History KarmaHoudini / Film

* ''Film/TheThomasCrownAffair'': In both versions of the movie (1968 and 1999), the eponymous [[EccentricMillionaire Eccentric Billionaire]] gets away scot-free with his art thievery. In the remake, the woman assigned to tracking him down [[HighHeelFaceTurn runs off with him as well]].

* Another subversion with ''Primal Fear'': The injustice of Aaron Stampler escaping the law for the things he's done is dealt with in the sequel novels. ''Show of Evil'' has him FakingTheDead while ''Reign in Hell'' gives him a pyrrhic death, though the book then ends with him getting a PyrrhicVictory.

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': Despite her HeelFaceTurn, Valkyrie never receives any real comeuppance for selling Thor (and no telling how many others) into slavery.

'''Note:''' Before the end of the UsefulNotes/HaysCode, it was far less common for movies to feature a KarmaHoudini as the first rule of the code was that "The villain must always get his come-uppance by the end of the movie." (This usually applied only to the BigBad, as it would take far too much time showing every single one of the {{Mooks}} getting punished.) This, of course, doesn't mean that [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar villainous Karma Houdinis didn't exist in movies from that time period.]] But they were much more of a rarity until the code was dissolved in TheSixties.

* ''Film/{{Alone With Her}}'': After some illegal surveillance, a dognapping, and two murders, the film ends with the VillainProtagonist in a new town, picking a new girl to stalk.

* ''Film/{{Bad Teacher}}'': [[spoiler: Elizabeth decides against getting a boob job in the end, but she still (presumably) keeps her job and gets away with her various crimes.]]

* ''Film/{{Hitch}}'': Sara commits straight-up libel by wrecking Hitch's business and publically humiliating his client just because she thinks he helped a jerk sleep with her best friend. The only comeupance she gets is Hitch yelling at her in front of a crowd at a speed-dating event, and he later takes her back. After she screwed him more and more and even made him beg. A more fitting comeuppance would have been Albert Allegra and Hitch sueing her and her paper for defamation and shutting down her business for publishing a fake story out of her own petty grudges.

* ''Film/{{Horrible Bosses}}'':

* ''Film/{{Hitch}}'': Sara commits straight-up libel by embarrassing Hitch in front of a client and publically ruining his reputation after finding out he was the guy who slept with her best friend. The most comeupance she recieves in him yelling at her in front of a crowd at a speed-dating event, and he later takes her back. Even after she screws him ever more. She could have been sued and gotten her business closed by Hitch, Albert and Allegra, but instead she didn't and nothing came up to her.

* ''[[TheFastandTheFurious The Fate of The Furious]]'': [[spoiler: Cipher escaped in the climax and was never seen since. Deckard and Owen, the main villains of the previous films, were spared from punishment for their past crimes after joining Dom's crew.]]
* ''Film/TheFlightOfThePhoenix'': Sgt. Watson twice cowardly avoids going with his superior on potentially dangerous missions (first by faking a leg injury, then by bluntly refusing). When he finds Cpt. Harris nearly dead from dehydration after returning from one of said missions, he keeps it secret from the others, apparently hoping Harris will die before the others notice him. Then he makes sneering, mocking remarks after Harris dies. All he gets for this is a punch to the face by Cpt. Towns.

* ''Film/{{Hitch}}'': Sara commits straight-up liabelity by embarrassing Hitch in front of a client and publically ruining his reputation after finding out he was the guy who slept with her best friend. The most comeupance she recieves in him yelling at her in front of a crowd at a speed-dating event, and he later takes her back. Even after she screws him ever more. She could have been sued and gotten her business closed by Hitch Albert and Allegra, but instead she didn't and nothing came up to her.

** Nick, Dale and Kurt themselves have acted as criminals as they broke into their bosses' houses wanting them killed and even arranged a FakedKidnapping to get their money back (which they initially planned to be a real kidnapping until Rex found out and decided to play along). They never actually get in trouble with the police and are somehow acknowledge as heroes despite being responsible for setting up the situation in the first place.
** [[spoiler: In the climax of the second film, Motherfucker Jones abandons Nick Dale and Kurt and steals the ransom money for himself. He got away scott free.]]

* ''Film/{{Hitch}}: Sara commits straight-up liabelity by embarrassing Hitch in front of a client and publically ruining his reputation after finding out he was the guy who slept with her best friend. The most comeupance she recieves in him yelling at her in front of a crowd at a speed-dating event, and he later takes her back. Even after she screws him ever more. She could have been sued and gotten her business closed by Hitch Albert and Allegra, but instead she didn't and nothing came up to her.

