It's almost always heartbreaking when a character that the viewer has spent an hour and a half or more with suddenly flips on a dime. Like the betrayer's cohorts, the viewer feels let down and hurt, but this is often how the best villains are born. From malicious, eloquent androids and corrupt cops to secretly racist girlfriends and living planets, just about every type of character has taken it upon themselves to mess over their peers for their own benefit.
And, oftentimes, that's their plan from the beginning. Usually, they're hired by some shady, widespread organization to serve as a mole and then sabotage whatever mission when the time comes. Other times, greed gets in the way. A character is on the side of good until some incentive grows to be too much. The latter is more tragic, but both are sad turns of events, and all the following movies feature a betrayal of some sort.
10 Ash in Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's Alien is a perfect movie to go into cold, which is hard but not impossible to do in modern times. As one of the best horror movies of the 1970s, it's a narrative chock-full of surprises, including science officer Ash's status as an android.
Ash consistently tries to get the Nostromo closer to the Xenomorph. For instance, once Kane is impregnated by the Facehugger, Ash breaks quarantine and lets him in any way. It's revealed that this is because he's actually a Hyberdyne Systems 120-A/2 android, whose only order is to bring back the alien lifeform unharmed, regardless of the safety of the crew. Essentially, Ash is counting on it ripping apart every organic individual on the vessel, knowing he'll be fine as he takes the ship back to Weyland-Yutani.
9 Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
One of the greatest sequels to ever grace the pop culture lexicon, Irvin Kershner's The Empire Strikes Back is precisely how a young franchise's lore should be expanded. One of its best additions was unquestionably Lando Calrissian, who admittedly got off on a rocky start by screwing over Han, Leia, and Chewbacca (who reacts the way one might expect Chewbacca to).
Naturally, Lando has since redeemed himself and remains one of Star Wars' most lovable characters, but there's little doubt that his selling out one of his oldest friends to a known sadist who co-heads an evil empire was an unkind move. To be fair, he had the people of Bespin to worry about, and he makes this clear, but it doesn't help cushion the blow that the unfortunate decision was one that made viewers feel (At the time) like it was the end for Han.
8 Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
The second best of its franchise by a country mile, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was initially a trilogy-closer, but of course that's been undone by 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Part of the reason for its success is the strength of its villains: Walter Donovan and Dr. Elsa Schneider.
Like the best Indy villains, the duo are inspired by greed. But, when Donovan allows Elsa to choose which grail is the true Holy Grail, she knowingly picks the wrong one. Instead of being granted eternal life, Elsa's betrayal grants him a quick but incredibly painful death.
7 Billy Loomis & Stu Macher in Scream (1996)
Wes Craven directed two arguably perfect horror films throughout his career: 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street and 1996's Scream. Both revolutionized the genre, and both are surprising, but whereas Nightmare is shocking because it shows things never before seen on the big screen, Scream is shocking because of a wicked twist.
Much of the movie positions Sidney Prescott's boyfriend, Billy Loomis, as the killer. And he is, but he's not the only one, as his best friend Stu Macher is also his partner in crime. The betrayal of dating the person you intend to kill is a shocking enough betrayal on its own, but during Billy and Stu Macher's shared monologue on their plan, Billy stabs Stu at a force harder than they apparently agreed on. The narrative then quickly swifts to Sidney escaping them, but there's a pretty solid hint that Billy was going to betray Stu and frame him as the sole killer.
6 Cypher in The Matrix (1999)
The Wachowskis' The Matrix was one of the late '90s most financially successful and well-reviewed movies. So the fact that it also became something of a topic of national conversation isn't too surprising. Hopefully, though, Cypher's betrayal was held back more often than not.
Cypher is a redpill who wishes he chose blue. A crewman aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, Cypher decides to betray Morpheus and everyone else he knows so he can go back to living in blissful ignorance. It's the ultimate selfish move, as it means the extermination of not only the Nebuchadnezzar crew, but every man woman, and child on Zion.
5 Trooper Barrigan in The Departed (2006)
One of the ultimate movies where nobody wins, Martin Scorsese's The Departed is a modern classic with many surprises in store for first-time viewers (if there are any by this point). Just about everybody in the movie isn't who they appear to be, but the twist involving James Badge Dale's Trooper James Barrigan is a surprising late reveal.
Barrigan is supposedly an ally to Leonardo DiCaprio's Billy Costigan, but in reality, he's a mole for Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), not unlike his lifelong best friend Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon). In the third act, when Sullivan is being arrested by Costigan, he's murdered by Barrigan. But, the fact that Barrigan saves him from prison (And a lifetime of friendship) apparently means nothing, as Sullivan immediately responds by shooting him in the head. So, two surprising betrayals.
4 Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises may not hold a candle to the two films that preceded it, but it has a few scenes that work quite well. Talia al Ghul's reveal isn't one of them.
Marion Cotillard is a wonderful performer, but as Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul she's forced to spout a bunch of expository dialogue and then die with a "Bleck" sound. Even still, she's behind the attempted destruction of Gotham, not to mention the annihilation of its citizens. She even feigned sexual interest in Bruce Wayne to manipulate him toward the accomplishment of this goal. Regardless of how the twist plays in the film, it's still objectively surprising on a first-time viewing.
3 Prince Hans in Frozen (2013)
One of the most financially successful and beloved animated films of recent memory, Frozen is loaded with excellent songs and terrific vocal performances from Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Their Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf are all quite lovable, but the same can't be said of Santino Fontana's Prince Hans.
Hans is the power-hungry youngest of thirteen children. Unfortunately for him, being thirteenth in line doesn't bode well for the prospects of leadership, so he hopes to marry the Princess of Arendelle (Anna), kill her powerful older sister (Elsa), and rule for himself (jerk).
2 Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
While not James Gunn's best film overall, there's an argument to be made that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the best of its trilogy. The key to its appeal is the growth of Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord as a character. The first film essentially had a bad guy chasing after a shiny orb while some quasi-good people from various walks of life did the same, getting to know one another in the process. The second, however, has Peter finally meet the "man" he figured had either died or run off without ever having any intention of reconnecting.
The man (or, rather, Living Planet) reveals that he has wanted to connect, but the reason why is one of the most selfish and evil in cinema history. It's not to be a father, it's to elongate his own life. Ego is getting old, so the Living Planet needs a new Celestial heir. Furthermore, the very tumor that killed Peter's mother was placed there by his father. Peter's reaction is logically violent.
1 Rose Armitage in Get Out (2017)
Allison Williams may have become famous via a TV series in the form of HBO's Girls, but she broke into film in a major way courtesy of Jordan Peele's Get Out. As Rose Armitage, Williams is outright terrifying, and her key-flipping reveal is a gut-punch.
Rose, like her blood relatives, is a member of the Order of the Coagula, a cult of ultra-racist, wealthy white people. They capture African Americans who are younger than themselves and implant their own brains, effectively achieving eternal life. Every moment Rose and her boyfriend Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) have shared has been an utter fabrication. She doesn't love him, she holds contempt for him and is marching him to his death.
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