Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man.
Thriller Movies The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break.
Hulu The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Movies Movie fans are debating the otherwise bad films saved by amazing endings, and you bet Terminator 3 is on the list 
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
Movies The 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
(L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo 'Matty' Nix in The Rip.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Ghostface in Scream (2022)
Horror Movies All 7 Scream movies ranked, from worst to best
Cillian Murphy as Tommy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch right now
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3
Amazon Prime Video The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
Matthew Lillard as Stu Macher in Scream 1996
Horror Movies Scream 7 baits fans into thinking an underrated horror icon was finally getting his due – and I'm not happy about it
Ice Cube in War of the Worlds
Sci-Fi Movies War of the Worlds dominates nominations for anti-Oscars the Razzies, though we're not super surprised given its 4% Rotten Tomatoes score
The Lion King is undoubtedly one of the best movies on Disney Plus
Movies The 30 best movies on Disney Plus to watch right now
Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis and Dacre Montgomery as Richard Hall in Dead Man's Wire
Thriller Movies Bill Skarsgård plays a scorned kidnapper in Dead Man's Wire, a surprisingly funny crime thriller
Jacob Elordi as the Creature in Frankenstein
Horror Movies The 25 best Netflix horror movies to watch right now
Tim Roth as Beckett reading with his feet on a desk in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man villain Tim Roth starred in The Incredible Hulk to "embarrass" his kids
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Worst Movie Betrayals

Features
By Joshua Winning published 6 November 2012

Watch your back… Spoilers ahead!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)

The Betrayal: Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) discovers that beautiful blonde Elsa (Alison Doodey) is actually a Nazi spy, and only bonked him for information.

Talk about sleeping with the enemy.

Why It’s So Bad: Turns out Elsa also bedded Jones Senior.

Now that’s something to keep you awake at night.

The Fallout: Elsa gets her comeuppance when she falls to her death as the temple collapses at the end of The Last Crusade .

You may like
  • Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man. The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
  • Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break. The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
  • Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now

Nice knowin' ya.

Scream (1996)

The Betrayal: The one thing a girl needs when there’s a serial killer on the loose is her boyfriend’s shoulder to cry on.

Shame, then, that it turns out Sidney’s (Neve Campbell) squeeze Billy (Skeet Ulrich) is the serial killer in question.

Why It’s So Bad: Not only is Billy (and pal Stu) obsessed with killing Sidney, he’s also butchered half her friends – and her mum. Sheesh.

The Fallout: Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) to the rescue!

The hard-bitten reporter shoots Billy and saves the day – just about.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith (2005)

The Betrayal: With his morals twisted by evil Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), Anakin (Hayden Christensen) does the unthinkable and slays innocent younglings - nothing says "screw you, Jedi Order!" like a massacre.

Why It’s So Bad: He killed children! There’s no coming back from that…

The Fallout: Just Episodes IV-VI , y’know, as Darth Vader becomes a force to be reckoned with.

The Room (2003)

The Betrayal: Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) discovers a tape on which his girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and his friend Mark (Greg Sestero) have a rather intimate conversation.

Yes, they’ve both betrayed him.

Why It’s So Bad: Johnny’s so upset by the betrayal of the closest people to him that he kills himself.

The Fallout: Um, death.

You may like
  • Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man. The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
  • Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break. The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
  • Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now

Julius Caesar (1970)

The Betrayal: Brutus (Jason Robards) is a friend of Caesar (John Gielgud) who joins a group of conspiratorial senators who are concerned that Caesar is attempting to turn Rome into a monarchy.

They end up killing Caesar.

Why It’s So Bad: Brutus himself has a stab at the ruler, which means he literally has his friend’s blood on his hands.

The Fallout: The public turn on Brutus and the senators, driving them from Rome.

GoodFellas (1990)

The Betrayal: Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) takes freedom over jail, and gives evidence against his mobster friends. The dawg.

Why It’s So Bad: Saving your own neck instead of going down with your buddies?

When your buddies are mobsters, we’re not sure that’s the best decision.

The Fallout: Henry discovers what it’s like living in the real world.

“I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” Sob.

Double Jeopardy (1999)

The Betrayal: Elizabeth (Ashley Judd) is framed for her husband’s murder when she’s discovered alone aboard a friend’s yacht and covered in his blood.

Why It’s So Bad: Turns out Elizabeth’s hubbie isn’t dead at all, but wanted to cash in on his own life insurance.

