This week it’s time to get down with some of the best beginnings in horror. The Origin Story has become a major cliche, but when done right it’s still an absolute pleasure.
Sometimes the backstory has to do with events that created a great monster, other times it’s just an ultra cool breeding
story. Either way, origins are a great way to add depth to a flick, and occasionally give us a tick more sympathy for our villain.
Since there are nearly as many of these look backs as there are movies in the genre, this list by definition will have to miss some good ones. Don’t be scared to spit bullets on anything you think should have made it.
WARNING – MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! 10. Jason Voorhees, FRIDAY THE 13TH Poor neglected Jason. If those damn counselors hadn’t been off getting high and having sex he might not have turned into the hulking homicidal post-drowning victim that we’ve all come to know and love. Of course he was severely retarded, so it’s not like life was going to be easy for him no matter what. In fact, given his likely life trajectory, he just might owe those counselors a debt of gratitude.
9. Toxie, THE TOXIC AVENGER The great thing about Melvin’s transformation really isn’t the falling into a vat of nuclear waste, because who hasn’t done that at some point in their lives? What lifts this particular case of irradiation gone wrong (or right), is when on top of getting slimed he also catches on fire. Adding that sort of insult to injury is just what you need to make a standard concept like this rise above the fray.
8. Jack Frost, JACK FROST Serial killer on his way to execution gets covered in a genetic soup during a vehicle accident which causes his body to fuse with the surrounding snow. Go ahead and read that a few more times if you need to get your head around the ridiculously awesome concept. Fortunately, most of the rest of the movie lives up to about what you’d expect from the concept – including the classic scene of Shannon Elizabeth getting raped to death by a snowman.
7. Jigsaw, SAW Dying of cancer? Survived a suicide attempt? Why not play God with other people’s life motivation. When you get right down to it, as righteous as Jigsaw tries to come off, he’s really just an arrogant motherf*cker who is holding people to a standard he couldn’t uphold himself. That’s part of the ingenuity behind his origin. It’s a philosophy that kinda sounds reasonable at first, until you give it a little thought and realize no, this dude’s just a stone cold hypocritical bastard.
6. Victor Crowley, HATCHET Here’s a story more heartbreaking than that poor Voorhees child. A bunch of kids tried to scare little Victor by hitting his house with fireworks, but the damn house caught on fire. Vic’s dad rushes to save his son. Unfortunately he doesn’t realize Victor is pressed against the front door as he hacks through it with an axe. Bye bye lil V. Hello vengeful killer.
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!