A hero is only as good as their villain and a great villain can make or break a movie. From elusive clues to startling plot twists, a proper villain reveal can be a powerful moment in a film. They can remove their mask and finally unveil their true identity. They can go through the entire film as a friend to the hero, only to turn heel and become their foe. When done well, the reveal of a villain can be thrilling for moviegoers.
From classic movies to modern offerings, from indie thrillers to superhero blockbusters, and across genres from animation to horror, these villains and their reveals are now part of the pop culture lexicon, and they continue to shock audiences to this day. In this list, let’s revisit some of the unforgettable moments in movie history when villains came forward and surprised audiences everywhere.
10 Syndrome - The Incredibles
In Disney and Pixar’s 2004 smash hit The Incredibles, Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) has quit his boring day job and is itching to get back into superhero action, even though there is a law prohibiting “Supers” from using their powers. He still comes out of retirement and is summoned to a small island where he comes face-to-face with Syndrome (voiced by Jason Lee), a villainous weapon designer and spurned former superfan of Mr. Incredible.
The reveal of Syndrome’s true identity in a short flashback is a shock, which is then compounded when his plot is unveiled. This obsessed fan plans to use his weapons to stage a battle with his own robot called the Omnidroid, having full control over it, and branding himself as a new Super even without powers before selling his weapons for profit. As he says, “When everyone is Super, no one will be”.
9 Ra’s Al-Ghul - Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan’s gritty origin story Batman Begins takes a young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) across the globe where he is recruited by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) to train with the League of Shadows, a secret society of assassins led by Ra’s al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). The League claims to maintain balance in the world by enacting terror. Once Wayne discovers his home city of Gotham is next in line to be terrorized by the League, he destroys the League headquarters but spares his mentor Ducard.
Later, after Wayne has adopted his superhero persona, he is hosting a party at his home and is informed that an unexpected guest is in attendance. He turns to see the face of Ducard but in actuality is meeting the real Ra’s al Ghul for the first time. This slick turn of events jumpstarts the action-packed final act of the film, with the League already in place to begin their attack on Gotham City.
8 Rose Armitage - Get Out
Jordan Peele’s social satire horror film Get Out follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a Black photographer, who visits the family of his white girlfriend Rose Armitage (Alison Williams). While at the family home, Chris starts to notice that all of the other Black people he meets have odd behaviors. The disturbing discoveries keep coming and Chris insists that Rose leave with him. As they attempt to leave, Chris urges Rose to find her car keys in her purse. When Rose finally pulls them out calmly, her expression slips and the true horror sinks in: she has been in on it the entire time. Her faux-benign manner and subsequent shift is a testament to Williams’ performance in the movie.
As it turns out, the Armitage family is in the business of transplanting white brains into Black bodies and Rose has been recruiting young Black men and women for this twisted procedure for years.
7 Amy Dunne - Gone Girl
David Fincher directed Gone Girl, a 2014 psychological thriller based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn. Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, a writing professor whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike, in an Oscar-nominated performance) is missing. Over the course of the film, the audience is led to believe that Nick is absolutely implicated in her disappearance, possibly her murder. That is until Fincher pulls the rug out from underneath the viewer by showing Amy alive and well, describing in great detail her elaborate plot to frame her husband for murder as retribution for his infidelity.
Her machinations range from mild to extreme, from flipping tables and breaking glass to an intense and bloody scene opposite Neil Patrick Harris. Pike’s performance as Amy is chilling, showing the measures she is willing to take in order to secure the seemingly perfect marriage she wants.
6 Billy and Stu - Scream
In the only two-for-one on this list, Wes Craven’s meta-horror classic Scream offers a double dose in its iconic Ghostface reveal. The town of Woodsboro is in the middle of a serial killing spree and its citizens are panicked. There is a curfew in place to keep everyone safe from the killer and schools are closed. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and their friends attend a party thrown by Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). However, nowhere is safe and the party ends in bloodshed.
After being attacked by Ghostface, Billy and Sidney try to escape before Billy, in a chilling shift, goes from being weak and wounded to completely psychotic. Sidney gets away before running into Stu who outs himself as Billy’s accomplice. Being Sidney’s boyfriend made Billy so effective as he was so close and intimate with her, making his turn even more terrifying.
