History FreudianExcuse / FIlm

* Subverted in ''Film/WestSideStory'' in the song "Officer Krupke" the teen-age gangsters of the Jets sing sarcastically about their deprived upbringings, acting out how they would play on the sympathies of social workers and juvenile courts.

** Regarding [[spoiler:[[TheEvilPrince Prince Hans]]]], he has a FriendlessBackground and [[WorseWithContext downplays the abuse in his family]] as "what brothers do," which causes him to [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove react with]] [[EvilCannotComprehendGood confusion]] when [[spoiler:Anna and Elsa reconcile with each other]]. By the time he's an adult, years of abuse warped him into a manipulative and remorseless man bent on seeking power. The tie-in book ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'' reveals that his backstory was far worse than what he described and that his family was a DysfunctionalFamily, what with his 12 older brothers competing with each other and using underhanded means to [[WellDoneSonGuy seek their parents' approval]].

** Regarding [[spoiler:[[TheEvilPrince Prince Hans]]]], he has a FriendlessBackground and [[WorseWithContext downplays the abuse in his family]] as "what brothers do," which causes him to [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove react with]] [[EvilCannotComprehendGood confusion]] when Anna and Elsa reconcile with each other. By the time he's an adult, years of abuse warped him into a manipulative and remorseless man bent on seeking power. The tie-in book ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'' reveals that his backstory was far worse than what he described and that his family was a DysfunctionalFamily, what with his 12 older brothers competing with each other and using underhanded means to [[WellDoneSonGuy seek their parents' approval]].

* ''Film/GoldenEye'': Former British intelligence operative and BigBad Janus claims that what he is after isn't money, but revenge on Great Britain for the death of his parents (who were Lienz Cossacks). Bond, however questions both his reason and motive; there is no way in hell the son of Lienz cossacks would have passed the necessary background checks to join [=MI6=], and his clearance would have allowed him to hurt Britain immensely just by turning whistleblower, so if he was just after revenge, why wait for decades for an opportunity to strike that just happens to be profitable?

** In regards to the Westergaard clan, which rules the Southern Isles with an iron fist, Freud would probably have a big field day with Hans and his 12 older brothers. Their EvilOverlord father transformed his kingdom into a tyrannical dictatorship, deliberately encouraged violence within his family, completely reduced his wife to a [[ExtremeDoormat non-entity]] via DomesticAbuse, and micromanaged his sons to become his sycophantic enforcers via [[TykeBomb a ruthlessly and intensely]] [[TrainingFromHell inhumane training program]] that encouraged [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinism]], causing most of them to inherit his LackOfEmpathy. [[TheSociopath The king]] also saw his sons as mere reflections of him so they'll be molded into his shape, yet he actually doesn't care for them unless they're useful to him.
** [[JerkassWoobie Prince]] [[TragicVillain Hans]] claims to have had 3 of his 12 older brothers ignore him for 2 years, but [[Literature/AFrozenHeart the novelization]] reveals it was ''far worse'' than what he said, as he was downplaying the abuse to the point he thinks it's ''normal''. His father raised all of his sons to be strong and useful, but scornfully saw Hans to be a weakling and allows all of his sons to bully and harass him all his life. Only his mother and one brother, Lars, showed him kindness but had little impact, likely out of fear of facing the king's wrath. As a result, Hans seemingly has clinical depression, an inferiority complex, and suicidal thoughts stemming from the extensive abuse he received from his family, and his once good nature changed into [[WellDoneSonGuy a stubborn desire to prove himself to his father]], regardless of what he did to Anna and Elsa. And this is a character from a ''Disney'' property.
*** A case can be made for most of his older brothers, as part of their abrasiveness stems from the fact that they were psychologically abused and manipulated by their father to the point that they've become emotionally dependent on him and are now {{Spoiled Brat}}s. Even their abuse of Hans stems from a desire to make their father favor them for showing no mercy towards others.
*** Like Hans, Lars was also bullied for being the youngest (albeit not as violently). Because of this, Lars abhorred how his brothers cruelly treat their youngest brother and is the only one to stand up for Hans, but couldn't do much, likely because their father did not accept such interactions. Hans wasn't sure if the bullying Lars himself suffered made him pity his youngest brother or if he was a genuinely nice person because of it.

*** The [[EcoTerrorist Eco-Terrorists]]' [[Characters/MonsterVerseEmmaRussell secret mastermind]], [[spoiler:Emma Russell]], went down the path that led her to her UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans plan to release all the slumbering Titans on humanity as [[GaiasVengeance Gaia's Avenger]] as a hypocritical, InsaneTrollLogic way of ensuring the death of her [[spoiler:son Andrew]], who died five years ago as a casualty of Godzilla's [[Film/Godzilla2014 Kaiju battle in the previous film]], wasn't "in vain".
*** The FromCamouflageToCriminal eco-terrorist leader [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Alan Jonah]] meanwhile is a MisanthropeSupreme, who once King Ghidorah begins creating a rapid extinction event instead of just a population cull and ecological regeneration proves that he's a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist and just wants as much of the human race as possible dead. His dialogue reveals he suffered MaddenIntoMisanthropy due to repeatedly seeing the very worst of human nature first-hand during his decades-long military career fighting in one war after another, which made him believe that human nature only gets progressively worse with time. The film's {{novelization}} also reveals that the "tipping point" for Jonah was when [[spoiler:his daughter was gruesomely murdered while Jonah was away on military service and the perpetrator was never caught]].

