# Any horror movies where the villain is not revealed NOR featured until the end? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626 "2016-05-01T20:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mislav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/1 "2016-05-01T20:04:17Z")
Not the character that most of us least suspected of being a serial killer/ demon/vampire/werewolf or whatever, but, literally, somebody not featured up to that point at all (except for the scary death scenes, but without his/her face being shown)? Like, at the very end, he/she is revealed, and it is the character that we haven’t seen before throughout the whole movie? Similar to the way the unsubs were usually revealed in early seasons of “Criminal Minds”? It sounds like a terrible twist ending, sure, a cop out basically, but I’d be surprised if it turns out that nobody has pulled it off by now. It may even be a breath of fresh air. Most of the horror movie endings and villain reveals are cliches now, it is hard to come up with something original. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/2 "2016-05-01T20:19:19Z")
How about the end of _Friday the 13th_? Turns out the serial killer was the mom, whom you’ve not seen up to that point. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/3 "2016-05-01T20:51:53Z")
Unsurprisingly, there’s a TV Tropes entry that covers this phenomenon: [Stranger Behind The Mask](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrangerBehindTheMask). The horror films _The House on Sorority Row_, _Deep Red_ and \*I Know What You Did Last Summer \* are listed as examples. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/4 "2016-05-01T21:39:01Z")
Not a horror movie, exactly, but there is _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ where the villain isn’t revealed until the very end. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/5 "2016-05-01T23:13:07Z")
It’s considered poor writing, the equivalent of a Deus ex machina. Unless you introduce the character beforehand, the audience will think it’s a cheat. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/6 "2016-05-01T23:21:00Z")
Would **Cabin in the Woods** count? The ancient gods come out at the very end to destroy the world. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/7 "2016-05-01T23:44:04Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > Unsurprisingly, there’s a TV Tropes entry that covers this phenomenon: Not on that list: the eccentric-sleuth-tries-to-find-a-serial-killer’s-pattern-to-stop-him flick _The January Man_, with Kevin Kline as said eccentric sleuth; said killer – wasn’t the guy played by Alan Rickman, or the guy played by Harvey Keitel, or the guy played by Danny Aiello, or the guy played by Rod Steiger; and so on. Instead, it all pretty much comes to an end with a “Does anybody know this guy?” and a “Who he is ain’t important” and a “That’s the problem with him” and a “He’s nobody.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/8 "2016-05-02T00:51:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Not on that list: the eccentric-sleuth-tries-to-find-a-serial-killer’s-pattern-to-stop-him flick _The January Man_, with Kevin Kline as said eccentric sleuth; said killer – wasn’t the guy played by Alan Rickman, or the guy played by Harvey Keitel, or the guy played by Danny Aiello, or the guy played by Rod Steiger; and so on. > > Instead, it all pretty much comes to an end with a “Does anybody know this guy?” and a “Who he is ain’t important” and a “That’s the problem with him” and a “He’s nobody.” Isn’t that also the film The Usual Suspects? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/9 "2016-05-02T01:07:57Z")
Would **Black Christmas** count? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/10 "2016-05-02T01:25:09Z")
How about [Sleepaway Camp](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086320/?ref_=nv_sr_1)? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/11 "2016-05-02T01:29:15Z")
The Fly (1986) is for the most part hero turning into the villain until the very end where Stathis, the assumed villain, saves the day. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/12 "2016-05-02T01:29:26Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Would **Black Christmas** count? I was gonna mention that too. A made-for-tv horror movie I saw when I was kid back in the 70’s (and haven’t it seen since) called “Crowhaven Farm” revealed a villain near the end. The Hope Lange character was trying to escape, and got picked up by her “friend”, who ended up only delivering her to the “bad guys”. I’ll always remember the stone-faced line: “Get out of the car, Maggie.” ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/13 "2016-05-02T02:16:23Z")
The January Man. He’s unmasked and he’s nobody. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/14 "2016-05-02T02:37:42Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Would **Black Christmas** count? That was my first thought. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The January Man. > > He’s unmasked and he’s nobody. I know a guy who studies the Jack the Ripper case really seriously, and has published some articles on it. He says that at judgment day (he’s an atheist engaging in hyperbole), if someone says “OK, who was it? who was Jack?” some guy no one recognizes will raise his hand. _The January Man_ is making a point, and I think does it quite well. Not every crime film could take its tack, but I think in this case, it works. **SPOILER ALERT** : In Hitchcock’s _The Wrong Man_, the actual criminal for whom the hero was mistaken is arrested at the end. He bears a slight resemblance to the hero, but not that much. He is a shlub we have never seen before. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/15 "2016-05-02T11:56:54Z")
There was an old “Golden Age” Superman story where, when the villain is unmasked at the end, he turned out to be no one we’ve ever seen before. The dialogue then goes something like this: Superman: I’ve never seen you before Villain: Of Course Not. That’s WHY I did it – I wanted to be KNOWN for something! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/16 "2016-05-02T12:02:07Z")
What about Se7en? Kevin Spacey is just some guy who shows up at the end before the final scene. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/17 "2016-05-02T12:10:20Z")
I believe _The Bone Collector_ fits the OP’s category for the most part - the villain is revealed at the end to be someone you saw briefly at the start of the film, who has a preposterous motive and is frankly just a step to the left from “the butler did it”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/18 "2016-05-02T13:20:38Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > What about Se7en? Kevin Spacey is just some guy who shows up at the end before the final scene. That’s what I was thinking, too. Great movie - great role. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/19 "2016-05-02T13:24:53Z")
From the TV show _Bones_, there’s [Gormogon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gormogon_(Bones)) He was not been given a name, and he has been described as “a nobody, an invisible man, angry at history for not seeing him”. The stunt performer — Laurence Todd Rosenthal — who played Gormogon went uncredited; the character had no spoken dialogue and appeared on screen only briefly. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626/20 "2016-05-02T14:16:30Z")
The villain I refer to above later became known ( in the 1980s, when they revived him) as “Funnyface” ([Funnyface (New Earth) | DC Database | Fandom](http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Funnyface_(New_Earth)) ) He first appeared in Superman #19 (November 1942) in “The Case of the Funny Paper Crimes” > **[Superman Vol 1 19](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superman_Vol_1_19)** > > "Case of the Funny Paper Crimes": Funny Face, a criminal comics creator, brings a series of comic strip villains to life, and sets them to robbing in Metropolis. Superman deals with these one at a time, until he figures out what's going on. Meanwhile... I read it in Superman #183, an “80 Page Giant” from 1966 reprinting some “Golden Age Stories” > **[Superman Vol 1 183](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superman_Vol_1_183)** > > "The Case of the Funny Paper Crimes": This story is reprinted from Superman #19. Superman #183 is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1966. This story is reprinted from Superman #19. Funny Face, a criminal comics... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-horror-movies-where-the-villain-is-not-revealed-nor-featured-until-the-end/753626.md?page=2)