5 Mr. Glass - Unbreakable
In Unbreakable, M. Night Shyamalan’s moody superhero thriller, a train crash kills everyone onboard except David Dunn (Bruce Willis). His journey to understanding how he was able to survive unscathed is complex. David is supported on his path by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a comic book store owner with a disease that makes his bones easily breakable. Elijah views comic books as a way to understand human existence, so he believes that since he is so fragile, there must be someone who is indestructible. David develops a type of ESP to sense the transgressions of others.
When he shakes Elijah’s hand, he sees flashes of the devastating accidents that were actually Elijah’s doing in his attempts to find his opposite. This shocking twist upends everything the audience has perceived about Elijah up to that point. His connection to David as a friend makes the reveal even more potent. Jackson intoning “They called me Mr. Glass”, his childhood nickname, is haunting.
4 Tyler Durden - Fight Club
Fight Club, David Fincher’s adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, is a polarizing film, showcasing graphic violence and discussing themes of identity and masculinity. The nameless Narrator (Edward Norton) is an insomniac, corporate drone who feels his life is on autopilot. He meets the handsome and charismatic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) while on a trip. Circumstances lead these two lonely souls to live together and start a fight club, where men release their aggression through their fists. The club becomes something sinister and Tyler is revealed not only to be a terrorist, but a separate personality of the Narrator, his most idealized version of himself.
The layers to this twist are numerous: on one hand, the Narrator is revealed to be the person encouraging violence. On the other, casting a heartthrob like Pitt as the imaginary Durden is itself a commentary on male insecurity. Peppered throughout the film are single frame shots of Durden, indicating how ready this persona is to burst free from the Narrator’s subconscious.
3 Jigsaw - Saw
Saw, James Wan’s directorial debut, kicked off the successful horror franchise. Lawrence (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell) awaken in a dark, filthy bathroom, chained to the floor. There is a corpse in the middle of the room, covered in blood. They realize they are all three the latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer, who is known for making people play his cruel games in order to survive.
As Lawrence and Adam continue to solve pieces of the puzzle, they are confronted by Zep (Michael Emerson), who they are convinced is Jigsaw and Adam kills him. That was all for nothing, as the corpse on the floor stands up and reveals himself to be Jigsaw aka John Kramer (Tobin Bell), a terminally ill engineer who, in his own sick and perverse way, tries to inspire people to appreciate their lives by testing their will to survive.
2 Keyser Soze - The Usual Suspects
Bryan Singer directed this masterful thriller starring Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, and Chazz Palminteri. The Usual Suspects is told in flashbacks and contains one of the best villain reveals of all time. Verbal Kint (Spacey) is being held in an interrogation by U.S. Customs Agent Kujan (Palminteri). As Verbal spins a detailed yarn about Keyser Soze, the mysterious criminal boss, and the events that led to his interrogation, Kujan listens, rapt. Once Kint breaks down and Kujan realizes he can let him off the hook, Kint collects his things and leaves the station. Only then does Kujan take a breath and notice how many of the details in Kint’s story came from around the room, realizing that it was all a ruse and Kint was Soze all along.
The final shot, where the limping Kint smoothly steps into a confident stride, in an unforgettable moment in cinema. Spacey’s performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1996.
1 Norman Bates - Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic Psycho tells the story of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a meek motel manager who takes care of his ailing mother Norma. One night when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) comes to stay at the Bates Motel, she meets a terrifying (and memorable) fate in the shower. Norman, ever the dutiful son, cleans up the mess his mother made. When Lila, Marion’s sister, comes looking for Marion, she happens upon the remains of Norma Bates. Before she can even register it, Norman appears, in a wig and a dress, holding a knife. Norman adopted the persona of his mother after she passed and his inner voice became Norma’s, scolding him and directing him.
The entire film hinged on this reveal and Hitchcock wanted nobody to be admitted to the theatre after the movie had started in order to maintain the suspense. Psycho was remade in 1998 by Gus van Sant, but nothing compares to the original.
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