Top 20 Exact Moments When a Character Turned EVIL

“Chronicle” (2012)

Sort of an anti-superhero film, “Chronicle” um, chronicles the tragic downfall of Andrew Detmer. Andrew lives a rather sad life, an outcast at school and the target of his father’s drunken abuse. He soon develops telekinetic abilities, but despite using them for good, Andrew also uses them as a tool for destruction and revenge. The turning point comes when he accidentally kills Steve with a lightning strike. Yes, it was an accident, but it portrays the violence inherent in Andrew’s mind, and it’s the catalyst that leads him to believe that he’s an apex predator. Thus, the supervillain is born.

“The Witch” (2015)

“Chronicle” is about the birth of a supervillain, and “The Witch” is about the birth of, well, you can probably guess. The young witch in question is Thomasin, the teenage daughter of Puritan settlers William and Katherine. Thomasin is accused of practicing witchcraft throughout the film, the primary scapegoat for the creepy and troubling goings-on around the homestead. She’s not responsible, but someone can only be pushed so far before they snap. With her entire family dead or missing, Thomasin speaks with the family goat Black Phillip, who is revealed to be Satan, and makes a literal deal with the Devil. She then goes to “live deliciously” amongst the trees and the local witches.

“L.A. Confidential” (1997)

James Cromwell was born to play bad guys. We didn’t know it at first, but Captain Dudley Smith is among them. The main antagonist of “L.A. Confidential,” Smith seems to be a solid police captain and commands his troops to find the person responsible for taking over Mickey Cohen’s drug empire. Of course, that person is himself. We find this out when he shoots and kills Detective Jack Vincennes, who comes a little too close to figuring it out. With that startling act, Smith’s true identity as a gangland drug lord is revealed, and the entire plot is thrown into third gear.

“Toy Story 3” (2010)

We all remember that heartbreaking montage from “Toy Story 2” where Jessie is abandoned by Emily. Luckily, the cowgirl turned out okay, if a little traumatized. But the story of Lotso shows the other side of that coin - the side where abandoned toys don’t turn out okay. Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear was just another toy at one point in his life, the proud plaything of young Daisy. When Daisy accidentally lost Lotso during a road trip, she returned home and had him replaced. This in turn fueled a lifelong cynicism towards humans and what he perceives as their lack of loyalty. It’s heavy stuff, and it leads Lotso to become the tyrannical ruler of Sunnyside Daycare.

“Spider-Man 2” (2004)

So where exactly does Otto Octavius end and Doctor Octopus begin? If you ask us, it’s when he finally relents to the mechanical arms and decides to finish his experiment on a grand scale. Before this, the arms killed several nurses and doctors, but they were acting independently of Octavius’ mind. He personally never meant to kill anybody. But, feeling dejected and without the inhibitor chip to prevent the arms’ manipulation, he heeds their direction and decides to rebuild his experiment in the remains of the abandoned boathouse. This requires lots and lots of money, leading to Octopus’s first true act of villainy in the movie - robbing the bank and taking Aunt May hostage.

“Holes” (2003)

You know, for a kids’ movie, “Holes” goes really hard. Stanley’s past is tied with Kissin’ Kate Barlow, a 19th-century outlaw who buried a treasure chest full of jewels and valuables. She wasn’t always an outlaw. She was once Katherine Barlow, a simple and good-natured school teacher from Texas. She fell for a local handyman named Sam, who is subsequently killed by the jealous Trout Walker for kissing Katherine. For failing to stop the crime, the local sheriff is shot and killed by Katherine, giving rise to Kissin’ Kate Barlow, the fabled outlaw of the Wild West.

“Memento” (2000)

It wouldn’t be a Christopher Nolan film without a good twist. One of the biggest twists of “Memento” comes at the very end (or we guess the beginning), when we learn that Leonard Shelby isn’t such a good guy. Leonard suffers from amnesia and is on the hunt for one “John G,” a man who supposedly murdered his wife. Leonard is the villain of his own story, however. We learn that he accidentally killed his wife with insulin shots and continuously tricks himself with fake “John G” stories out of some desperate search for purpose. Basically, he picks random people as targets, kills them, and then plants fake clues for himself so he can do it all again. Yep, that’s a serial killer all right.

