The character played by Angelina Jolie in the excellent, dark fantasy-adventure Maleficent, out on home video this week, was originally portrayed as a dastardly villain in 1959's Sleeping Beauty. The new movie, however, digs back into her past, revealing her to be a much more full-bodied personality, one who deserves sympathy for the troubles she's endured.
Maleficent is not the first villain in cinematic history to be misunderstood, of course, and that applies to horror movies as well. Here are a handful of other, misunderstood horror-movie villains.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)
From the standpoint of the preppy kids who head to a cabin in the woods for a little rest and recreation, Tucker and Dale fit the profile of homicidal maniacs who are so common in horror movies: they're country hillbillies who stare at the pretty girls and always seem to be reaching for sharp, threatening weapons. The audience, however, knows that Tucker and Dale are shy best friends who just want to lend a helping hand to the city folk.
Jennifer's Body (2009)
High school cheerleader Jennifer (Megan Fox) may not be the most exemplary teenager around, but, hey, she's still young and has positive instincts; she has time to mature into a fine adult. That is, until a scummy rock band takes advantage of her for their own selfish desires and Jennifer is transformed into a villainous figure.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Woe to Jason Voorhees! In the 1980 original, he drowned in Crystal Lake because the counselors were too busy fooling around to save him, prompting his mother to avenge his death a few too many times. While that motivation was removed for the reboot, it's made clear that he was actually more intent on seeking vigilante justice for the death of his beloved mother rather than passing judgment on the libidinous conduct of the counselors, as many have falsely claimed.
Halloween (2007)
The origin story of the frightening serial killer Michael Myers was explored at length in Rob Zombie's reboot, detailing his extremely dysfunctional family life as a young boy and the continuing emotional torment he suffered as an adult, transforming an entirely mysterious and murderous figure into a misunderstood villain.
Frankenstein (1931)
Talk about a bad reputation! The creatuure brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein has been portrayed as a monster in dozens of movies, but it all started in James Whale's classic tale, in which the character played by Boris Karloff is identified, insultingly, as "The Monster." Sure, his brain comes from a criminal, but he's misunderstood from the start: his fearful reaction to a flaming torch, for example, is mistaken for anger, and he gets chained up as a result. And he truly means no harm to the little girl who's nice enough to play with him. Poor misunderstood monster!
