Love Thy Enemy: 12 Best Friend Betrayals in Horror Films
A list of movies to remind you that sometimes a friendly face is just another disguise.
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Heart beating fast, anxiety twisting with excitement, and sweat mixing with cold chills. This could describe the feeling of watching a horror film. It could also describe two seemingly opposite emotions—love and hate. These two emotions are very similar. They fuel horror villains with passion and determination. Horror films often show violence and gore, with characters wielding sharp and lethal blades. The most dangerous weapon cuts the deepest, closest to the heart. The most deadly weapon is betrayal.
The villains on this list thrive through deception, love bombing, and gaslighting. Masked killers are commonplace, on-screen and otherwise, partially so a killer can remain anonymous enough not to get caught. Other times, it is because the mask hides a familiar face. Most famously shown in multiple Scream movies, when Ghostface pulls off their hood to reveal someone close to the central character. Most characters on this list don’t wear a physical mask. Even worse, their intentions are hidden beneath a friendly smile. Keep reading to discover the best lethal lovers and friendly fiends in horror cinema.
Beware: this list contains spoilers!
The Best Friend Betrayals in Horror
Child’s Play (1988)
They were supposed to be friends ’til the end. Young Andy Barclay quickly became inseparable from Chucky after being given the Good Guys talking doll for his birthday. Andy would do anything for Chucky. The boy even skips school and takes a train across town just so Chucky can take care of an errand. The errand is murder, but Andy doesn’t know that at the time. Andy trusts his friend, so why would he lie? But Chucky does lie, and Andy feels betrayed. Finally standing up for himself, Andy sets Chucky on fire. “This is the end, friend!”
Night of the Demons (1988)
There are two main lessons you can take away from Night of the Demons. First, you should never attend a Halloween party inside an abandoned funeral home infested with a demonic presence. Second, if you do attend a Halloween party at such a place, you should pick your friends wisely. Betrayal is the party’s second biggest theme (after demons) in this movie. Angela is betrayed by Suzanne who infects her with an evil kiss. Rodger betrays everyone when he repeatedly abandons people at the first sign of danger—though he does help his lone surviving friend in the end. But the worst is Jay. Jay only wants one thing from Judy, and when he doesn’t get it, he pouts, leaves her stuck alone inside a room, and immediately tries to sleep with the next woman he sees. Jay deserves everything he gets, and what he gets is a deadly eye-gouging.
Scream (1996)
The iconic Ghostface makes their first appearance in this film about a group of teenage friends being stalked and killed by a costumed killer wielding a kitchen knife. The death anniversary of Sidney’s mother seems to trigger the murder spree. Who would want to attack Sidney at her most vulnerable? Apparently, someone close to her heart wants it to stop beating. This extremely meta film shows that only one thing is more powerful than friendship: revenge.
High Tension (2003)
A secluded farmhouse is the perfect place to study for exams. That’s why Alex travels with her best friend Marie to visit her family’s secluded home in the countryside. The peaceful quiet gives way as a sadistic murderer breaks in. The entire family is killed, and Alex is kidnapped. Marie hides during the murderous rampage and follows the intruder who has her best friend tied up in the back of his truck. This French slasher film is full of deceit, and it has a twisted romance. “I won’t let anyone come between us,” Marie says as she and her best friend are covered in blood. Is it the promise of a savior, or a threat of a killer?
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
All the boys love Mandy Lane, but Mandy’s best friend is Emmet, a boy who is bullied by his classmates. After an incident in which Emmet is involved in the accidental death of one of his bullies, Mandy shuns Emmet at school… but that’s not the true betrayal in this story. Mandy is hiding a side of herself from everyone. From her new friends, and from her old pal Emmet. When a weekend gathering turns into a bloodbath, Mandy secretly plays both sides of the confrontation against each other, betraying everyone, including the friend who thought he knew her the best.
