavior in prior scenes.
3.The Grandmother from Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
For my money, this is an all-timer of a villain reveal that results in a third act brimming with some of the most potent nightmare fuel put to film. Until this point, Paranormal Activity 3 is a really fun "found footage" flick that evokes the feeling of being in an immersive haunted attraction while turning the limitations of the format into strengths that can be exploited for maximum scares. But when the film's climax reveals that the sweet grandmother introduced earlier in the film has orchestrated the events of the flick alongside a coven of powerful witches, the film immediately puts you in the middle of the unsettling scenario, making your heart race until the truly dark conclusion of the film takes shape.
2.Mickey Altieri and Nancy Loomis in Scream 2 (1997)
I know many people will live and die by the original Scream having the best and most unpredictable Ghostface reveals of all-time, but I'll stand by the opinion that it is outdone, albeit by a hair, in Scream 2, if not for the stellar twist regarding "Debbie Salt," a Gale Weathers superfan who is eventually unmasked as Billy Loomis's mother, Nancy. Add in the bait-and-switch reveal of Mickey, the sociopathic other side of the Randy Meeks coin, who convinces Sidney that her boyfriend is a killer before executing him in cold blood, Scream 2's reveal packs a bigger and more effective punch than simply "movies made them do it."
1.John Kramer/Jigsaw in Saw (2004)
Saw may have cemented James Wan as the next master of the horror genre, but it certainly helped that the film featured a villain reveal so good it essentially defined an entire franchise that has been ongoing for nearly 20 years. I have never quite seen an audience lose their cool to the degree they had when the first Saw hit theaters and the "corpse" of the man on the floor, revealed to be the villainous Jigsaw, stands up following the film's shocking final act. Slamming the door on his victim and proclaiming "game over," a horror icon was made instantaneously, and audiences were put to the test of telling their friends to see this gruesome movie without spoiling the shocking ending themselves.
