10 Most Iconic Betrayals in Movie History, Ranked

Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the movies mentioned.One of the hardest things to pull off in any story is betrayal. The main thing that makes it so difficult is that the creator or creators have to convince not just the characters in their story but the audience that a certain person is trustworthy and reliable, only to tear that delusion down in a way that fits in and makes sense. There are a lot of moving parts to the plot device, especially in cinema, but every now and again, filmmakers really nail it.

Some of the best movie betrayals are ones that stick with the audience and are among the most notable parts of their respective films. This is often because they often achieve the emotional devastation that comes with being stabbed in the back but also make audiences question everything they’ve ever known about the film and its characters. These are the best, most renowned movie betrayals, which many people likely know already even if they haven’t seen the films.

10

Rose’s True Motives

‘Get Out’ (2017)

Rose (Allison Williams) is the love interest of Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) in Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out. Initially, their relationship seems to be going well, with Rose asking Chris to come and meet her family, which he agrees to do. However, he finds that her wealthy family begins to act bizarre, to the point where Chris no longer feels safe with them. He prepares to leave, but all of a sudden, Rose refuses to give him the car keys.

It is eventually revealed that Rose has had many partners and that she and her family are running a criminal syndicate for the wealthy involving brain transplants and hypnosis. Getting dumped by someone you love is never easy, but finding out that your lover not only doesn’t love you but has been secretly intent on kidnapping you this whole time has got to sting. Yet, this opens up a new, intricate plot, one that was revolutionary in the world of horror, making this movie betrayal a landmark moment in the genre.

9

Cypher’s Deal with the Machines

‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) is a crew member and friend of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) aboard the Nebuchadnezzar in The Matrix. Though he is working for the rebels, it would seem that he hates the life of being always on the run from the tyrannical machines, and agrees to betray his close friend Morpheus in exchange for being plugged back into the simulated reality of the Matrix, where he can “live” a more comfortable existence than the one he is currently facing.

His backstabbing is a bit of a minor moment in the film, but it proves to have catastrophic consequences, propelling the plot forward, and allowing the Agents contained within the Matrix to locate and interrogate Morpheus, escalating the war between humans and machines to new heights. There’s a reason Cypher comes as one of the most hated characters in the series, as he would rather sell out his friends than put in actual effort and fight for a just cause, which is a cynical outlook on human nature that the film explores.

8

Ash is an Android

‘Alien’ (1979)

Ash (Ian Holm) is the science officer aboard the commercial space tug Nostromo in Ridley Scott‘s classic sci-fi horror flick, Alien. The story begins when the crew is awoken from stasis by the ship’s AI, who sends them to investigate a mysterious distress beacon. This invites the apex predator, an alien species known as the Xenomorph on board the ship, which slowly begins to pick them off, one by one.

Later, it is discovered that Ash was ordered by the company that owns the Nostromo to return home with a live sample of the Xenomorph and to let the rest of the crew die if necessary. It is also revealed that he is not human, but an android who was never really that capable of human emotion. This startling revelation is not just a highlight of the film, but it’s also a jab at corporations who deem their employees expendable so long as they can move up in wealth or power, or make some sort of scientific breakthrough. Ash may be a robot, but this is still one of the most shocking and unexpected unmaskings of a traitor that cinema has ever seen.

7

“Aaron” Was Roy All Along

‘Primal Fear’ (1996)

Edward Norton stars as Aaron in Primal Fear, a psychological thriller and courtroom drama wherein Aaron, a former altar boy, is accused of murdering the priest of his church. Coming to his aid is criminal defense lawyer Martin Vail (Richard Gere), who seems to be the only one who is genuinely convinced that Aaron is innocent. He is vehement about his stance and finds several opportunities to prove Aaron’s innocence, eventually deducing that Aaron likely has some sort of dissociative identity disorder and that one of his alter-egos was responsible for the killing, not the soft-spoken, stammering Aaron that Martin comes to know. Martin and Aaron actually become friends throughout their time in court, and Martin becomes more and more sure that Aaron actually harbors no ill will towards anyone and that he had no idea that he killed the priest due to his multiple personalities.

In the end, Martin successfully is able to get Aaron off the hook by reason of insanity, sending him to a mental institution rather than a jail cell. However, after the sentence is given, “Aaron” accidentally lets it slip that he never had a split personality disorder, and that he was his violent and angry alter ego, “Roy,” this entire time. “Aaron” was just a front put on for Martin, one that evidently worked. Roy played Martin like a fiddle, avoiding prison for a murder he knows full well he intentionally committed. The end of the film is a swift gut-punch of a twist ending because Aaron even had the audience on his side for a while. This isn’t just a betrayal to Martin, but to the viewers who also came to trust Aaron, making for one of the most powerful betrayals and twists in any mystery film ever.

6

Lotso’s Dark Side

‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)

Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, or Lotso for short (Ned Beatty) is the purple, strawberry-scented antagonist of Toy Story 3. He is a bitter and resentful old bear who became disillusioned with humans when his owner lost him one day and quickly replaced him with another bear. As a result, he often finds ways to force his cynical and traumatized worldview on other toys, attempting to instill the idea in them that they have no inherent value and that their humans would easily replace them if they ever went missing.