*** The [[EcoTerrorist Eco-Terrorists]]' [[Characters/MonsterVerseEmma Russell secret mastermind]], [[spoiler:Emma Russell]], went down the path that led her to her UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans plan to release all the slumbering Titans on humanity as [[GaiasVengeance Gaia's Avenger]] as a hypocritical InsaneTrollLogic way of ensuring the death of her [[spoiler:son Andrew]], who died five years ago as a casualty of Godzilla's battle [[Film/Godzilla2014 Kaiju battle in the previous film]], wasn't "in vain".
*** The FromCamouflageToCriminal eco-terrorist leader [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Alan Jonah]] meanwhile proves to be a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist MisanthropeSupreme who really just wants as much of the human race as possibly exterminated once King Ghidorah begins creating a rapid extinction event instead of just a population cull and ecological regeneration. His dialogue reveals he suffered MaddenIntoMisanthropy due to repeatedly seeing the very worst of human nature first-hand during his decades-long military career fighting in one war after another, convincing him that human nature only gets worse and worse with time. The film's {{novelization}} also reveals that the "tipping point" for Jonah in his {{Backstory}} was when [[spoiler:his daughter was gruesomely murdered while Jonah was away on military service and the perpetrator was never caught]].
** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': [[BigBadWannabe Walter Simmons]] in this film notably stands out for being the only significant human antagonist in the Franchise/MonsterVerse continuity who has no Freudian Excuse to his evil actions. His [[TheDragon Dragon]] Ren Serizawa is scarcely hinted to have one in the film during his DeathGlare at Godzilla, but the novelization confirms it and sheds some light. Ren suffered ParentalNeglect from his father due to the latter committing his time and passion to his work for Monarch which caused Ren to increasingly grow to resent his father, ''especially'' after Ren had to organize his own mother's funeral by himself and his father didn't return home to say goodbye until two days after the ceremony; and after Serizawa's HeroicSacrifice saving Godzilla permanently dashed Ren's hopes of reconciliation, Ren snapped and became a full-blown AntagonisticOffspring motivated to kill the very creature his father had saved for depriving him of his father's love.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': Hades's villainy stems from the deep hatred of the dank and unpleasant job he's currently in as Lord of the Underworld (something which he sees as the cosmic equivalent of janitorial duty). He also envies his older brother Zeus for receiving HundredPercentAdorationRating by all of the Greek gods while he is [[EveryoneHatesHades virtually]] [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating hated]]. Plus, it's mentioned in the [[WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries animated series]] that his [[GreaterScopeVillain father Kronos]] [[AbusiveParents devoured his children]] except Zeus, causing Hades to inherit his evil.

** General Hux is the illegitimate son of a high ranking Imperial officer and a kitchen worker, and, as a child, was regularly abused by his father, who considers him weak-willed and useless. His other mentors include Gallius Rax, who encourages him to lead/train child soldiers into ruthless killers, and Rae Sloane, who wishes him to be taught to become "the best the empire has to offer". In the tie-in comic, ''ComicBook/StarWarsAgeOfResistance'', Snoke pretty much affirms that Hux's vicious nature stems from his past abuse. And the additional summary of the character states that while his DarkAndTroubledPast doesn't excuse his nasty actions he'd commit as a First Order general, given his upbringing, it is almost impossible to see him become anything ''but'' a cog in the First Order Wheel.

* ''Film/{{Descendants}}'': In the first film, Audrey, the daughter of Sleeping Beauty and her prince, is dumped in front of her whole school by her boyfriend, Ben, for the daughter of the witch who tried to kill her parents. Then, that same daughter shows she is trying to destroy Auradon, which Audrey always suspected. Mal does have a HeelFaceTurn and saves the kingdom from her mother, but Audrey is not convinced of her reform. The book ''Audrey’s Diary'' expands on this. It shows that after the events of the first film, Audrey went from being the most popular girl in school to having Mal and the other villain kids be admired and favored by her friends for saving Auradon. Audrey vents her frustrations further in the diary that she has been good her whole life while Mal has worshipped evil and only recently seen the light, yet Mal got Ben and the majority of Auradon’s approval while Audrey herself got left out in the cold. It’s also shown in the book and the third film that her family put a lot of pressure on her to win Ben’s heart and marry him, eventually becoming his Queen, only to be thrown over by their greatest enemy’s child. She finally snaps at the beginning of Descendants 3 when Ben proposes to Mal in front of the whole kingdom, and her grandmother Queen Leah shames her for not being able to hold onto Ben, even though it wasn’t really her fault. Tired of having been good her whole life, only to be rejected and thrown away in favor of those she considered irredeemable, Audrey has a FaceHeelTurn and steals the Queen’s crown and Maleficent’s magical staff and reeks havoc on Auradon and Ben for betraying her for Mal and the VKs.

-->'''Kyle:''' He's a [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors Residential School] survivor. He was, like...abused and stuff. And I just feel bad for him. It's like, I wish I could help him, right, but I don't know what to do.

** From little was seen from his childhood, Kristoff was largely ignored by the other ice harvesters and loving embraced by the trolls, causing him to have a sour opinion on people in general until he met Anna.

* In ''Film/TheWaterBoy'', Mamma Boucher, forbids her son Bobby, [[FantasyForbiddingFather from leaving the house and having his own life]] because everything "is the Devil." When she finds out that he's going to college and playing "the foosball," she fakes an illness and Bobby gives up his newfound freedom to be by her bedside. After she hears how much him playing means to everyone in town, she tells him why she did it. She tells Bobby she lied to him that his father died in the desert, because when she was pregnant with him, Bobby's father ran out on them to live in the big city, and she was so scared of being alone, that she made Bobby be so afraid of life so he wouldn't leave her.

** In ''[[Film/BlackPanther2018 Black Panther]]'', what motivates [[BigBad Killmonger's]] actions (taking [[spoiler:the throne from T'Challa and using Wakandan technology to wage war on the world and not caring if Wakanda is destroyed in the process]]) is the fact that is father [[spoiler: , Prince N'jobu, was killed by his own brother, King T'Chacka,]] which left him alone [[spoiler: in the slums of Oakland, where he experienced first hand the rampant institutionalized racism of the United States.]]

