10 Horror Movie Characters Who Didn’t Know They Were The Killer

10. Marie - Switchblade Romance

Whether you know it as Switchblade Romance, High Tension or Haute Tension, Alexandre Aja's 2003 picture is one that forever splits opinion.

After a scorching, unrelenting 70 minutes or so, Switchblade Romance offers up one of the most shocking twists in modern-day horror. Some loved it, some hated it, and it's this twist that's usually the source of the vastly different opinions people have on the movie.

Plot-wise, the film centres on Cécile de France's Marie and Maïwenn's Alex, with the pair staying at Alex's parents' house for the weekend. When a late night ringing of the home's doorbell wakes our main characters from their slumber, the person on the other side of the door is a grim 'n' grimey madman (Philippe Nahon) who kills Alex's parents and her younger brother before taking her hostage in his truck. Marie manages to sneak into said truck, where the pair are locked in as they plan how they're going to escape this most sticky of situations.

Of course, the controversial ending of Switchblade Romance sees it revealed that Marie has been the one carrying out the murders of the movie, with her a crazed loon who's obsessively in love with Alex; to the extent she imaged the film's killer in order to stop anyone else being close to her obsession.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 10th Nov 2021

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