The Friday the 13th Franchise

[Rich]

I have been a huge fan of the Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween franchises since young childhood. Those three franchises always go together, much like the Universal Monsters.

[geezer butler]

I have been a huge fan of the Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween franchises since young childhood. Those three franchises always go together, much like the Universal Monsters.

I agree Rich, I view Michael, Leatherface, Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, and Chucky the movie monsters of my generation.

[Big Bad Wolf]

I agree Rich, I view Michael, Leatherface, Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, and Chucky the movie monsters of my generation.

The funny thing is that if you look hard enough, you can find thematic echoes from the classic monsters that carried over into the slasher generation. If I described an undead giant with a tragic past, parental issues, and a violent temper, you might think I was talking about the Frankenstein Monster...or Jason Voorhees. Freddy Krueger is a sadistic, manipulative supernatural menace with undertones of sexual perversion who preys on people when they're most vulnerable: when they're asleep. Like Dracula. Norman Bates is a tragic protagonist with voyeuristic tendencies who struggles against a violent darker half. So is the Wolfman. And this is all to say nothing of the simple fact that the "final girl" trope has its roots firmly planted in gothic literature, the pure-hearted and virginal maiden who is always destined to prevail.

Hell, I was even surprised to notice how many tropes and themes from genuine old school gothic literature were utilized in Texas Chainsaw 3D of all places!

But I digress. Honestly I think this is part of the reason why you see so few iconic horror villains today compared to the classic monster generation or the slasher generation. Even great horror films these days have a tendency to overlook the idea that their central villains/monsters can be actual characters with some degree of depth to their personality. Even Jason, who isn't exactly known for being the most rounded character, provides more personality and intrigue than a lot of today's villains, who tend to serve merely as the catalyst for moments that are supposed to scare us.

There are SOME exceptions, of course. The Conjuring universe alone is providing some villains who are more interesting than what we usually get these days. Annabelle (or more precisely, the demon for which the Annabelle doll is a conduit), the demon nun Valak, the witch Bathsheba, the Crooked Man, even poor old Bill Wilkins bring more to the table than we usually get. But they still tend to rely more on strong visuals and physical personality and atmosphere than any genuine depth of character. Maybe as they flesh out the films more they might also remedy this issue, but we'll see.

It may all come down to a simple rule of thumb that is repeated all the time now, but is often misunderstood: what you don't know is scarier. Thanks to controversial films like Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween, modern filmmakers seem to be scared off of giving their villains any degree of meaningful depth or backstory or personality. But I think this is a mistake. It's been taken too far, to the point where horror villains are basically just background plot devices now, mechanical scare machines that only exist to imperil the other characters.