Sometimes you have to admit, the villain has a point.
Look, inside every horror movie is usually a group of people trying to survive a homicidal maniac, demon, or set of ghosts. We have a group we’re rooting for, but when there’s depth in the villain, sometimes we’re okay with them leaving a body count. After all, it’s not bad watching a bully get theirs in the name of justice.
Horror movies are fun because they’re allowed to walk a very particular line. They have different rules, or tropes we’ve seen appear over the years. Famously, Scream worked to subvert these and surprise people. And other movies have continued to buck these systems.
One of my favorite ways is creating sympathetic villains or killers who have some justification for their motivations. As a writer myself, I find this process fascinating. Not only does it challenge the audience, but it also flexes great storytelling muscles. You really have to earn the audience in these movies, and they often churn out legendary characters.
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This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