** [[JerkassWoobie Prince]] [[TragicVillain Hans]] claims to have had 3 of his 12 older brothers ignore him for 2 years, but [[Literature/AFrozenHeart the novelization]] reveals it was ''way more worse'' than what he said, as he was downplaying the abuse to the point he thinks it's ''normal''. His father raised all of his sons to be strong and useful, but scornfully saw Hans to be a weakling and allows all of his sons to bully and harass him all his life. Only his mother and one brother, Lars, showed him kindness but had little impact, likely out of fear of facing the king's wrath. As a result, Hans seemingly has clinical depression, an inferiority complex, and suicidal thoughts stemming from the extensive abuse he received from his family, and his once good nature changed into [[WellDoneSonGuy a stubborn desire to prove himself to his father]], regardless of what he did to Anna and Elsa. And this is a character from a ''Disney'' property.

** General Hux is the illegitimate son of a high ranking Imperial officer and a kitchen worker, and, as a child, was regularly abused by his father, who considers him a weak-willed and useless. His other mentors include Gallius Rax, who encourages him to lead/train child soldiers into ruthless killers, and Rae Sloane, who wishes him to be taught to become "the best the empire has to offer". In the tie-in comic, ''ComicBook/StarWarsAgeOfResistance'', Snoke pretty much affirms that Hux's vicious nature stems from his past abuse. And the additional summary of the character states that while his DarkAndTroubledPast doesn't excuse his nasty actions he'd commit as a First Order general, given his upbringing, it is almost impossible to see him become anything ''but'' a cog in the First Order Wheel.

* In ''Film/DaysOfBeingWild'', a film by Creator/WongKarWai: The main character Yuddy/York (played by Creator/LeslieCheung) is a self-centered playboy who mistreats/manipulates women by making them fall for him and breaking their hearts. It is strongly hinted in the film that this is because his biological mother deserted him when he was younger and having a troubled emotionally distant relationship with his foster mother.
* Played in the 2005 film ''Film/SkyHigh2005''. Sue became an evil supervillain bent on turning all the superheroes into infants because she was put in the Sidekicks class.
* Played straight in the 2010 version of ''Film/TheKillerInsideMe''. The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He ''immediately'' takes a bible off the same shelf, opens it, and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene.
* In ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'', Evil Queen Ravenna Ravenna's behavior is explained through a childhood flashback and the way a previous king treated her.
* In ''Film/TheCell'':
** Once Catherine Deane enters inside the mind of the SerialKiller Carl Rudolph Stargher, his innocent side shows her the abuse he suffered at his father´s hands.
** Deconstructed, however, by the cop stating that being abused as a child does ''not'' have to make you evil. He strongly implies that ''he'' was abused as a child. While he's sympathetic toward what the villain suffered as a kid, he has no soft spot for him as a serial killer adult.
* Deconstructed in ''Film/FunnyGames'', in which the male victim asks the two tormentors why they are hurting his family. The villains poke fun at the father, coming up with various reasons like one of them being a child of divorce which made him become [[DepravedHomosexual a queer and a crook]] or him having five siblings with all of them being drug addicts while his father was TheAlcoholic. None of this was true as they immediately point out.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Anakin Skywalker was raised as a slave on a hellish backwater planet, as Yoda pointed out in the very beginning. Then his mother gets killed by Tusken Raiders. Oddly, he seems to have been a fairly happy child. Probably would have cut his master's throat in the night if he'd made it to adolescence on Tatooine, though. This is expanded upon in the ExpandedUniverse though we do see that while Anakin had issues and deep-rooted problems, the real issue laid in that he had no idea how to deal with them and the Jedi didn't know how to help him nor paid enough attention. The Sith on the other hand, saw opportunity and exploited it.
** [[Film/TheForceAwakens Kylo Ren]]'s parents are two characters that the audience knows and loves. However, given the [[BelligerentSexualTension tumultuous]] nature of their relationship, it makes sense that a kid of theirs might exhibit a few temper problems. This becomes a major issue when your son has some serious MindOverMatter abilities, and a [[TheCorrupter voice inside his head]] telling him how evil he is. It all goes to crap when his parents send him away to learn to be a Jedi - where he's expected to be able to suppress all negative emotions, and, when his Uncle reacts [[NiceJobBreakingItHero badly]] to his failure to do so, he turns to the Dark Side.
** General Hux is the illegitimate son of a high ranking Imperial officer and a kitchen worker, and was regularly abused by his father, who considers him a weak-willed and useless. His other mentors include Gallius Rax, who encourages him to lead/train child soldiers into ruthless killers, and Rae Sloane, who wishes him to be taught to become "the best the empire has to offer". In the tie-in comic, ''ComicBook/StarWarsAgeOfResistance'', Snoke pretty much affirms that his vicious nature stems from his past abuse, and an additional summary of the character states that while his DarkAndTroubledPast doesn't excuse his nasty actions he'd commit as a First Order general, given his upbringing, it is almost impossible to see him become anything ''but'' a cog in the First Order Wheel.
* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' even gives us a psychiatrist at the end of the film to give us an explanation of how the Freudian Excuse applies in this specific case.
** ''Film/PsychoIVTheBeginning'': We get to see just how bad Norman's childhood was. Norma emotionally tormented and dominated him, at one forcing him to dress in mother's clothes. Norma's boyfriend Chet was a macho {{Jerkass}} who taunted Norman the same way. He ends up snapping one day and poisons their ice tea, but his guilt drove him to recreate his mother in his mind.
* In Creator/FritzLang's FilmNoir ''Film/SecretBeyondTheDoor'' (1948), the male protagonist, Mark Lamphere (Creator/MichaelRedgrave) is an architect whose love for his bride (played by Joan Bennet) turns to pathological hatred when she inadvertently repeats some of his dead mother's actions, such as locking him out of a room or wearing a lilac in her lapel.