The Fallout: Elizabeth decides to kill her husband for real, arguing she can’t get tried for the same case twice.

(Even though technically this second, real murder would be an entirely new case…)

The Fugitive (1993)

The Betrayal: Dr. Charles Nichols (Jeroen Krabbé) decides to have his friend Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) killed when the latter discovers that Nichols’ new drug causes devastating liver damage.

Why It’s So Bad: It all goes a bit tits up when the hitman Nichols hires to off Kimble ends up killing Kimble’s wife instead.

The Fallout: Kimble decides he needs to teach Nichols a lesson.

Cruel Intentions (1999)

The Betrayal: Sebastian (Ryan Philippe) is dared by devious stepsister Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) to seduce innocent church girl Annette (Reese Witherspoon).

Ah love, the ultimate betrayal.

Why It’s So Bad: Sebastian initially goes along with it so he can sleep with his seductive stepsister, but soon starts having real feelings for Annette.

Who, naturally, discovers it’s all just a bet.

The Fallout: Somebody dies. Somebody gets their comeuppance. And somebody gets a really swish set of wheels.

Total Recall (1990)

The Betrayal: Up on Mars, Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is double-crossed by amiable-seeming taxi driver Benny (Mel Johnson Jr), who turns out to be a bendy-armed mutant in the employ of Cohaagen.

Why It’s So Bad: Benny’s meant to be a nice guy – a rare ally in the sucking void that is Mars. His betrayal really stings.

The Fallout: Benny, naturally, is killed. And Quaid saves the day.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Current page: Page 1

Next Page Page 2
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Read more
Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man.
Thriller Movies The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
 
 
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break.
Hulu The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
 
 
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
 
 
Movies Movie fans are debating the otherwise bad films saved by amazing endings, and you bet Terminator 3 is on the list 
 
 
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
Movies The 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
 
 
(L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo 'Matty' Nix in The Rip.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
 
 
Latest in Movies
Spider-Man Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Tom Holland compares Jon Bernthal's Punisher to RDJ's Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
 
 
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Marvel Movies Marvel Studios pushes back one of its upcoming MCU release dates while revealing two more
 
 
The Wheel of Time
Fantasy Shows The Wheel of Time is returning as a series of animated movies and shows, and a video game
 
 
Fast X
Action Movies Assassin's Creed screenwriter will pen the script for the long-awaited final Fast and Furious movie
 
 
The new GamesRadar+ logo on a dark background adorned with crosses in orange and grey
Games Leave comments, play quizzes, earn badges: Join the GamesRadar+ community
 
 
Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in Star Wars: Starfighter
Star Wars Movies Tom Cruise interrupted filming on Star Wars: Starfighter by landing his helicopter on set
 
 
Latest in Features
Invincible VS screenshot showing Dupli-Kate using her abilities
Fighting Games Invincible VS director wants players to feel like "a f**king superhero," so expect matches that are a "knock-down, drag-out fight until the death"
 
 
A close-up of Grace talking with someone through glass in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem's Grace actor did "a lot of research" into panic disorders, which makes playing the game with a real-life anxiety condition the scariest the series has ever been
 
 
Star Wars Galactic Racer big preview
Racing Games "Our tracks are not procedurally-generated": Why replayability is at the heart of Star Wars: Galactic Racer
 
 
Star Wars Galactic Racer big preview
Racing Games Star Wars: Galactic Racer looks every bit the Burnout: Takedown revival I've been waiting 20 years to play
 
 
A man sits astride a wolf mount on top of a mountain in Crimson Desert, which isn't on Game Pass.
Adventure Games 100 hours of Crimson Desert made me realize how perfect Breath of the Wild is
 
 
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered screenshot with 'Future of Starfield' branding
RPGs How returning to The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion reshaped Todd Howard's stance on remastering Bethesda's RPGs
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Shrek
    1
    3 new to Netflix movies I recommend you watch this weekend (March 21 - March 22)
  2. 2
    "My dream game": After 7 hours, Palworld publishing lead delivers his Crimson Desert verdict: "This game is made for me"
  3. 3
    "The biggest time save in nearly a decade of Pokemon speedrunning" has been discovered in FireRed
  4. 4
    Marathon's Cryo Archive is locked to weekends partly because you're going to "lose a lot of gear"
  5. 5
    Arc Raiders devs tortured each other during playtests, juicing Arc into Elden Ring bosses

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...