10 Times Movie Villains Revealed Themselves And We Didn't See Them

    The devil truly is in the details.

    Anthony Orlando
    by Anthony Orlando

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    Movie villains have a knack for showing up when you least expect them, and sometimes, they revealed themselves to us, and we didn't even see them.

    Pennywise with a balloon over Its head in "It"/Mysterio charging green energy blasts in "Spider-Man: Far From Home"
    Warner Bros./Sony / Via YouTube

    In multiple films, villains were strategically placed in the setting so that neither the hero nor the audience noticed them hiding out in the open. To bring these tricks to light, here are 10 times movie villains hid in plain sight.

    WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

    10. Mysterio — Spider-Man: Far From Home

    Peter standing next to a pillar with Quentin Beck in the background in "Spider-Man: Far From Home"
    Marvel Studios / Via YouTube

    Everyone who knows Mysterio knew he would secretly be a villain in this Marvel film. But even if you did know him from the comics, you might not have seen one of his amazing tricks. When Peter looks at MJ from a distance while they're in Venice, you can see Quentin Beck watching him in the background, waiting to make his move.

    9. Cult Members — Hereditary

    The Graham house at night in "Hereditary"
    A24 / Via YouTube

    The cult in Hereditary is a mysterious and elusive group of villains working in the shadows to summon the demon Paimon. In the film's horrifying third act, we learn that the cultists are hiding in and around the Graham household. But in the establishing shot for the final night, you can actually see some of the cult members standing outside the house.

    8. Toshio — Ju-On: The Grudge

    Saito seen in the reflection of a glass door with Toshio in "Ju-on: The Grudge"
    Lionsgate Films / Via YouTube

    Next to Ring, Ju-On: The Grudge is the most influential horror film to come out of Japan around the turn of the century, with the ghost boy Toshio becoming one of the most recognizable characters in horror. However, you may be surprised to learn you actually missed him at one point. In a scene focusing on Saito, the elderly man is shown playing peekaboo with what appears to be no one. But when he is brought back inside, we can see Toshio next to Saito's reflection in the glass door.

    7. Crawler — The Descent

    A wide shot of Sarah and her friends exploring a cave in "The Descent"
    Pathé Distribution / Via YouTube

    This horror film follows a group of friends who go spelunking in an underground cavern and encounter a race of cave-dwelling "crawlers" that try to consume them all. Though this change in the story may seem sudden, earlier in the film, you can see a humanoid figure standing alone on the left side of the screen. You may assume that it is one of the women exploring the cave, but a second later, this figure crouches down like an animal, revealing itself as one of the crawlers.

    6. Possessed Annie — Hereditary

    Peter waking up in his room at night while Annie is on the ceiling in "Hereditary"
    A24 / Via Hulu

    When Peter wakes up in his bed after a terrifying accident, he is stalked throughout the house by his mother, Annie, now possessed by the demon, Paimon. She can be seen crawling around on the ceiling, watching Peter, but the room is so dark that you may have missed her the first time around.

    5. The Ghost Boy — Insidious

    Renai putting laundry into a basket in "Insidious"
    FilmDistrict / Via YouTube

    In this James Wan classic, a family encounters multiple ghosts in their house after one of their sons falls into a coma. The mother, Renai, finds one ghost boy playing around inside her house. She first sees him halfway into the scene, but if you look closely, you can see the boy standing right in the corner of the room as she puts away some laundry.

    4. The Riddler — The Batman

    Wide-shot of Gotham City in "The Batman"
    Warner Bros. / Via HBO Max

    Paul Dano's version of the Riddler is so good at hiding that Batman didn't realize he was living right next to the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge the whole time. But looking back on the film, one eagle-eyed viewer spotted the Riddler standing in his apartment, gazing out at the city, and director Matt Reeves confirmed it was him.

    3. Pazuzu — The Exorcist

    Damien Karras waving his arm in the street in "The Exorcist"
    Warner Bros. / Via YouTube

    This legendary horror film centers around a young girl who gets possessed by the demon Pazuzu, but audiences only get fleeting glimpses of this evil entity throughout the film. For example, in the scene Father Karras dreams of his late mother, the film cuts to an image of Pazuzu's face so fast that you wonder if you actually saw it. Director William Friedkin used this technique to unnerve the audience by making them question whether or not what they saw was real.

    2. Pennywise — It

    Ben reading at the Derry Public Library in "It"
    Warner Bros. / Via YouTube

    Due to Its strong presence in the town of Derry, the shapeshifter can appear almost anywhere, and people wouldn't even see It. In one instance, the clown disguises himself as a librarian and can be seen staring at Ben with a wicked smile. In another scene, It is painted into an alley mural of the Bradley Gang shooting, looking right at the Losers as they tend to Ben's wounds.

    1. The Xenomorph — Alien

    The Xenomorph hanging from the ceiling of the Nostromo in "Alien: The Director's Cut"
    20th Century Studios / Via YouTube

    The alien from Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic has one of the most inventive designs in cinema history, courtesy of legendary Swiss artist H.R. Giger. The creature can blend in with its surroundings aboard the Nostromo before sneaking up on its prey, most notably at the end when it hid in Ripley's escape pod. However, in the director's cut, you can see the Xenomorph hanging from the ceiling, waiting to attack Brett.

    Do you agree with this list? Are there any other movie villains that I missed (pun intended)? Please let me know in the comments section below.