Top 10 Movie Characters Who Get Away with Murder
Characters from movies who successfully escape justice by committing murder and completely get away with it. WatchMojo presents top 10 characters who get away with murder in film. But who will take the top spot on our list? Will it be Aaron Stampler from Primal Fear, Chris Wilton from Match Point, Kayser Söze himself from The Usual Suspects? Watch to find out!
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#10: Driver “Drive” (2011)
This Hollywood stunt driver/getaway driver is what you’d call the strong and silent type, because – even though he doesn’t speak much – he sure knows how to get things done. In a bid to protect his neighbor Irene and her son Benicio, The Driver is does whatever it takes – including driving her just-released-from-prison husband to and from a pawnshop robbery. When things go badly, the Driver ends up having to kill multiple men involved with the Albanian gangster Cook, as well as Cook himself – with that brutal elevator scene being a kill moviegoers can’t get out of their heads. Though the Driver and Irene don’t get their happy ending, he is ultimately able to drive away from it all…
#9: Roxanne ‘Roxie’ Hart & Velma Kelly “Chicago” (2002)
These two jazz age flapper femme fatales murder their lovers in cold blood but manage to trick the press, the public and the courts into thinking they’re really not all that bad. Impulsive, scheming, and often breaking into song, this sultry duo brings a cool nonchalance to the crimes they’re accused of, brushing them off like you would a small inconvenience. Their true love is fame; their objective to be adored. And if killing a man gets them noticed, they’re keen to use their crimes and their many performance skills to their advantage. When it comes to murder, these two really are naturals.
#8: John Kramer / The Jigsaw Killer “Saw” (2004)
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Take a terminally ill cancer patient drifting into psychosis, add a very mean streak, and you get Jigsaw, a serial killer and all-around nightmare villain. Determined to create a newfound zeal for life in his victims, he chooses people he deems morally flawed in some way and puts them through horrific and violent tests to help them redeem themselves and strengthen their appreciation for their own lives. Jigsaw’s sadistic streak and intricate mind games give him an edge over the other murderers in this countdown, making him arguably the most outlandish and flamboyant killer, and earning the film he stars in an undeniable cult following as well as multiple sequels.
#7: Griffin Mill “The Player” (1992)
In this satirical comedy/neo-noir masterpiece, a disillusioned and paranoid Hollywood exec gets into a back alley brawl with a failed writer, and when the fight gets out of hand he finds himself fleeing the scene of a murder. Griffin Mill is uniquely qualified to guide us on this absurd Tinseltown adventure, providing us with a thoughtful meditation on the banality of evil, as well as a scathing satire of a decaying film industry. His metamorphosis from a sympathetic and sensitive man into a calculating and arrogant studio big shot reminds us that the capacity for evil resides in all of us, but maybe just a bit more in Hollywood.
#6: Gavin Elster “Vertigo” (1958)
Only from Alfred Hitchcock’s mind could you conjure up this cold-blooded killer looking to murder his wife by concocting an incredibly convoluted plot. Using a double to impersonate his wife Madeleine, superstitious notions of possession, local legends and a broken retired policeman with a deathly fear of heights, powerful magnate Gavin Elster spins a web of lies and deceit to get away with murder. While Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak steal the show with their powerful on-screen chemistry, it’s Elster’s character that really drives the story with his machinations and diabolical plotting. He may not be our top character to get away with murder, but he is certainly the most imaginative.
#5: Amy Elliott Dunne “Gone Girl” (2014)
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Rosamund Pike plays the perfect sociopath in this nail biting suspense thriller, one that’s ready to lie, steal and kill to get what she wants, all with a lovely smile on her face. Cunning and deceitful, Amy is the very picture of a devoted and loving wife when she mysteriously disappears from her home, making her husband the prime suspect in her murder. Like any true sociopath, Amy is great at pretending and using everything and everyone to her advantage. She navigates this world like a predator, ready to kill when the situation requires it. Her sweet demeanor reminds us that wolves often do hide in sheep’s clothing.
#4: Anton Chigurh “No Country for Old Men” (2007)
Brought to life in an unforgettable performance by Javier Bardem, this cold-blooded hitman with unorthodox ultra-violent methods is perhaps the oddest character on this list. Coming across as a mix of weird, eccentric, pathological and terrifying, he’s firmly secured a place in cinematic history. Chigurh stands out as a hypnotizing villain mostly because he’s so unpredictable, and the audience has a hard time attributing reason or motivation to his killings. He operates according to a moral code all his own; replicating the chaos of the universe, reminding us that ultimately, death is arbitrary and often meaningless.
#3: Chris Wilton “Match Point” (2005)
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Driven by self-interest and greed, Chris Wilton murders his pregnant mistress when she threatens to reveal their affair to his wealthy wife’s family and put his newly acquired social status in peril. In this psychological thriller, Woody Allen uses Chris Wilton’s story to explore the point at which greed, lust and morality intersect, in the process creating a profoundly flawed character for whom self-interest comes first. While easily relatable and engaging on the surface, Wilton perfectly embodies the adage of ‘every man for himself,’ giving the audience a disheartening view into the darker corners of the human soul.
#2: Aaron Stampler “Primal Fear” (1996)
The ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing, this altar boy convinces the world he’s the victim and not the predator in his own murder story. Arrested for killing an Archbishop, Stampler is able to string along his lawyer and the courts through impressive theatrics and contrived sob stories, wrapping them all around his little finger. Deceptive and cunning, he displays all the traits of a born sociopath, and – above all – the skill and craft to emulate emotion perfectly. His uncanny ability to elicit sympathy makes him particularly memorable, as he manages to get everyone, including the audience, rooting for him – so much so that he’s let off with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital.
#1: Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint / Keyser Söze “The Usual Suspects” (1995)
One of film’s most enigmatic and legendary killers, this character wears the crown when it comes to getting away with murder. Through the recollections of police witness Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, Söze is introduced as a mythical Turkish crime lord who earned his stripes by murdering his own family to prove his ruthlessness to his criminal adversaries. Throughout the film, Söze is made out to be a larger than life villain, and the mystery that shrouds him amplifies his legend. He lives in the shadows, operating a vast criminal operation and yet is completely unknown. The film gives the audience the sense that we’re closing in on Söze, but ultimately the thing that makes him such an appealing character, is that he just can’t be caught.
