Ready For Real Horror? 5 Movies Where Bad Guys Win

Have you ever wondered why movies in which the main characters and focal points are clearly murderous villains like Chucky, Freddy, or Jason rarely end with their victory?

If you have, you probably should talk to someone about it. But seriously, we understand where these thoughts might be coming from. Antagonists are often much more interesting, well-developed, and multidimensional characters with relatable motivations and clear desires. And it feels more realistic when the scary stories end badly.

So whether you want to embrace your dark side or are ready to dive into true horror, where happy endings only exist for the bad guys, here are five movies with villains winning.

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

IMDb Rating: 6.2/10

Victor Salva's movie unfolds in a manner typical of the slasher genre, but has a refreshing ending. Two college siblings go home for spring break and stumble upon what turns out to be a gruesome murder scene. The scene with hundreds of bodies turns out to be a masterpiece of the monster known as the Creeper, who sets out to hunt the siblings down.

Creep (2014)

IMDb Rating: 6.3/10

Many viewers consider Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass' movie a hidden gem in the found footage genre. The story follows a struggling videographer who agrees to spend the day in a remote cabin filming an eccentric man who claims he is dying and wants to make a video message for his future child. As the day progresses, more and more bizarre details about the client emerge.

Pearl (2022)

IMDb Rating: 7.0/10

Ti West and Mia Goth's story serves as a prequel to the slasher film X, chronicling the psychopathic evolution of Goth's homicidal character Pearl. Born at the turn of the century, Pearl grew up in an isolated, toxic, and loveless family. As a young woman, her main dream is to escape the hard manual labor on the farm by becoming a theater star.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

IMDb Rating: 7.2/10

Oliver Stone's film, based on Quentin Tarantino's original screenplay, stars a young Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as a sadistic newlywed couple coming out of a traumatic childhood, and Robert Downey Jr. as a tabloid journalist who makes them a media sensation. All of these factors combined to make the story a post-modernist satirical classic that has its fans to this day.

Funny Games (1997 & 2007)

IMDb Rating: 7.5/10 & 6.5/10

Both the original Austrian psychological horror and its American remake are pure nightmare fuel. Many horror fans refuse to even watch the gruesome story of two psychopathic young men who take a family hostage and torture them in the most gut-wrenching ways, knowing they will never be punished for it.