* This is subverted in the made for TV film ''Intensity'', where the sadistic, sociopathic spree killer Edgler Vess, after being accused of abuse causing his current state of mind, proudly proclaims that his parents were extremely loving and that he was truly a sadistic person from the start (in fact he murdered his loving parents).
* The new remake of ''Film/{{Halloween 2007}}'' attempts this with Michael Myers.
** The original ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}'', while appearing to be a shallow motiveless-serial-killer movie at first, it is notable for how it stresses just ''how'' strange Myers' behavior actually is. Behind the scenes, Nick Castle (the man behind the mask) reportedly tried to figure out just what would drive a serial killer like Myers and act accordingly, but Carpenter specifically insisted on the "soulless killing machine" approach. One of the main characters, Dr. Loomis, is an experienced psychiatrist who is both baffled and terrified at the seemingly causeless evil lurking behind Myers' eyes. The overall idea is that, by any realistic standard, there should be a ''reason'' for someone to be anywhere near as warped as he is.
* Sadako Yamamura in ''[[Literature/TheRing Ringu]]'' and her American counterpart Samara Morgan in ''Literature/TheRing'' have a particularly tragic one. Though it's also a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario, with some of her own disturbing traits contributing to making her childhood all the more horrific.
* In the Creator/DavidCronenberg movie ''Film/{{Spider}}'', with Ralph Fiennes, a variety of flashbacks start to illustrate just what has turned Fiennes into a demonic version of Mr. Bean. It turns out that [[spoiler: he imagined the whole thing, and just happens to be insane]]. His character [[spoiler: suffered from schizophrenia, serious brain disease which you cannot control more than epileptic can control his convulsions]]. So he really could not help it.
* Turned on its head in the Korean film ''Film/TheHost''. The hero gets a Freudian Excuse for his lethargy and occasionally carrying the IdiotBall. He didn't get proper nutrition as a kid. [[spoiler: A brain tissue biopsy later fixes all this. Apparently they removed his [[TookALevelInBadass Awesome Inhibitor]] or something.]]
* Subverted in the 2008 ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' movie ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The Joker explains what seems to be the source of his insanity when he reveals the origin of his smile-scars, involving an abusive alcoholic father who wanted to know why he was "so serious"--after killing his mother right in front of him. But later in the movie, he eagerly reveals the origins of his scars again, [[MultipleChoicePast changing his story]] to one involving a wife who wanted him to smile more, who was disfigured to pay for her gambling debts, and taking to self-mutilation to make her feel better. Chances of both stories being outright lies (or at best delusions) suddenly look pretty good.
* Subverted in ''Film/SimonBirch'', where despite extreme neglect by his parents, Simon appears to be the nicest person living in a town full of assholes.
* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', Commodus explains, prior to killing his dad, that all he wanted was a little love and a warm hug...and what he would have done to get it.
* In ''Film/IpMan'', RivalTurnedEvil Jin defends his actions, which include beating on all of Foshan's kung fu masters and robbing the factory of Ip Man's friend, by saying that he experienced poverty at a child and never wanted to starve again.
* The live-action movie of ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' gave TheGrinch a lot of exposition explaining his Grinchiness. In both childhood and in a present-day incident in the film, he very nearly comes to enjoy Christmas, but something goes horribly wrong that just reinforces his view that it's a selfish, materialistic holiday. [[ForegoneConclusion It's only after seeing Christmas still celebrated even after removing all material possessions from the equation that the Grinch comes around.]]
* In the Creator/TimBurton remake of ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Willy Wonka's dentist father forbade him from eating sweets, and his obsession with candy was born of rebellion.

* In ''Film/RaisingArizona'', the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels brutal biker]] and bounty hunter who [[KickTheDog kills furry animals for fun]] has a tattoo reading "Momma didn't like me".
* In the 1995 version of ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'', Sara realizes that Miss Minchin's father didn't tell her that "all girls are princesses," which we are led to believe is the reason for Miss Minchin's loveless, horrible personality.
** This is actually subverted a little when you remember Minchin and Amelia are sisters. Whatever daddy issues she had, Amelia's kind personality (even after being put down so often by her sister) suggests that that alone couldn't have been the cause for the way Miss Minchin turned out.
* Regina of ''Film/MeanGirls'': slightly different in that rather than a bully, her mother is a mindless drunk who is so desperate to be seen as young, hip, and her teenage daughter's best friend that she has become a willing slave that Regina treats with total contempt - the suggestion being that her total ineffectiveness and lack of parenting is what created her daughter.
* Subverted in ''Film/PhoneBooth'' when the villain, while on the phone with Stu, starts sobbing and tells him that he had an unhappy childhood... then when Stu starts to believe him, he laughs and tells Stu that he actually had a very happy childhood.

* This is at the heart of one of the better parts of ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. Shinzon, a clone of Captain Picard, insists that he ''is'' what Picard would have grown up to be if he had lived his life. Picard tries to turn his "mirror" metaphor around on him, which Shinzon brushes off, but later admits that the idea has gotten under his skin. Data disagrees and (drawing a comparison to the "B-4" prototype he has been dealing with) sees a major difference: That in spite of their wildly different lives and experiences, he, like Picard, aspires to be better than he is, something Shinzon and B-4 seem to lack.
* In ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'' this comes off as heartfelt rather than trite. [[spoiler: Derek is transformed into the uber white supremacist after his father is shot by a black drug dealer, but flashbacks reveal that his father had laid the groundwork for this transformation by his rants against Affirmative Action.]] Derek had resisted buying into his father's racial stereotyping, instead looking to his high-school English teacher (a black man) as his mentor. It was only after [[spoiler: his father was killed]] that Derek started to think: "Gee, maybe Dad was right all along."

* ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''. Hannibal Lecter profiles the serial killer Buffalo Bill.
-->'''Dr. Lecter''': Look for severe childhood disturbances associated with violence. Our Billy wasn't born a criminal, Clarice. He was made one through years of systematic abuse. Billy hates his own identity, you see, and he thinks that makes him a transsexual. But his pathology is a thousand times more savage and more terrifying.