“Joker” (2019)

When does Arthur turn into the character we all love to hate? It was obvious from the very beginning that something was wrong with Arthur, a social outcast who lives with his mom, doesn’t fit in at work, and is desperate for help from unhelpful social services. The injustices accumulate, and the final straw comes when Arthur learns that Penny is not his biological mother and that she allowed her boyfriend to abuse him as a boy. His mind now thoroughly snapped, Arthur murders Penny by smothering her with a pillow and begins to don that oh-so-famous makeup. Arthur died with his mother.

“X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)

There are a ton of heroes gone bad in superhero cinema, and one of the most famous examples has to be Jean Grey. Jean seemingly dies at the end of “X2,” sacrificing herself so the team can escape a flood. She suddenly appears in “The Last Stand,” confronting Scott Summers at the site of her grave. The reunion isn’t as happy as we had hoped, as Jean kills Scott while the two share a kiss. Xavier posits that when Jean sacrificed herself, she inadvertently released The Phoenix, an evil alter ego that had previously been repressed by the professor. With that, the “X-Men” films tackled the legendary Dark Phoenix Saga… with mixed results.

“Alien” (1979)

One of Ian Holm’s first major roles was Ash, the head science officer of the Nostromo… and homicidal robot! But we don’t learn that until later. Ash is responsible for bringing the alien onboard, defying Ripley’s orders, and breaking quarantine by allowing Kane inside the ship. It gets a whole lot worse from there. You see, Ash is an android programmed to follow the orders of Weylan-Yutani, and they want that alien. When Ripley confronts Ash about his orders, he finally “breaks character” so to speak, and tries suffocating her with a rolled-up magazine. It’s sort of a two-for-one, revealing both the deception of Ash and the careless qualities of the company.

“Watchmen” (2009)

A retired superhero turned businessman, Adrian Veidt is a nasty piece of work, and easily one of the evilest supervillains in movie history. As we learn in the famous climax, Veidt, going by the name Ozymandias, orchestrated much of the movie’s events, including the death of Blake and the banishment of Doctor Manhattan. The worst event comes in the form of rigging Manhattan’s energy reactors, causing them to explode and kill millions of people. This accomplishes his true mission - attaining global peace by framing Manhattan as a common enemy. It’s a moral test taken to the extreme, and we’re not quite sure if Ozymandias passed it.

“Taxi Driver” (1976)

Robert De Niro plays one of the most fascinating characters in all of cinema. Travis Bickle is a somewhat sympathetic character, and most of us can relate to his problems. He is also deeply, deeply disturbed, and he becomes increasingly unhinged throughout the movie. Travis eventually snaps, shaves his head, and attempts to kill presidential candidate Charles Palantine. It’s not out of some moral redemption that he doesn’t go through with it. He’s just noticed by the Secret Service. It’s at this point that Travis has lost it completely, falling from a sympathetic if troubled character into a full-blown murderous villain. And De Niro sells his tragic downfall with total conviction.

“The Incredibles” (2004)

Poor Buddy Pine just wanted to help. He begins his life as a devoted fanboy of Mr. Incredible and wants nothing more than to be taken on some adventures with his idol. Bob rejects him, fueling a lifelong resentment not just of Mr. Incredible, but all superheroes. For many, the story would have ended there. But this is a supervillain we’re talking about. Young Buddy Pine grows into Syndrome, who develops high-tech weapons to mimic superpowers and kidnaps superheroes to fight and perfect his powerful Omnidroid. Kidnapping? Mass murder? Just another day in the life of a supervillain.