The Descent (2006)
After a traumatic event, Sarah looks to her friends to help her heart heal. Her best friend, Juno, has other things on her mind—adventure and conquest. The group of friends go on a radical caving adventure, something they have done many times. This time will be different. Malicious and hungry creatures await them in the darkness below. Juno may be luring her friends into a very deep grave. “I loved that it represented women in a more complicated, unpredictable, messy way,” actress Shauna Macdonald says of the complicated character dynamics. “I guess we are all like that, women included.”
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Despite their differences, Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer (Megan Fox) have been best friends since they were children. Even within the brutal social environment of high school, their friendship remains strong. That is, until one night when Jennifer becomes possessed. Jennifer’s new boy-eating personality pulls her further and further away from Needy, leading them towards a heartbreaking (and violent) confrontation that gets intensely personal.
You’re Next (2011)
Trust is an important part of any relationship. Eric trusts her boyfriend Crispian, and she is happy to meet his family at a reunion for his parents’ 35th anniversary. But the party is crashed by a trio of masked men who place the reunion under siege and begin killing. Crispian leaves, selflessly risking his life to get help for everyone trapped inside his family’s palatial vacation home. To everyone’s surprise, Erin is more than capable of fighting back, and she does so with expert precision. None are more surprised than Crispian, who has been hiding a secret that comes to light when his now-ex-girlfriend Erin ruins his plans.
Creep (2014)
Josef and the cameraman he hires quickly become best friends. At least, Josef seems to think so. He has hired a videographer to document his final days… or at least someone’s final days. Josef’s strange behavior transitions from friendly to frightening when he shows off his wolf-man persona named “Peachfuzz,” and gets caught making up stories about his life. Aaron (the videographer) gives Josef one too many chances to prove what a good friend he can be.
Happy Death Day (2017)
A very special birthday awaits Tree (Jessica Rothe). On this birthday, she will be killed by a masked murderer. She will die again (and again), only to wake up at the beginning of the day. As the day repeats itself, always ending in her death, she must discover who is behind the mask. This film teaches an important lesson. If you ever have to solve your own murder, start with those closest to you.
Lowlifes (2024)
Savannah and Amy have a lot in common. They both feel restless in their family life, and they’re both looking for something different from what they have. Their families, however, are vastly different. The main difference being, one of them belongs to a family of cannibals. Despite the expectation that one will kill and eat the other, Savannah and Amy become quick friends in the short time they have together, making it very awkward when survival and family loyalty force new friends into mortal combat.
Milk & Serial (2024)
Milk & Seven are best friends, and they make prank videos. Seven pulls a particularly mean prank on Milk as part of his birthday celebration, but Milk already has a “prank” of his own in the works. Guided by a deranged mind and a feeling of betrayal stemming from creative disagreements, Milk takes his plan to deadly extremes, but not before attempting to completely destroy his friend’s mind.
More Betrayals of Friendship in Horror
- The Stepford Wives (1975) – The town of Stepford seems too perfect to its newest resident, Joanna, a successful photographer moving her family away from the city to start a new life. What seems like a disturbing level of submission to Joanna seems much better to her husband, who will do anything to “help” his wife fit in with the other Stepford wives.
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Rosemary, a newly pregnant housewife, is excited to welcome a new child with her husband. When new and painful symptoms take over her pregnancy, she must trust those around her for help. Raising a child may take a village, but gestating and birthing one occasionally requires some of hell’s highest-ranking witches.
- The Babysitter (2017) – Cole feels lucky to have a hot and hilarious babysitter. She only has one “negative” trait that is hard to overlook—she is in a Satanic cult. How can Cole go to sleep when his babysitter is performing rituals for the dark lord?
- Midsommar (2019) – Dani and Christian travel to Sweden with their friends during their famous Midsommar celebrations. The beautiful countryside becomes splattered with blood as the celebrations become increasingly hostile and dangerous. Will the couple have each other’s backs, or will one of them hold the knife that stabs the other in the back?
- Run (2020) – Chloe may be wheelchair-bound, but at least she has a caring mother to take care of her. Her mother home-schools her, helps her exercise, and gives her medication. A lot of medication. When Chloe becomes suspicious, her only option is to run.
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