Most films have a pretty standard operating procedure: the good guys overcome the villain, triumph, and everyone lives happily ever after. These aren’t those types of movies, though.

It can sometimes be pretty boring to always see the protagonist win, which makes these movies where the bad guy comes out on top that much more refreshing.

Be warned: there may be spoilers!

Se7en

What’s in the box? Victory for John Doe, who, as Morgan Freeman’s Detective Lieutenant William Somerset said, “has the upper hand.”

David Fincher’s murder mystery, inspired by the seven deadly sins, is an engaging thriller because we actually get to see the villain outsmart the good guys for once.

The Usual Suspects

Se7en isn’t the only time Kevin Spacey plays an antagonist and comes out on top.

Watching him walk out of the police station and seeing Roger “Verbal” Kint transform into Keyser Söze in real time, as the police realize they’ve had the man they wanted this entire time, is one of the most unforgettable endings of all time.

Gone Girl

You can say the same thing about David Fincher directing movies where the villain wins, although I don’t think Zodiac and The Social Network entirely count.

Do you know what does, though? Gone Girl. You have to give Amy Dunne some credit; she’s brilliant, conniving, and knows how to get exactly what she wants.

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The Silence of the Lambs

“Wait, Clarice helped capture Buffalo Bill,” you may be saying to yourself.

Yes, this is true, but while Buffalo Bill was a notorious murderer, he wasn’t the cannibalistic psychopath locked up for the entire movie who escapes and says he’s having an old friend for dinner right before the credits roll. While the sequel was disappointing, watching Dr. Lecter walk into the crowd as a freeman is the perfect ending to an already bone-chilling movie.

Saw

The ending to the original Saw echoes a lot of the same vibes. Yes, the man we all thought was the antagonist, Zep, got what’s coming to him, but then we see the grand reveal.

John Kramer, better known as Jigsaw, was in the room with Adam and Dr. Gordon the entire time, and he walked out of the room unharmed.

Avengers: Infinity War

Perhaps the most famous example of the bad guy winning in pop culture is Infinity War.

Comic book fans had an idea they’d run back the iconic storyline where Thanos erases half of all life in the universe, but to see it actually happen was a huge surprise nonetheless.

The Dark Knight

Before Infinity War‘s Thanos came out on top and had the heroes looking for answers, it was The Joker who found a way to emerge victorious in The Dark Knight.

Yes, it’s heavily implied he’s been captured, not that it would have kept him locked away long term anyway, but the movie’s ending sees the city of Gotham turning on Batman, so who really won here? Exactly.

The Empire Strikes Back

Yet before both of those movies, there was one other major pop culture franchise that let the Dark Side come out on top.

It’s fitting that Star Wars: Episode V is titled The Empire Strikes Back, because it’s exactly what they do following the destruction of the first Death Star, and they waste no time in doing it. They capture the Rebel base at Hoth, Luke Skywalker is defeated by Darth Vader, and Han Solo is imprisoned in carbonite.

Primal Fear

One thing that makes endings where the bad guy wins even more satisfying, at least from a viewer’s perspective, is when a plot twist can come together.

That’s what happens with Primal Fear, which is aided by the fact that this was Edward Norton’s first film. No one knew he was, which made the twist ending that much more shocking.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy may be more of an anti-hero than a traditional protagonist, but we’re still rooting for him.

Sadly, there are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and Nurse Ratchet.

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal, you are crazy, man. I’ll always go to bat for Nightcrawler, which failed to generate any real award buzz for the Oscars or Golden Globes outside of Best Screenplay and Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Gyllenhaal’s character defines the phrase “descent into madness,” helping to make Nightcrawler one of the best modern-day cult classics you can watch.

No Country For Old Men

While Anton Chigurh comes out on top, walking away after presumably dealing with Carla Jean Moss, not even a car crash can keep him down. Yes, he’s injured, but he does what he’s always done in the movie: walk away.

It makes the final scene with Tommy Lee Jones’ Ed Tom Bell that much more meaningful, hammering home the truth that the world hasn’t changed or become more evil; people have just grown older, and they can’t handle the evils of the world anymore.

Saltburn

Call me crazy, but I have a soft spot for films where a previously sympathetic character is revealed to be the true antagonist. On that note, let’s talk about Saltburn.

Yes, a lot of people couldn’t help but talk about that scene, but I have to give kudos to Barry Keoghan’s Oliver Quick. He’s one of the most manipulative characters I’ve ever seen in a movie, knocking off every member of the Catton family one by one. I can’t help but be impressed.

Skyfall

One of the reasons I love the Daniel Craig era of Bond movies, particularly Casino Royale, Skyfall, and even parts of Quantum of Solace, is how humanized he is. This isn’t the well-established secret agent who can never be stopped; he’s a vulnerable, flawed character.

Skyfall is the perfect example of that, and I’m glad that Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva got some semblance of a victory by killing M, though it means we have to say goodbye to Judi Dench’s M.

Rocky

This is your friendly reminder that Rocky Balboa didn’t win the fight against Apollo  Creed.

That didn’t matter, though, because Rocky proved that he could go toe-to-toe with Creed in the ring. So while the “bad guy” wins, Rocky also came out on top.

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