* It's suggested in ''Film/ThePublicEnemy'' that Tom Powers (James Cagney) grew up to be such a violent {{Jerkass}} because he got spanked a lot when he was a kid.

* In the 2010 ''Film/{{Centurion}}'' film, the Pict scout, Etain was raped and had her tongue cut out and had to watch her parents being murdered by Romans.

* Satirized in ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues''. The psychotic Debbie explains it was her parents getting her the wrong {{Franchise/Barbie}} that caused her psychotic break. In the form of a slide show.
--> '''Debbie:''' My parents, Sharon and Dave. Generous, doting, or were they? All I ever wanted was a Ballerina Barbie. In her [[PrincessesPreferPink pretty pink tutu]]. (slide change) My Birthday. I was 10, and do you know what they got me? MAL-I-BU Barbie.
--> '''Morticia:''' Malibu Barbie.
--> '''Gomez:''' The nightmare.
--> '''Morticia:''' The nerve.
--> '''Debbie:''' That's not what I wanted! That's not who I ''was''. I was a Ballerina, graceful, delicate! [[IDidWhatIHadToDo They had to go.]]
--> (Next slide shows their house on fire.)
* In ''Red White & Blue'', Erica, when confronted about her cavalier attitude about having unprotected sex with [[ReallyGetsAround practically every guy she meets]] and not bothering to tell any of them that she's HIV positive, reveals that she lost her virginity at age 4 to her mother's boyfriend.
-->'''Erica''': You get fucked two days after your fourth birthday, you tend to not care about anything much.
* ''Film/HalfPastDead'' centered around a group of mercenaries or whatever trying to get a location on stolen gold from a death row inmate by taking a group of hostages. One woman asks the leader what his motivation was, to which he insinuated he was beaten by his father and raped by his mother. Though he never actually admitted this to be true, he subverted the trope by claiming it had nothing to do with his actions as he's simply a sociopath motivated by greed. Earlier it was revealed that he suffers from Gulf War Syndrome and may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress as well, which may actually play the trope straight.
* Martin from ''[[Film/TheHumanCentipede The Human Centipede II]]'' was sexually abused by his father. His psychologist surmises that his obsession with centipedes (and unbeknowst to him the first ''Human Centipede'' film) is a result of his father's abuse: centipedes being phallic-shaped and having a painful bite.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/The51stState'' with the drug dealer Iky.
-->'''Iky''': Ya'see, you're like me, Mr. [=McElroy=]. You're a sky-high-etrist, I'm a sky-high-etrist. See, I always knew I'd be a drug dealer, even when I was a kid. I saw me dad hit me mother, me mother hit me brother, me brother hit me sister, and me sister fuck me father. So I suppose it's inevitable, really. I mean, you'd have to be on drugs just to live in that madhouse, wouldn't you?
* Lampshaded in ''Film/GrossePointeBlank''. The main character, hitman Martin Blank, comments that it is very likely being raised by an alcoholic father and insane mother influenced his career choices. Blank doesn't treat his childhood traumas as an excuse, merely an explanation, and takes full responsibility for his own actions.
* In ''Film/MadeasFamilyReunion'', Victoria [[spoiler: let her daughter Vanessa be raped by her second husband in order to get him to stay. She says that she doesn't feel sorry for Vanessa because her mother pimped her out for crack.]]
* {{Film/Nixon}}:
-->'''John Ehrlichman:''' You got people dying because he didn't make the varsity football team. You got the Constitution hanging by a thread because the old man [[ICouldaBeenAContender went to Whittier instead of Yale]].
--> '''Kissinger''': Can you imagine what he could have done if he had ever been loved?
* ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' provides one for the traitor who agrees to turn Robin over to the Sheriff. [[spoiler: Will Scarlet]] is Robin's illegitimate half-brother. He and his mother, the mistress of the Robin's father after he was widowed, were sent away due to a young Robin's anger at his father over the affair. As a result, he grew up in utter poverty, resenting Robin from afar for "stealing" his father.
* ''Film/RememberTheNight'': Lee Leander's mother doesnt care for her, and blamed her for stealing money which Lee says she didn't take. She runs away to NYC, and what does she do there? Steal jewelry, clothes, meals---whatever she can get her hands on.
* After Sean in ''BoyWonder'' watched his mother murdered and grew while the case was never solved, he grew into a solitary, obsessive, and violent boy. [[spoiler: Having his father convince him to lie about who he saw at the scene didn't help.]]
* Subverted gloriously in ''Film/CarlitosWay'' In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* It's insinuated in ''Film/HellraiserIIIHellOnEarth'' that HeManWomanHater night club owner J.P. Monroe [[RapeAsBackstory was molested by his parents]], potentially explaining why he's such an asshole in his adult life.
* In the anthology film ''Film/BodyBags'', Brent in the segment "The Eye" finds out through the dead serial killer John Randall's visions that he was horribly abused by his mother, such as putting out cigarettes in his face when he was still in his crib.
* ''{{Film/Redbeard}}'': The Mantis Woman is clearly upset by being sexually abused as a child, but Dr. Redbeard is quick to point out that not all sexually abused children grow up to be serial killers. He thinks there's something organic wrong with her brain.

* ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': [[spoiler:Elektra King mostly blames her father for forcing her to sacrifice her humanity in order to survive her kidnapping ordeal.]]
-->'''Bond''': So, you killed your [[spoiler:father]].\\
[[spoiler:'''Elektra''']]: He ''killed me''. He killed me the day he refused to pay my [[spoiler:ransom]].
* Cut from ''Film/TheMuppets'', but the full version of Tex Richman's VillainSong includes his Freudian Excuse; when he was a kid the Muppets performed at his birthday party, and because he couldn't laugh, all the other kids laughed at ''him''. Ever since, he's hated the Muppets.
* In ''Film/TheGiver'', it's implied that Rosemary was also [[spoiler:the Chief Elder's daughter]], showing why her loss drove her to be obstinate and controlling.
* ''Film/TheChristmasThatAlmostWasnt'': The BigBad Prune never got the sailboat he asked for as a kid, and so decided to forget he ever was one.
* In ''Film/TheSuicideTheory'', Steve, a deranged hit man, claims that his earliest memory was of his father smashing him headfirst into a glass coffee table at the tender age of five or six, and that it was the only affection anyone ever showed him until he met his wife Annie.
* ''Film/{{Juice}}'': It's heavily implied that the experiences that Bishop's father had in prison affected his overall outlook.
* ''Film/{{Replicant}}'': When Edward Garrote was a child, his mother murdered his father, then locked him in a closet and set the house on fire--he survived because it started to rain. Since then he murders women that he perceives as "bad mothers" and frequently taunts his now immobile elderly mother about it.
* In ''Film/Malevolent2002'', an aspiring serial killer starts stalking a police officer (Lou Diamond Philips) and tries to [[FrameUp frame him for several murders]], as well as following a stripper while pretending to be her ex-husband. The cop eventually figures out his identity and realizes that he's one of his father's former patients looking for revenge, a brilliant kid from a wealthy family who was committed after an extremely messed up youth. Specifically, his mother (a b-movie actress and pin-up model) carried on an [[ParentalIncest incestuous relationship with her son]] before they were found out by her husband, who then killed his wife and himself in a MurderSuicide.
* As revealed in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', the whole worldview of Comicbook/LexLuthor in the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'' is due to his upbringing. Lex's father, Alexander Luthor Snr., was an [[AbusiveParents abusive jerk]], who [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hid behind the facade]] of a good family man. Luthor Senior used his son as a business ploy (claiming he named his company after Lex and encouraging investors to "write checks for Lex") while behind closed doors he beat (and possibly did worse to) Lex. Unsuprisingly, this upbringing did a number on Lex's psyche, which only gets worse when Comicbook/{{Superman}} appears, as Lex hates Superman, partly because Superman challenges Lex's beliefs that anyone with power cannot truly be selfless and innocent, and partly due to anger that there was no-one to save ''him'' when he was a child.
--> '''Lex''': No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from Daddy's fist and abominations. I figured out way back if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all good. And if He is all good, then He cannot be all-powerful. And neither can you be.
* In the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' franchise, almost every killer has a Freudian Excuse. By ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'', Sidney has had enough of this, and yells at the killer that ultimately, these are all [[ShutUpHannibal just excuses to cover up the fact that they're shitty people who kill people]] ForTheEvulz. The exception to this is [[spoiler:Jill]] in ''Film/{{Scream 4}}'' who denies having an excuse and acknowledges that she's a monster, citing "Sick is the new sane".
* In ''Film/WhereTheSidewalkEnds'', Mike is a brutal cop (he beats up his suspects and has an undying hatred of them) because he's haunted by his father's reputation as a criminal.
* ''Film/KnightMoves'' is a bit of a weird example in that it doesn't seem to come to a decision how it wants to play this. Apparently, the SerialKiller's descent into darkness is supposed to be witnessing [[DrivenToSuicide his mother's violent suicide]] following his father's departure when he was just a boy. The problem is that the kid actor they got emoted so little in this scene that [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior he just seems bored and/or fascinated by it]], giving the impression that he was already an EnfantTerrible. He doesn't bring it up again until the climax as part of his MotiveRant for wanting revenge on the hero (who was ''very'' inadvertently responsible for the killer's parents both leaving him). However, the hero [[ShutUpHannibal chews the killer out about his excuse]] and points out that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse it doesn't justify his horrible crimes]], including attempting to kill the hero's young daughter. Then the female lead, who's also a psychiatrist-in-training, walks in and having recognized the killer as [[spoiler:one of her boss's patients, tries to talk him out of it while [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathizing with him]] for his past (she fails and he gets shot to death by aforementioned hero), so supposedly we're meant to see him as a tragic villain after all?]]
