Top 10 Biggest Betrayals in Horror Movies
#10: Billy Loomis
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“Scream” (1996) By its very nature, the “Scream” franchise is full of betrayals, as the ones behind the masks are typically close to Sidney Prescott. In “Scream 4,” Jill Roberts betrays accomplice Charlie to complete her framing of Trevor. But the greatest betrayal of them all is Billy’s turn against Sidney. The first “Scream” is quite genius, as it explicitly depicts Billy as the killer. Even horror movie aficionado Randy pegs Billy. So obviously it’s a red herring. Billy certainly protests his innocence throughout the movie. But then the reveal comes, and both Sidney and viewers realize that, yep, Billy was the killer after all. And despite his goofy exterior, Stu remained his only true confidant (and accomplice).
#9: Miguel Salazar
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“Day of the Dead” (1985) Miguel doesn’t appear in much of “Day of the Dead,” but he is paramount to the plot. Miguel is quickly losing his composure, and his girlfriend Sarah is concerned. He spends much of the movie isolated in his bedroom, brooding on the end of the world. That is until he’s bitten by a zombie and totally snaps. His sanity now completely gone, Miguel goes to the surface, uses his own body as zombie bait, and gives them access to the base. What results is perhaps the most horrific and grotesque ten minutes in zombie movie history, as the zombies literally tear through everyone in the base. Sarah, John, and Bill prove the only survivors.
#8: Scud
“Blade II” (2002) Before he was Daryl on “The Walking Dead,” Norman Reedus appeared in “Blade II” as the vampire hunter’s new pot-smoking technician. Scud proves an exceptional weaponsmith, even creating a powerful UV bomb with Whistler that has the capacity to wipe out entire Reaper nests. But in the end, Scud is shown to be working as a familiar for vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos. Damaskinos is interested in total vampire supremacy, and “rather [being] pet than cattle,” Scud defected to the vampires. Luckily, Blade foresaw this and knew the entire time that Scud was working as a mole, resulting in his rather cheeky death.
#7: Major Henry West
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“28 Days Later” (2002) Danny Boyle’s zombie classic is a haunting examination of the end of the world - well, at least the end of England. The first two acts concern Jim and his group of friends traveling to Manchester, chasing a military broadcast promising safety and protection from the zombies. They are actually successful and are taken to a heavily defended mansion overseen by the military. But this is where the real horror begins. After a faux-friendly introduction, Major West reveals that the broadcast is nothing but a lure meant to attract females to the base. West and his men wish to repopulate the world, and “28 Days Later” quickly turns into “The Handmaid’s Tale”. That is until Jim goes full savage...
#6: Everyone
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“The Thing” (1982) A brilliant exercise in tension and paranoia, John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is filled with untrustworthy characters who constantly turn on each other. Blair goes mad upon realizing the true nature of The Thing and sabotages all their equipment and vehicles. Someone destroys the outpost’s blood stores after learning of the upcoming blood test. Everyone turns against MacReady after Nauls finds torn clothes in his shack. Clark attempts to stop MacReady with a knife, resulting in his death. Those are a few examples of the numerous betrayals seen throughout the film, which seem to be arguing that unbearable paranoia pushes people to illogical and sometimes violent extremes.
#5: Thomasin’s Family
“The Witch” (2015) This horror film from Robert Eggers shares many similarities with “The Thing” - primarily its terrifying story focused on themes of isolation, mistrust, and paranoia. When baby Samuel is taken by the witch, his grieving mother Katherine immediately suspects foul play from Thomasin. The young twins then accuse Thomasin of practicing witchcraft, which in turn manipulates her father William. Before long, Thomasin’s entire family is against her and accusing her of being a witch. Her mother Katherine even attempts to take her life, forcing Thomasin to put her down in self-defense. And there’s no happy ending here. With her entire family now dead, Thomasin signs her soul to the Devil and joins a coven of witches.
#4: Rose Armitage
“Get Out” (2017) Throughout much of “Get Out,” Rose remains the voice of reason. She is clearly embarrassed by her family and stands by Chris in the face of their casual racism. As Chris grows increasingly upset, Rose decides to ditch the family getaway and return home with her boyfriend. But then Chris discovers a trove of photographs depicting Rose with Black partners, which directly contradicts her prior claim. And during their tense departure, Rose flips on Chris and reveals her true allegiance. It’s her job to befriend Black people and take them home to “meet the family,” who then hijack the victims’ physical bodies with their own consciousness. The “party” was nothing but a showcase to display Chris’s body for potential buyers.
#3: Carter J. Burke
“Aliens” (1986) The first “Alien” film has a great betrayal, as Ash both breaks quarantine procedures and reveals his true allegiance to the company. But Ash was always a little odd, so his betrayal wasn’t too much of a shock. That isn’t the case with Burke, who was often portrayed as a decent man. Yeah, he was clearly a corporate bigwig, but he was nice and caring. He even jokes with Ripley about his corporate distinction, telling her, [“I’m really an okay guy.”] But he is a company man through and through, and his true motivations are eventually revealed. He just wanted the alien eggs, intending to use them as biological weapons. And once this is made obvious, he attempts to impregnate both Ripley and Newt with facehuggers.
#2: Guy Woodhouse
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“Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) This horror masterpiece is one of the scariest films ever made. Not because of the famous Devil stuff, but because it’s a horrifying glimpse into paranoia, growing mistrust, and the feeling that no one is on your side. While suffering a painful and grossly abnormal pregnancy, Rosemary begins to suspect that her neighbors are Satanists and that her unborn baby is being used in some type of ritual. People close to her begin dying and her husband Guy - the only person she has left - is acting suspiciously. It turns out that Guy was working with their Satanist neighbors, that he helped manipulate Rosemary’s pregnancy, and that he offered her body as a vessel to deliver the Antichrist. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Gregory Butler, “Happy Death Day 2U” (2019) Butler Turns Out to Be Babyface, & He Shoots His Wife Stephanie Malachai Boardman, “Children of the Corn” (1984) Malachai Betrays Isaac & Takes Over by Ordering His Sacrifice Jill Tuck, “Saw VI” (2009) Jill Equips Hoffman in a Reverse Bear Trap, Fulfilling Jigsaw’s Wish Ruby, “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977) Ruby Betrays Her Clan & Helps Doug
#1: Jack Torrance
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“The Shining” (1980) Like “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Shining” deals with themes of family turning on one another. In this case, Jack - the patriarch of the Torrance family - turns against his family and attempts to axe them with… well, an axe. There’s nothing scarier than a patriarchal figure turning against those he is sworn to protect, and there’s nothing scarier to a child than having to run from their psychotic father. Many forces conspire to turn Jack crazy, including his alcoholism, the isolation of the hotel, and the supernatural forces within it. In the end, he freezes to death while pursuing his own son, proving one of the most depressing endings in horror movie history.
