History Main / TorturedMonster

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

** One specific Dalek example is the titular creature from the New Who Series 1 episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]]". It is locked underground by a billionaire CollectorOfTheStrange and tortured into near insanity. In order to escape, it uses Rose's DNA to regenerate itself but in the process gains human emotions, which it views as a FateWorseThanDeath. It also expresses severe distress after realizing that it is the LastOfHisKind, since as a soldier, [[DesperatelyNeedsOrders it needs orders from its superiors in order to function]].

** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', both [[ApologeticAttacker the Other Father]] and [[StepfordSmiler the Other Wybie]] were created by [[HumanoidAbomination the Other Mother]] to lure [[PluckyGirl Coraline]] in, but clearly feel conflicted about that and seem to care about her. [[spoiler:Both pull HeroicSacrifices to save her.]]

So, what happens when a monster [[AndIMustScream must scream?]] When trapped or tortured with no way to fix it, they can (and do) lash out. The problem is, when you're a [[NuclearMutant radioactive monstrosity]] [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the size of an apartment block,]] your outbursts can go beyond merely destructive and approach [[ApocalypseHow downright apocalyptic]] levels. The motives may be understandable and even sympathetic- they may be trying to get help and not understand that they're hurting people, or they're trying to [[SuicideByCop provoke someone into killing them]], or they just want everyone else to feel [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds as bad as they do-]] but no matter how pitiable their situation may be, their sheer strength and capacity for carnage mean that as long as they remain alive they represent an existential threat to anything around them. [[{{Irony}} Ironically,]] the reason for their pain is frequently [[BlessedWithSuck also the reason for their strength;]] whether it's a [[{{Mutant}} mutation]] of some kind, a [[TheCorruption supernatural disease or curse,]] or anything in between, the common denominator is always that the costs far, ''far'' outweigh the benefits. Sometimes a Tortured Monster will eventually meet TheHero who fights back and releases them from their pain (if they get a happy ending -- living on like this is a [[FateWorseThanDeath much worse fate]]). The hero may or may not realize after the thing is dead that he just did it a service.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' fanfiction, it's revealed that [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] ''used to be'' this in its backstory. At first, Ghidorah only inflicted death and mass destruction because it was trying anything and everything to make [[TerribleTicking the Old Noise]] screaming inside its heads (demanding that Ghidorah "'''Kill Them All'''") stop, after killing the ones who implanted the Old Noise in Ghidorah's heads failed to get rid of it. But over time, Ghidorah's [[MultipleHeadCase heads]] grew desensitized to the violence and the destruction, then they grew to love it. Whilst the Old Noise did fade into the backs of their minds after billions of years, Ghidorah by then had long since completed SlowlySlippingIntoEvil.

* The Handymen in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' were originally injured or terminally ill Columbian citizens who were grafted into huge, primitive cyborg bodies in an attempt to save their lives. However, their new bodies render them in constant, agonizing pain and keep them from sleeping, and most of their "taunts" in battle are either loud laments about their situation or begging Booker to simply leave them alone.
** Or, if you're hanging from a skyline, [[ApologeticAttacker warnings to "Get Down!"]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' has Krieg, once a heroic individual turned into a Psycho through brutal experimentation that destroyed his sanity. Whatever remnants of his former self is left as a simple voice in his head who attempts to steer himself towards "the deserving" and away from the innocent, even swearing to take control of his body back and commit suicide if he ever sheds innocent blood. Similarly, his primary motivation for being a Vault Hunter is because he's in love with Maya and sees her as the one who can make him sane one day.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2'' when [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Orthopox]] reads the mind of summer-intern-turned-{{Kaiju}} Kojira and realises it's begging to be killed. He sarcastically suggests Crypto try and get it therapy before dropping the pretense and telling him to just kill it.

* The Hecatomb in ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria 2}}'' turns out to be [[spoiler:the original Curtis Craig, sacrificed to the aliens by Paul Allen Warner.]] He has been encased in their organic matter and mutated to the point that his organs are outside his body and he will die if his biomask is removed. In his torment he uses his psychic powers to lash out at everyone he can and tries to drive [[spoiler:alien Curtis]] to madness for [[spoiler:inadvertently stealing his life.]]
* From ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** In the remake of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', Lisa Trevor is a twisted mockery of a woman who's been trapped in a constantly-mutating, undying body for thirty years, and was driven insane by her ordeal a long time ago.

What happens when a monster [[AndIMustScream must scream]], but rather than being trapped with no way to fix it, they can (and do) lash out. They may be trying to get help and not understand that they're hurting people, or they're trying to [[SuicideByCop provoke someone into killing them]], or they just want everyone else to feel [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds as bad as they do]]. They'll eventually meet TheHero who fights back and releases them from their pain (if they get a happy ending -- living on like this is a [[FateWorseThanDeath much worse fate]]). The hero may or may not realize after the thing is dead that he just did it a service.

Prone to CryForTheDevil, AlasPoorVillain, ApologeticAttacker, and MercyKill (on the receiving end). The MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil varieties of CameBackWrong can be this; can also be the end result of ThePunishment. Often found in a TragicMonster. This is not just a mutilated or disgusting thing that wants to die -- it must be able to do damage.