20 Horror Movies That Made You Root For The Wrong Person
We thought these horror characters were the good guys. Boy, were we wrong.
To ensure viewers grasp a horror movie's story, the central characters' roles tend to be established early on. As such, it should be crystal clear who is the final girl, the sidekick, the jerk, the love interest, and so forth. But horror is renowned for its twists and turns, so it's not uncommon for the audience to be led astray.
Time and time again, the genre flips the script, urging viewers to cheer for characters who don't deserve it. Filmmakers use a combination of narrative perspective, character development, and camera work to make certain figures appear relatable or innocent, even if they harbour ill intentions.
Additionally, a story may begin in the middle, causing us to misinterpret the characters' actions. By seeing everything from the antagonist's point of view, their actions may seem justified for a while, and if a baddie has some redeemable qualities, they can be erroneously perceived as the good guys.
Even though it now seems obvious who the heroes are in the following 20 horror films, we all initially fell for these red herrings.
Before we go any further, we must emphasise that MASSIVE spoilers lie ahead. You've been warned.
20. Jigsaw
In Jigsaw, the eighth Saw instalment, Anna and four others find themselves unwillingly playing Jigsaw's latest game. As usual, each participant is someone that Jigsaw believes is wasting their lives, with the group including a purse snatcher, a junkie, and a con-man, so it's apparent these five aren't exactly victims.
Anna is no angel, but she seems far from irredeemable. She helps the other participants, reprimands them when they act inappropriately, and comforts anyone who seeks validation. Due to Anna's maternal nature, it seems possible that Jigsaw selected her by mistake.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
In the third reel, Jigsaw divulges that Anna used to be his neighbour, and when Anna's baby kept crying, she suffocated it and framed her husband for the crime. Unable to live with the false blame, the husband took his own life.
Despite her sin, Jigsaw lets Anna and another participant, Ryan, take part in one last game, allowing them to walk free if they abide by the rules. However, Anna is so desperate to be the only winner, she ends up dooming them both.
Anna was initially set up as the best of a bad bunch, but she ended up being the worst of the lot