* Noah from ''Film/TheBoyNextDoor''. [[spoiler:His father had an affair with another woman and didn't seem to be sorry for betraying his wife. Because of the affair, his mother became depressed and eventually committed suicide. Noah came to hate his father enough to kill him and his mistress by sabotaging the brakes on their car.]]
* ''Film/GoldenEye'': Former British intelligence operative and BigBad Janus claims that what he is after isn't money, but revenge on Great Britain for the death of his parents (who were Lienz Cossacks). Bond, however questions both his reason and motive; there is no way in hell the son of Lienz cossacks would have passed the necessary background checks to join [=MI6=], and his clearance would have allowed him to hurt Britain immensely just by turning whistleblower, so if he was just after revenge, why wait for decades for an opportunity to strike that just happens to be profitable?
* ''Film/FullMetalJacket'': The drill sargeant angrily mocks Private Pyle with this trope when he finds out the rifle Pyle is wielding in the barracks bathroom has live rounds in it. Doesn't turn out well for him:
--> WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION NUMBNUTS?!? DIDN'T MOMMY AND DADDY SHOW YOU ENOUGH ATTENTION WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?!? (*[[ShutUpGunshot BOOM]]*)
* ''Film/TragedyGirls'': Subverted. The film goes out of its way to show that Sadie and [=McKayla=] had very normal, very stable upbringings, with parents that love them. They weren't bullied in school, or scarred for life by some traumatic event. Nothing made them bad; they just ''[[ForTheEvulz are]]''.
* ''Film/MostLikelyToDie'': [[spoiler:Although it does not excuse the fact that he murdered most of his closest high school friends, DJ explains that his actions are revenge for the fact that the bullied kid John Dougherty had a rough life as an adult, and ultimately killed himself after DJ came clean about the series of pranks that got him expelled from high school. He also notes that he never wanted to be involved in the final prank, as he hid the gun in John's locker on Ray's request, so that Ray doesn't get into even more trouble and lose his hockey scholarship.]]
* ''Film/{{Deewaar}}'': Vijay getting forcibly tattooed as a child with text saying that his father is a thief gives rise to his cynical outlook and motivates him to be as ruthless as he perceives the world to be.
* In ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', the events that would lead to the human-ape war are set in motion by one of the founders of the ape society, the bonobo, Koba. The reason he refuses to believe that humans and (super-intelligent) apes can live side by side in peace is because years before [[AfterTheEnd human civilization collapsed]], [[AnimalTesting Koba was kept locked up in a research facility,]] and [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil experimented on.]]
* In ''Film/JuliaX'', Julia and Jessica do what they do because they were sexually abused by their father as children, and later witnessed him murdering their mother.
* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'': Frank Abagnale comes from a broken home and he ran away and became a con artist since he couldn't deal with choosing one parent over the other when they were divorcing. Averted in the book. Abagnale says he had a hard time when his parents divorced, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse but he also says more than once that it's no excuse for his crimes, and most other children from "broken homes" don't become con artists]] (including Frank's own siblings, who the movie AdaptedOut).
* In ''Film/JackTheRipper1976'', the Ripper is a doctor who murders streetwalkers because he was abused by his prostitute mother.
* ''Film/CherryFalls'': [[spoiler: Loralee beat Leonard throughout his childhood, resulting in him becoming the AxCrazy and mommy issues ridden killer that he is now.]]
* In ''Film/TheWaterBoy'', Mamma Boucher, forbids her son Bobby, [[FantasyForbiddingFather from leaving the house and having his own life]] because everything "is the Devil." When she finds out that he's going to college and playing "the foosball," she fakes an illness and Bobby gives up his newfound freedom to be by her bedside. After she hears how much him playing means to everyone in town, she tells him why she did it. She tells Bobby she lied to him that his father died in the desert, because when she was pregnant with him, Bobby's father ran out on them to live in the big city, and she was so scared of being alone, that she made Bobby be so afraid of life so he wouldn't leave her.
* Subverted in ''Film/WestSideStory'' in the song "Officer Krupke" the teen-age gangsters of the Jets sing sarcastically about their deprived upbringings, acting out how they would play on the sympathies of social workers and juvenile courts.
* In ''Film/ConfessionsOfAPsychoCat'', Virginia's psychosis stems from her father not loving her, and her brother throwing her pet puppy to its death off the balcony of their penthouse. In her final breakdown, she falls to the floor desperately begging her (dead) father for his love.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': Hades's villainy stems from the deep hatred of the dank and unpleasant job he's currently in as Lord of the Underworld (something which he sees as the cosmic equivalent of janitorial duty). He also envies his older brother Zeus for receiving HundredPercentAdorationRating by all of the Greek gods while he is [[EveryoneHatesHades virtually]] [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating hated]]. Plus, it's mentioned in the [[WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries animated series]] that his [[GreaterScopeVillain father Kronos]] [[AbusiveParents devoured his children]] except Zeus, causing Hades to inherit his evil.

