10 Movies That Cruelly Teased What We REALLY Wanted To See

The Hangover 3's post-credits scene was the movie we all really wanted to see.

by Andrew Pollard
The Hangover 3 post-credits
Warner Bros.

Across the decades, the world of cinema and film has provided audiences with so many brilliant, memorable moments that we've all revisited time and time again. Similarly, though, there have been those other moments that we've revisited on numerous occasions purely to examine a great 'what if?' piece of movie history.

As a movie fan, there's nothing quite like being rewarded for your viewership. For those paying attention or for those hoping for something particular to play out, it's fantastic to finally get that pay-off. But across the film industry, there have been so, so many times when we all thought we were getting just such a pay-off - only for it to ultimately prove to be nothing more than simply a tease of what we could've been given.

That can be frustrating, it can be viewed as deceitful, and it can often leave a bad taste in the mouth, yet it's something that's happened with alarming frequency when reflecting back on the history of the silver screen.

With that in mind, then, here are just ten such examples of times when movies couldn't help but cruelly tease us all with a glimpse of what we really wanted to see.

10. A Babyface Nemesis In Resident Evil: Apocalypse

The Hangover 3 post-credits
Screen Gems

The inclusion of franchise favourite villain Nemesis in Resident Evil: Apocalypse was so great in so many ways for so long. That is, of course, until this 2004 second entry in the RE movie franchise pulled the rug out from underneath its audience during the sequel's final act.

Opting to utilise practical effects for this creature, Apocalypse delivered a Nemesis that looked like Nemesis, that stalked its prey like Nemesis, and that really was the Nemesis we'd all hoped to see brought to life. But just when all was going well and just when we thought Resident Evil: Apocalypse had given us a worthy take on Nemesis, all of that impressive groundwork was ruined by the picture flipping all of that on its head.

Giving Nemesis the backstory of being the human Matt Addison was maybe a tad questionable, yet Apocalypse still managed to make the hulking powerhouse work so well for the majority of its duration. Then, though, any positive thoughts and goodwill was thrown out of the window, when Nemesis had a change of heart - turning into a 'good guy' during the movie's close, as he remembers his human self and thus sacrifices himself to help Milla Jovovich's Alice save the day.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.