Villains are in this Halloween!

Halloween is about fun and facing your fears in a controlled environment. It’s a great opportunity to bond with family or friends and share an adrenaline rush when you overcome being frightened. Dressing up as something scary is a good way of debunking those fears and enjoying Halloween. Villains are a great option for being someone scary for a short time. We take a look at why villains are so interesting and check out the Halloween costume opportunities this presents.

In recent years there have been a number of films that look into the background of various well-established villains. Films like Joker (2019), Cruella (2021), Maleficent (2014), and the upcoming Wicked (2024) give us a backstory for the villains we know from other well-known movies and comic books and explain what made them into the villains we have seen on screen. In most cases, this humanises these characters and helps us to understand them better. In the case of Cruella and Maleficent, they rewrite the story, explaining that they weren’t as bad as we previously thought, and were accused of crimes they didn’t commit or tried to undo their bad deeds.

This kind of understanding for villains wasn’t possible in the golden era of Hollywood films, as it was governed by the Hays Code from 1934 to 1968. This code dictated that bad or villainous characters could not be portrayed sympathetically and that anyone seen breaking the law on screen had to be punished for it.

So Why Do We Like Villains Now?

Now that villains can be seen in a sympathetic light we get to understand them better, even if we don’t agree with their actions. But it’s more than that. Showing villains making mistakes and the reasons behind them can make it easier for us to relate to them, as we face decisions, both good and bad. Heroes who are never tempted or never wavering in their convictions can make it hard to relate to them. And ultimately villains tend to have more fun!

Villains Being Redeemed

From The Bad Buys to Cruella, Loki to Darth Vader, we have examples of villains seeking redemption, giving us a way in which we are allowed to cheer for them as heroes in a socially acceptable way. If Wicked follows the book and musical it is based on, it will also be a great example of a character who was previously feared and hated, being humanised and better understood. Just like Cruella, it also provides us with an understanding of why we need villains, after all, “one sure way to bring people together is to give them a really good enemy” – Elphaba in Wicked the Musical.  

Villains Having Fun

Villains also let us live vicariously through their adventures, many of their actions look like fun but we would never dream of doing them ourselves. The Joker and Harley Quinn are examples of villains who have way too much fun. While this previously would have been banned under the Hays codes as glorifying their bad deeds, we can get a thrill from their crimes without wanting to commit them ourselves.

Fighting Against a Bigger Bad

Another way that villains can be sympathetic without being good is if they’re fighting against a villain greater than themselves. This can make their actions seem justifiable, even as we watch them do very bad things.  The trailer for MCU’s 2025 Thunderbolts tells us that “there are bad guys, and there are worse guys. And nothing else.”

A Certain Point of View

Just like in Star Wars where Obi-Wan tells Luke the truth as he wants it told “from a certain point of view”, some villains believe they’re doing the right thing, making them the hero from their point of view. Marvel has done this with Thanos and Magneto, who commit terrible acts that they believe are for the greater good.

Not All Monsters are Bad

We’ve also learned from Monsters Inc., The Addams Family and Monster High that not all monsters are evil. Films and TV shows that use monsters that are good can help us explore themes of prejudice and identity.

And Sometimes It’s Just Good to Be Bad

It is also fun to embrace the villains and be bad, if just for one day. Halloween is the perfect event to do this! From horror movie villains like Pennywise and Freddy Krueger, to scary monsters like a Zombie or the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, being the scary monster can be a freeing experience.

Whatever you decide to dress up as this Halloween, we hope you have a fun and safe time! 

Shop the Halloween Range at Costume World New Zealand

← Previous Post