We love villains for a lot of reasons, but it's still usually pretty clear that they're
the bad guy, doing bad things for bad reasons.
Unless, of course, you're willing to look a little closer - because sometimes they're
doing despicable things for an honorable cause.
From bad guys who were just trying to help, to monsters who are actually trying to teach
a lesson, these are Netflix villains who were actually right about a thing or two.
Spoilers ahead.
Some films don't exist in terms of pure heroes and villains.
Instead, they lay out the landscape where no one is 100 percent right, filled with gray
areas that allow for intense, surprising storytelling.
That's the case with Extraction, an action extravaganza that also features a character
doing villainous things in the name of preserving the ones he loves.
There are certain characters in Extraction that you could easily deem good guys or bad
guys, depending on what point in the film you're watching, but Saju isn't really one
of them.
A former special forces operative who now works for a drug lord, Saju is tasked with
a straightforward assignment by his boss: Retrieve the kidnapped Ovi without paying
the ransom.
This leads Saju to do some pretty nasty stuff, including killing other people who are also
trying to save the boy.
However, he does these things not because he wants to, but because he's terrified of
what the boy's drug lord father will do to his own family if he fails.
"I love you.
Always."
"I love you too, papa."
Saju's guilt comes back to haunt him later in the film, making it all the more clear
that his villainy early in Extraction was less about hurting people and more about saving
the ones he loves.
The horror film Eli is a slow-burn haunted house movie that gradually morphs into something
else entirely.
The setup is fairly simple: Eli is a young boy with severe allergic reactions to just
about everything, and Dr. Isabella Horn is hoping to fix that for him with experimental
treatments at her secretive facility.
Ultimately, though, Dr. Horn's intention is never to actually cure Eli, because Eli isn't
really sick.
He's actually the product of a dark bargain between his mother and Satan himself, because
she wanted a son so badly she was willing to go to any lengths.
That means Eli has terrifying powers, and if he ever learns how to use them, he could
spell doom for humanity.
So Dr. Horn and Eli's father are hoping to stop the carnage before it starts.
They fail, of course, and Eli and his mother manage to escape to go off and meet Eli's
real Dad.
Still, though, no matter how happy we are for Eli at the end, you have to admit that
Dr. Horn had a point.
The kid is the literal spawn of Satan and has horrifying powers that allow him to kill
with a thought.
His House is one of the best new horror films of 2020, a nerve-shredding haunted house film
with big ideas and high emotional stakes.
And one of the reasons it works so well is that, by the time it's over, you actually
understand the monster's point.
The film follows Rial and Bol, a refugee couple who are trying to make a new life for themselves
in London after fleeing South Sudan.
But a dark presence lurks in the walls of their new home, slowly driving Bol crazy and
reminding him of the daughter they lost while escaping their homeland.
Eventually, Rial figures out what's going on.
The creature is an apeth, a "night witch" that's there to remind them of a debt they
owe, which the film then reveals: The "daughter" they lost was never theirs.
She was a girl they stole from another family in order to make themselves look more in need
of help in the midst of their escape, and her blood is on their hands.
"Your life is not yours.
You stole it."
So in the end, the villain of His House is a supernatural representation of the guilt
and sacrifice that comes from acts of desperation, and it's there to teach Rial and Bol that
the only way through that pain is to accept it and live with it.
The Old Guard follows a group of mercenaries as they set out to do a job and realize they've
been set up.
What sets the story apart is that the members of this particular group are immortal, - or
certainly nearly-immortal.
This unique talent is eventually discovered by Steven Merrick, the CEO of a pharmaceutical
company who decides to kidnap the Old Guard and use their bodies as part of a scientific
study that he believes could stop the aging process in humans.
"We brought a cancer drug to market last quarter.
It's already saved hundreds of thousands of lives, yet in development it killed a quarter
of a million lab mice.
Now I didn't ask for their little permissions.
I'm not going to ask for yours."
"He thinks you're a mouse, Nicky."
Merrick's methods are absolutely deplorable, but when you sit back and think about it for
a moment you also realize he kind of has a point.
If you found out about a group of immortals whose biology could save countless human lives...wouldn't
you want to see if you could find a way to do that?
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a classic underdog story about two
best friends - Lars and Sigrit - who make their dreams come true by entering the legendary
Eurovision music competition to represent their native Iceland.
Once they get to the event, though, the duo known as Fire Saga find themselves beset on
all sides by more experienced competition.
Chief among their rivals is Alexander Lemtov, a sexy Russian vocalist who decides to take
Sigrit under his wing.
That creates a rift in Fire Saga as Lars feels threatened by Lemtov's talents and charms.
"Alright.
Okay, that's wonderful.
Well, I see you there, okay."
"Okay."
Though Lemtov is presented as a villain, Eurovision Song Contest ultimately reveals him to be
a well-intentioned man who really did believe Sigrit wasn't living up to her full potential
as a performer.
"This your moment.
You go.
Sing your heart out."
"Okay."
"Okay, go."
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey tells the story of two toymakers and the different paths
their lives take.
For most of the film, the successful toymaker Gustafson is presented as the villain.
When he was younger, he stole the notebook of his former mentor Jeronicus Jangle, leaving
Jeronicus a ruined and bitter man while Gustafson collected all the glory.
"I'm the toy maker of the year.
Toy maker of the year.
Toy maker of the year!"
But as the film goes on, it becomes clearer that Gustafson is unhappy, because he was
never keen on stealing the inventions in the first place.
He was manipulated by Jeronicus' living Matador toy.
Gustafson's real desire the entire time was just to make one of his own inventions work.
Gustafson did bad things, but they were bad things rooted in a fundamental need for help
he never received.
It's easy to see why it was all such a struggle for him.
Thanks for watching.
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