Photo: Paramount
Psycho, a person that suffers from psychopathy, which is by definition a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity etc. Movies are full of them, but only a few psycho movie characters manage to be shocking, vile, disgusting, while still managing to have some traits which make them even liked by the viewers. Something that may seem impossible at first.
Could be the subconscious answer for why be hidden in the Latin phrase Similis simili gaudet (like rejoices in like), or is there something else with these characters that makes us like them despite the moral code in our selves telling us its wrong. We take a look at the five psycho movie characters that we, and a lot of movie-goers, like despite their obvious and overwhelming flaws.
Psycho Movie Characters We Actually Like
Daniel Plainview – There Will Be Blood (2007)
Probably the most controversial pick of this little band of misfits, seeing how the character through which Daniel Day-Lewis gave his magnum opus does countless heartless, rotten things. From using his son as a negotiation tool, over abandoning the boy, to calling him a “bastard from a basket”, and not to mention generally being ruthless even more than the common capitalist of the era, yet Daniel Plainview has some redeeming qualities.
His drive is unparalleled, and it is presented from the get-go so the audience develops respect for the malevolent man. But it’s in the moments of genuine warmth with his son is that he gets redeemed, at least for a while. The desire to have a brother, not to be alone, is what makes this untouchable oil tycoon seem relatable and human the most after all. So when he loses that too in a merciless manner, it’s not hard to justify his demise and the way he acts towards the world. Even though he could only blame himself.
Dr. Hannibal Lecter -The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
One of the most iconic movie characters in general, who just happens to one of the biggest psycho characters imaginable. Giving a run for their money to some real-life ones too. In the movie the cannibalistic doctor/prisoner is described as a “pure psychopath which is rarely caught”, and the same applies to the film world. The gruesome Hannibal Lecter makes the blood cold and the hair on the back straight as arrows, that is until he wants to be seen otherwise and starts speaking.
Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for a leading role due to the magic of transferring a man who eats other people into someone you would die to have a cup of coffee with. Which you would if it happened. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is, besides a human flesh eater, all that the majority of people would like to be – he’s eloquent, smart, has a fine taste in arts. The prime-manipulator fools as he does to the characters in the film itself, and like his victims, we are powerless to his charm. The beloved character shows, in Hollywood often forgone fact, that even the most demented, vile people can have admirable qualities.