At first, he is the leader of a group of toys at a daycare center where the main characters wind up after becoming lost, and Lotso initially appears jovial. However, he later condemns the toys to their doom by leaving them to die in an incinerator, making for one of the darkest and most heart-wrenching moments in the Toy Story series, or any kids’ movie for that matter. Lotso is a representation of the bitter, angry emotions of those who have previously betrayed themselves, and as such, are likely to take out their frustrations by betraying others. It’s an important lesson for kids, as it helps them understand why people do bad things. Moral of the story aside, his betrayal is still one of the most famous in cinema, and for good reason.

5

HAL Turns on the Crew

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain) is the supercomputer that the space crew is given to help with their journey to Jupiter in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Unfortunately for the crew, HAL was given two sets of conflicting orders. The politicians who commissioned his design ordered him to keep the true purpose of the voyage a secret, while the engineers who actually programmed him ordered him to always be 100% truthful. This caused a major malfunction in HAL, prompting him to try to kill the members of his crew, so that he could tell them, but also keep the operation a secret, since they wouldn’t be around to let it slip.

HAL’s eerily soothing voice the moment he says “I’m sorry… I’m afraid I can’t do that” the minute he turns on his crew is enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine, and is made so much creepier by his robotic nature. This iconic moment comes not only as one of the most thrilling and unnerving plot twists and betrayals, but also as a warning about the dangers of AI, and the negative consequences that an overreliance on technology can have.

4

Snape’s Double Agent Role

‘Harry Potter’ Series (2001–2011)

Say what you will about the Harry Potter franchise, but there is no denying that Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) is one of the most complex, most well-written characters in all of fiction. He appears a grumpy old fuddy-duddy throughout most of the films, and in the sixth, murders Professor Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon), a man who trusted him to the bitter end. At first, it is normal to feel outraged at Snape, especially with how he joins the Death Eaters, until he himself is killed, and in his final moments, gives Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) his memories so that Harry can view them in a magical object known as the Pensieve, which will give him all the answers he needs.

When Harry views the memories, it is revealed that Snape actually killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore’s life was already coming to an end and that he actually asked Snape to do it. It’s also revealed that Snape only appears to be helping the Death Eaters, and has always been a loyal double agent for Dumbledore. In the end, it was not Dumbledore he betrayed, but Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), as Snape gave Harry everything he needed to know in order to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. The complexity of Snape’s character is one of the finest aspects of Harry Potter, establishing him as a morally grey, yet highly respectable character who stabbed his master in the back without ever getting caught for it.

3

Scar Kills Mufasa

‘The Lion King’ (1994)

Scar (Jeremy Irons) is the jealous brother of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) in The Lion King, and believes himself to be a better fit for the throne. His jealousy and greed grew so great that he gradually devised a plan to kill his own brother and usurp his throne. Scar does this by making the death appear to be an accident. First, he lures his nephew, Simba, into a canyon, where Simba becomes stranded on a tree after a stampede of wildebeests comes barreling through.

Then, Scar lures Mufasa to the canyon, asking him to save Simba. Mufasa does so, but is having a hard time escaping from the wildebeests himself. He asks Scar for help only for Scar to utter the infamous words “Long live the king” before letting Mufasa fall, where he is trampled to death by the stampeding animals. This cold-blooded fratricide is one of the darkest moments in a kids’ movie and one of the saddest death scenes ever, which has helped establish it as one of the greatest betrayals in movie history.

2

Fredo’s Fatal Slip

‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974)

Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) is one of the heirs of the Corleone crime family but finds himself plagued by the need to prove himself outside of the mafia and build an empire of his own, one that wasn’t handed down to him by his father. Due to his insatiable thirst for power, he throws his own family under the bus, delivering crucial information to a rival gang, who tries to assassinate his brother, Michael (Al Pacino).

Fredo tries to maintain the illusion that he has no idea who commissioned the hit, but it is only a matter of time before he slips up. The hurt and cold anger in Michael’s voice as he whispers to his brother that he knows he was responsible for it is one of the most unnerving, yet, painful moments in cinema. It’s one thing to feud with a brother, but it’s another to know that their actions could have caused your own death. The worst part is that this revelation is delivered as the two siblings embrace, with Michael emphasizing that Fredo broke his heart. This movie may be a fictional story, but it is an honest look at the backstabbing and treachery that goes on in organized crime circles, with brother turning on brother just to get ahead in their quest for power.

1

Order 66

‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)

Few words in Star Wars have ever been as chilling as Emperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) “Execute Order 66.” What this basically meant was that the Republic’s army of clones, due to an inhibitor chip implanted in their brains, are forced to immediately slaughter the Jedi that they work alongside, allowing Palpatine’s master plan to finally take shape. This led to the Republic’s dissolution, later reforming into the Galactic Empire present throughout the original trilogy. Sure, the prequel trilogy came out after the original, so everyone knew that this sort of thing was going to happen before going into Revenge of the Sith, but none could have anticipated how devastating the scene would be.

Many fan-favorite Jedi are fighting on distant worlds alongside the clones when they are abruptly shot in the back by their own friends. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) falls to the Dark Side and, with his army of clones, lays siege to the Jedi Temple, slaughtering everybody inside. regardless of age. Order 66 is one of the most pivotal moments in the entirety of Star Wars canon, and shows how the long-standing Republic crumbled in a matter of hours due to Palpatine’s nefarious plan to bring the Jedi to their knees. This tragic scene really allows fans to feel the sting of betrayal, even if they knew it was coming. Due to this fact and its galaxy-wide scale, Order 66 has come to be known as one of the most infamous and devastating betrayals ever seen in cinema.

NEXT: Iconic Plot Twists Everyone Knows (Even Without Watching The Movie)