* Subverted and parodied ''hilariously'' in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens,'' in which the BigBad claims he is about to tell the heroine his life story... but he's strapped to a machine that stamps him into the ground every few seconds, so you never hear exactly what he's trying to say; only fragments that skip most of the crucial information!

* Scar's desire in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' to rule over Pride Rock, even killing his brother Mufasa and try to have Simba killed as well, becomes somewhat understandable after reading some prologue books for the film that revealed that Scar (then known as Taka, which ''[[UnfortunateNames literally means "trash"]]'') was neglected by his own father, such as his father revoking a promise regarding teaching him to hunt. His earlier inability to be taught how to hunt might also explain why his unified hunting policies also resulted in Pride Rock being turned into a wasteland during his rule.
* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'''s titular character's [[AnimatedActors in-game backstory]] is that the forest he lived in was cleared away to make way for Niceland Apartments, so he tries to destroy the building to get his home back.
** Even when he's off the clock, he's treated badly by the Nicelanders, who don't see him as anything ''but'' the villain who wrecks their homes every day, even though [[PunchClockVillain that's only his job]]. This is what leads him to leave the game to get a medal, which resulted in the ''Fix-It Felix Jr'' game almost being unplugged, as it didn't work without Ralph there.

* In an original story board of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' they wanted to have Jafar, the villain, have a Freudian Excuse themed song explaining why he was angry and evil. Jafar's excuse mainly focused on being mocked and unpopular when he was young, and having to live and work underneath the bumbling Sultan in adulthood. The song was later dropped and was replaced with a reprise of Prince Ali to satisfy the staff's wishes to have the voice actor sing. In the actual film, Jafar has no FreudianExcuse, but he's unhappy in his current position (which is sometimes all you need), thinks the sultan is an idiot, is greedy, and has a case of megalomania (thus the last genie wish). Sympathy is heavily undercut because Jafar now treats Aladdin as lowly as he himself was treated in childhood. The song and storyboards for it can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU6AfCWuZKI here]].
* Hilariously inadequate to the point that it was most certainly intentional, the villain of ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'' became villainous and lost his mind due to a minor mishap as a child in which he lost his baseball team the game because he fell asleep partway through. It fits in with the moral of the story of moving on, because while his team was upset for a while, they got over it and forgave him, but he focused only on that minor mistake and it ruined his entire life.
* On ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'', Pete mentions during his VillainSong that the reason he's so evil is because his mother didn't like him and he wants to impress her by becoming king.
* [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse Deconstructed]] in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. [[spoiler:Lotso the Hugging Bear]] became evil after [[spoiler:his first owner accidentally lost and replaced him.]] Woody [[ShutUpHannibal calls him out on it]] for two reasons: [[spoiler:It showed how selfish he was and doesn't justify all the toys he's hurt or lied to.]]
** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', [[spoiler:Stinky Pete is evil because he was an unpopular toy and no child ever played with him]].
* The underlying reason behind Tai Lung's fury in the original ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''. However, after he is told that he had no reason to feel this way, it doesn't matter to him and the years of feeling slighted by Shifu have turned him completely cold.
** By contrast in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'', Lord Shen's feeling of being rejected by his parents in his youth is completely blown out of proportion in his mind considering they did that only after being horrified at him committing genocide against the Giant Pandas.
** According to WordOfGod, his albino coloring caused his parents to neglect him as child and others to treat him as a bad omen. It can be argued that Shen never would have turned cold enough to commit genocide if he had been more loved.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'', the "witch" Agatha Prenderghast who cursed the town turns out to be [[spoiler:an eleven year old girl who was unjustly prosecuted (and sentenced to death) simply because of her being able to speak to the dead]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', Joaquin's obsession with heroism and large ego all come from an entire life spent on his father's shadow of a great hero.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'''s take on the Literature/BookOfExodus, Pharaoh Rameses gets a hefty dose of this. Growing up with his emotionally distant father Pharaoh Seti, Seti constantly told Rameses that the legacy of the Egyptian Empire rested entirely on his shoulders, and that any show of weakness could bring down the dynasty that his forefathers started. With every childhood misdeed, Rameses was reminded, [[ArcWords "One weak link can destroy a chain."]] As an adult, Rameses convinces himself that any show of mercy towards his Hebrew subjects would be just another sign of weakness, and so he doesn't flinch at working them to death, or sending his soldiers to slaughter them wholesale. Since Seti also attempted genocide against the Hebrews, it's implied that Rameses considers his own atrocities to be his way of following in his father's footsteps.
* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' technically has one, but it's [[DisproportionateRetribution not very good]]. Essentially, the superhero he idolized as a kid wouldn't let him be his sidekick. That's it. So he'll murder every superhero in the world...
* The titular [[VillainProtagonist supervillain]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' [[ThenLetMeBeEvil turned evil]] because of the constant rejection and bullying he had to face in school. Furthermore, he did crashland in a ''prison'' and was raised by ''criminals,'' (incidentally, they were actually pretty nice to him.) He grew up surrounded by evil (well, [[AffablyEvil criminality]] anyway) and it was pretty much all he knew.

*** [[JerkassWoobie Prince]] [[TragicVillain Hans]] claims to have had 3 of his 12 older brothers ignore him for 2 years, but [[Literature/AFrozenHeart the novelization]] reveals it was ''way more worse'' than he said, as he was downplaying the abuse to the point he thinks it's ''normal''. His father raised all of his sons to be strong and useful, but scornfully saw Hans to be a weakling and allows all of his sons to bully and harass him all his life. Only his mother and one brother, Lars, showed him kindness but had little impact, likely out of fear of facing the king's wrath. As a result, Hans seemingly has clinical depression, an inferiority complex, and suicidal thoughts stemming from the extensive abuse he received from his family, and his once good nature changed into [[WellDoneSonGuy a stubborn desire to prove himself to his father]], regardless of what he did to Anna and Elsa. And this is a character from a ''Disney'' property.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'', the robot that kills all living things on the planet was made by a scientist for peace, but as the military of the country where he was made (is not clear in what country the story of the movie happen) tear him away from his master, he seems to reach out as a child being torn from his mother. He then goes mad and tries to kill his oppressors. After being forced to make machines of mass destruction, he is sickened by humanity and orders the robots to slay everything that lives.

* Scar's desire in ''Disney/TheLionKing'' to rule over Pride Rock, even killing his brother Mufasa and try to have Simba killed as well, becomes somewhat understandable after reading some prologue books for the film that revealed that Scar (then known as Taka, which ''[[UnfortunateNames literally means "trash"]]'') was neglected by his own father, such as his father revoking a promise regarding teaching him to hunt. His earlier inability to be taught how to hunt might also explain why his unified hunting policies also resulted in Pride Rock being turned into a wasteland during his rule.
* ''Disney/WreckItRalph'''s titular character's [[AnimatedActors in-game backstory]] is that the forest he lived in was cleared away to make way for Niceland Apartments, so he tries to destroy the building to get his home back.

* At one point in ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Yzma mentions while on a rant for being fired from being Kuzco's advisor that she was the one who practically raised him, which implies that a lot of Kuzco's... [[ItsAllAboutMe personality]] [[BadBoss and]] [[TheCaligula problems]] are a direct result of her influence.
* In an original story board of Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' they wanted to have Jafar, the villain, have a Freudian Excuse themed song explaining why he was angry and evil. Jafar's excuse mainly focused on being mocked and unpopular when he was young, and having to live and work underneath the bumbling Sultan in adulthood. The song was later dropped and was replaced with a reprise of Prince Ali to satisfy the staff's wishes to have the voice actor sing. In the actual film, Jafar has no FreudianExcuse, but he's unhappy in his current position (which is sometimes all you need), thinks the sultan is an idiot, is greedy, and has a case of megalomania (thus the last genie wish). Sympathy is heavily undercut because Jafar now treats Aladdin as lowly as he himself was treated in childhood. The song and storyboards for it can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU6AfCWuZKI here]].
* Hilariously inadequate to the point that it was most certainly intentional, the villain of ''Disney/MeetTheRobinsons'' became villainous and lost his mind due to a minor mishap as a child in which he lost his baseball team the game because he fell asleep partway through. It fits in with the moral of the story of moving on, because while his team was upset for a while, they got over it and forgave him, but he focused only on that minor mistake and it ruined his entire life.

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': It seems that the major characters within the movie have some sort of backstory as to why they turned out that way as adults.