Villains’ Victory Lap: 8 Movies Where Evil Actually Wins

Have you ever felt a sudden surge of happiness to see the bad guy win? Call me a psychopath, but I’ve always related more to stories where the villains emerge victorious in the end. Maybe because it feels closer to reality.

Sometimes, a hero doesn’t lose because he is weaker than the villain. They lost because the villain deserved the win more.

So are you ready to root for the rogues? Because, in this article, we’re looking back at stories where the villains snatch the crown!

Movies Where The Villains Won

1. Se7en

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David Fincher’s Se7en features one of the most disturbing villain victories of all time. John Doe (Kevin Spacey) sets out to punish society for the seven deadly sins. There is an eerie calm about him that is sure to put you on edge. Doe is an organized man, unlike Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), which gives him an edge and keeps him one step ahead of the police at all times. His lack of remorse and self-awareness makes him the embodiment of true evil. While Fincher presents Doe as an enigma, to me, his actions and philosophies in life highly indicate that the poor man may be a victim of the society that made him the way he is.

2. Saw

John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is sort of a paradox when it comes to a villain. A man suffering from terminal cancer, embittered by personal tragedy, Kramer preys on people to make them appreciate life. He believes that he is a force of redemption for his victims. In theory, you can even survive his game of death if you learn your lesson. James Wan’s Saw redefined horror endings by letting Kramer succeed without much effort.

3. Fight Club

Considering the number of Fincher movies that let the villains get away with their stunts, I am confident that Fincher and I are best friends in an alternate universe. One of the boldest explorations of a critical mental health disorder, schizophrenia, The Fight Club is one such narrative where the protagonist (Edward Norton) and the antagonist become one. Naturally, if one loses, the other loses by default. Fight Club is not only morally gray, but when it comes to winning or losing, it is also a true representation of how nature's justice system works, in contrast to the one that exists in the real world. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) was nobody’s fault, and thus Fincher punished no one.

4. Primal Fear

Honestly, if Aaron (Edward Norton) were sentenced at the end of the trial, I’d be pissed. Agreed that his intelligence and manipulative behavior are major red flags, yet after what he has been through, I think we must cut him some slack. Not that I condone violence or vengeance, but considering that the man he murdered was a pedophile bishop who had been molesting little boys in his church, his winning against the law feels like divine justice. Aaron is also one of the sharpest villains that I have come across because he wins by purely outsmarting and conning everyone around him with a unique sob story.

5. The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight’s Joker (Heath Ledger) embodies anarchic evil, but to me, he is the “yin” to Batman’s “yang.” You can even say that they share more similarities between the two of them than they would want to admit. Joker is not your regular antagonist who intentionally chooses evil just to seek pleasure from others’ misery. Rather, he is a villain with a mission. Joker doesn’t seek materialistic gain but wishes to expose humanity’s inclination towards chaos and moral collapse. He is on a mission to prove that goodness is a stage before evil.

6. No Country for Old Men

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is a near-mythical figure. A hitman who kills by his personal code, it’s badass how Chigurh roams the world thinking of himself as an agent of fate, deciding whether his victims live or die by a coin toss. Chigurh only believes in power. God doesn’t exist for him, and therefore, there’s no good or bad or consequences to actions. A victim is another powerless man who has written his own fate to doom. If someone finds themselves before their barrel, it’s probably their own fault for not being prepared for life's adversities. His ethos echoes a certain equality and divine justice that he offers his targets, moments before they are turned into victims. A man who doesn’t believe in God, suffering from a God complex! At the same time, his actions also symbolize the randomness of evil. To me, his wins deeply resonate with reality. How many times have you actually witnessed good winning over evil, with your own eyes? Now compare it with the number of times you have witnessed it the other way round. If the former exceeds the latter, take me with you in your world, please.

7. The Usual Suspects

Considered to be one of the most epic crime thrillers, The Usual Suspects gradually switches the protagonist with the antagonist, and that too in absolute style. To be honest, I often have a similar urge to mess with corrupt police officers, and every time I watch the film, it makes me happy. At the same time, if someone cares enough to pull off such an elaborate plan of revenge, they deserve to win! Period. If I were playing against them, I’d accept defeat with a smile.

8. Oldboy

Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy’s Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae) is a reality check. Sometimes, even the slightest mistakes make you pay heavily, and many times, evil prevails over good. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) undergoes 15 years of hell, and at the end of it all, having lost his family, it’s just hell waiting for him all over again. This is one such villain victory that I do not really root for, yet it is a strong reminder of how reality washes down over everything. But again, considering how Woo-jin died, crying and in pain, did he really win? What do you think?

Who is your favorite villain on the list? Do you think their victory was well-deserved or even justified?