“Carrie” (1976)

Yet another social outcast to join our list, Carrie White is not accepted anywhere in life. She doesn’t have any friends, she’s often tormented by her classmates at school, and she’s subjected to abuse by her fanatically religious mother. By the time prom comes around, Carrie’s mental health is hanging by a thread. And that’s when she’s doused in pig blood. It’s the final straw for poor Carrie, and she immediately turns into one of the biggest and scariest villains in movie history. With wide eyes and some terrifying sound design, Carrie telekinetically commits mass murder and burns her entire class alive, both the guilty and the innocent alike.

“The Shining” (1980)

So when exactly does Jack go mad? Judging by the famous “all work and no play” scene, it’s been a long time. But he likely loses all sense of judgment and agency when he talks with Delbert Grady. Jack encounters Grady in the Gold Room, and the butler spills some alcohol on his jacket - which was likely not an accident. Taking him into the bathroom to clean the spill, Grady talks with Jack and tells him that he needs to “correct” his family, just as he did many years before. It’s after this that Jack tries killing Wendy with the baseball bat, seemingly proving that Grady either manipulated Jack completely or somehow possessed him into committing murder.

“The Matrix” (1999)

Like all great villains, we relate to Cypher on some level. He has been freed from the Matrix but hates his life in the new world, having to live on some joyless gray ship and eating watery slop day after day. Who would want to live like that? So he turns to the agents, offering them Morpheus in exchange for an ignorant life back in the Matrix. The point of no return comes when he betrays Morpheus and traps the crew inside the Matrix, unplugging and killing most of them in the real world. Fortunately, Tank survives his assassination attempt and kills Cypher, putting an end to the madness and freeing the surviving crew members.

“X-Men: First Class” (2011)

We return to the “X-Men” franchise with “First Class,” a prequel that serves as an origin story for the famous group of superheroes. Of course, that means showing the origin of Magneto’s villainy. The supervillain begins the story as Erik Lehnsherr, a Nazi hunter who can manipulate electromagnetic fields. Much of the film’s drama comes in the form of Erik and Xavier’s philosophical discussions about the responsibilities and potential of their superpowers. Erik eventually uses them for evil, which we see when he kills Shaw by shoving a Nazi coin through his brain. It’s an incredible act of violence that shocks Xavier and sends Erik down the dark path to become Magneto.

“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005)

Prequels are often a great way to explore moral philosophy, explaining how famous villains came to their warped conclusions. One of the biggest draws to the prequel trilogy was seeing how adorable little Anakin Skywalker became the hulking, heavy-breathing, force-choking Darth Vader. Anakin embarks on a moral battle throughout the trilogy, but as we knew it would, it all ended in tragedy when he sided with Palpatine against Mace Windu. Just before Windu can finish off the Emperor, Anakin cuts his hand off, allowing Palpatine to kill him. It’s this act of loyalty that finally links Anakin to the Emperor, and he is officially knighted as Darth Vader.

“The Dark Knight” (2008)

Widely considered the best Batman movie, “The Dark Knight” contains a number of iconic characters, including Heath Ledger’s Joker and Harvey Dent, who slowly morphs into Two-Face throughout the events of the film. Both are present in the tantalizing hospital sequence, which sees the Joker visiting Dent after half of his face is burned in an explosion. The Joker uses Dent’s newfound disillusionment, manipulating him into becoming a vigilante and avenging Rachel. He proceeds to murder gangsters and police officers alike, becoming the infamous Two-Face. The Joker’s quest for corruption is complete.

“The Godfather” (1972)

A brilliant piece of character work, “The Godfather” showcases the tragic downfall of Michael Corleone, a young and heroic Marine who slowly succumbs to the influence of power. Michael’s progression is masterfully done, with each little event slowly accumulating throughout the film and culminating in one of the most famous sequences in movie history. While attending the baptism of Connie’s son, Michael usurps total control from the Five Families and has all the dons simultaneously murdered. The irony of the baptism is apparent, with Michael sinking into sin, rejecting religious doctrine, and becoming the fabled Don Corleone. Renouncing Satan indeed.