** [[spoiler: In the climax of the second film, Mothercucker Jones abandons Nick Dale and Kurt and steals the ransom money for himself. He got away scott free.]]

* ''Film/{{Horrible Bosses}}'': [[spoiler: Only Julia ends up with her job and life intact. But still at a price as she was blackmailed by Dale to pay for his honeymoon and most importantly to stop harrassing him.]]

** Most of the arch-villains do get what's coming to them [[FateWorseThanDeath (which isn't always necessarily death)]], but the {{Mooks}} have a nasty habit of getting away. This started in the 1989 film, when TheJoker's black-hatted, black-jacketed henchmen [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get the heck out of there]] when the Batplane starts strafing what's left of the Joker's parade. We never see any of those guys again, except for the two or three who later show up in the Joker's getaway helicopter (and it can be implied those last ones just flew off after their boss fell off the ladder to his death). Sure, those goons were [[TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily pretty incompetent]] (throughout the entire film they manage to kill only one person, a cop who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time), but they did [[FriendToPsychos freely associate themselves with a mass-murderer]] and laugh along with him through all the atrocities, so it's definitely troubling news that they managed to escape. Commissioner Gordon does assure everyone in the final scene that "our police have rounded up all of the Joker's men", but... how would Gordon know exactly how many men the Joker employed?

* ''[[TheFastandTheFurious The Fate of The Furious]]'': [[spoiler: Cipher escaped in the climax and was never seen since. Deckard and Owen, the main villains of the previous films, were spared from punishment for theor past crimes after joining Dom's crew.]]

** Perhaps the most repellent example of all is that of Spike, the arrogant biker in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' who races Barbara Wilson on motorcycles for some prize money; he has his homeboys help him cheat to win and [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain casually directs some sexist remarks at Barbara]]. We never do learn what becomes of Spike... but since Dick Grayson had to drop out of the race to save Barbara from falling to her death from a bridge and all the other riders had wiped out earlier, it's almost certain that Spike not only never got his comeuppance for nearly causing two people to die due to his reckless antics, but won the race and pocketed the prize money!

* ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'': Both the Network and Gary, in different ways.
* ''Film/XMen'':

** Perhaps the most repellent example of all is that of Spike, the arrogant biker in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' who races Barbara Wilson on motorcycles for some prize money; he has his homeboys help him cheat to win and [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain casually directs some sexist remarks at Barbara]]. We never do learn what becomes of Spike...but since Dick Grayson had to drop out of the race to save Barbara from falling to her death from a bridge and all the other riders had wiped out earlier, it's almost certain that Spike not only never got his comeuppance for nearly causing two people to die due to his reckless antics, but won the race and pocketed the prize money!

* ''Film/HappyGilmore'': The scene where Creator/BenStiller's [[DeletedScene sadistic orderly character gets thrown through a window by Happy (and then presumably has the authorities sicced on him) was cut out of the final film for no apparent reason, leaving viewers who don't watch the special edition DVD with the impression that he gets to continue using his charges as slave labor.]] This is even more jarring when juxtaposed with the fate of the movie's BigBad, a JerkJock type who gets the crap beaten out of him by a mob of Happy's fans, led by the gargantuan Mr. Larson.

* ''Film/{{Carrie|2002}}'': The remake sees Carrie survive and get smuggled out of the jurisdiction by a sympathetic Susan after killing hundreds of people. The film makes it clear that she doesn't remember her massacre but jarringly she doesn't exactly seem too remorseful.
* ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'': Noah Cross, the villain. Not only is he responsible for the murder of Hollis Mulwray, he also raped his own daughter, and at the end of the movie he's acquired custody of his daughter/granddaughter, who can expect some severe raping, and gets off completely scot-free. And Jake Gittes can do absolutely nothing about it.
* ''Film/ConAir'': Most of the convicts get their comeuppance, except for Garland Greene, a notorious serial killer who targets children and is possibly the most depraved criminal on the plane.

* ''Film/{{Horrible Bosses}}'': [[spoiler: Only Julia ends up with her job and life intact. But still at a price as she was blackmailed by Dale to pay for his honeymoon and erase his fake sex offender record, and most importantly to stop harrassing him.]]

* Subverted in ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'': Anton Chigurh has gotten his money and murdered countless people, and just when he escapes... he gets blindsided, his arm so broken, the bone protrudes from the skin. Sure he survived, but he won't get very far in his condition.
* ''Film/NoWayOut'': Defense Secretary David Brice accidentally murders his mistress out of jealousy that she might be seeing another man. His aide's plot to cover up the scandal results in two other deaths, ruins the protagonist's Navy career, and turns half the Pentagon inside-out in a phony WitchHunt for a [[RedHerringMole Soviet mole]]. Brice, however, walks away from the affair scot free.

** Ironically, John Kramer has become a karma houdini himself as he has murdered people and has crippled and traumatized others through his games and traps yet he is never brought to trial or convicted for his crimes. Justified as he is a very manipulative man who has baffled the police countless times and has figured out numerous ways to outsmart them and lire them into his games. The police did arrest him in Saw II but this was all part of his plan to get Eric Matthews to play his game and he does get beaten up very badly when Eric found out that Kramer had kidnapped Eric's teenage son, Daniel and placed him into a house filled with nerve gas. Saw III is the film where Karma does seem to finally get Kramer as he was killed by Jeff Denlon but this was also a test that locked Denlon in the room he was in.

* ''Film/SerialMom'': Beverly Sutphin, the protagonist commits seven murders over the course of the movie. When she is arrested and put on trial, she wins the case and gets off scot-free! And then promptly murders again, for someone in the courtroom is wearing white after Labor Day! (Although it's implied she won't get away with her crime this time, since the news media arrives on the scene almost immediately.)

* ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'': Hannibal Lecter at the end of ''Hannibal'', what with getting away at the end of the movie and actually living happily ever after with Clarice in the book. This was definitely an example of an author growing overly enamored of their character, and thus many file it under FanonDiscontinuity.

* ''Film/SinCity'': Senator Roark escapes unharmed, although his legacy has been destroyed with Junior's death at Hartigan's hands. Apparently, the sequel will actually have Nancy going after him to give him his comeuppance.

* ''Film/{{Transcendence}}'': Bree has committed terrorist acts, orchestrated multiple murders, kidnaps Max and threatens to kill him if Will doesn't kill himself-she doesn't get so much as a wrist-slap as far as the movie tells us. Prior to the climax, Agent Buchanan mentioned the government was working with RIFT to have someone to blame if things went badly. It's possible this played out in the epilogue.

* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'': Ultimately subverted. Though he's one of the better (well, less worse) characters by far, Henry Hill is still a vicious criminal, yet one of the few characters in the movie not to get killed or go to jail in the end; instead he gets to live the rest of his days comfortably under witness protection. It's subverted because for Henry - who lived like a king the one time he went to jail - the boring, humdrum life they get him is absolute Hell.

* ''Film/HappyGilmore'': The scene where Creator/BenStiller's [[DeletedScene sadistic orderly character gets thrown through a window by Happy (and then presumably has the authorities sicced on him) was cut out of the final film for no apparent reason, leaving viewers who don't watch the special edition DVD with the impression that he gets to continue using his charges as slave labor.]] This is even more jarring when juxtaposed with the fate of the movie's BigBad, a JerkJock type who's certainly mean, but whose comeuppance is rather harsh by anyone's standards (he gets the crap beaten out of him by a mob of Happy's fans, led by the gargantuan Mr. Larson).
* ''Film/HarryPotter'': Thanks to SparedByTheAdaptation, Peter Pettigrew. Rumors have circulated that this is because [[PsychicAssistedSuicide his comeuppance in the books]] was found [[NauseaFuel so disturbing]] by the censors that doing it justice on-screen would've resulted in an R rating.

** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'': Irma Bunt, who kills Tracy, James Bond's wife. She and Blofeld provide the film with its DiabolusExMachina. And yet, she's never seen (or even mentioned) in any of the other films in the series. This is because the actress playing her, Isle Steppat, died mere months after the film was released. With that in mind, though, it can then be inferred that [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Bond killed her]] [[DroppedABridgeOnHim offscreen before the]] ColdOpen to ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' in which he grills a few people concerning Blofeld's whereabouts, making this an unspoken subversion.

** Several members of Vaughn Jackson's border patrol militia (including his lieutenant) manage to survive the raid on their compound to continue gunning down illegal Mexican immigrants. Albeit, this allows them to deliver a KarmicDeath to corrupt senator John [=McLaughlin=]. Hey, lesser of two evils, anyone?
** Torrez's hench-woman, having beheaded Machete's wife on his order and later threatening to do the same to Machete's budding love interest, Agent Sartana, gets to simply walk away without anyone so much as taking a pot shot at her.

* ''Film/MaxPayne'': Nicole Horne seems to get away unscathed despite her part in the plot, and after abandoning B.B. to his fate.

* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'': Ultimately subverted. Though he's one of the better (well, less worse) characters by far, Henry Hill is still a vicious criminal, yet one of the only characters in the movie not to get killed or go to jail in the end; instead he gets to live the rest of his days comfortably under witness protection. It's subverted because for Henry - who lived like a king the one time he went to jail - the boring, humdrum life they get him is absolute Hell.