How To Motivate a Monster
It’s been said by countless screenwriting teachers and lecturers that when it comes to your antagonist in a script, you must motivate them of their own accord. They cannot simply exist to make life hard for the hero, they need their own wants, needs, and desires. They need motivation, and, in many cases, it works best if THEY are the hero from their point of view.
But what if you’re writing a horror movie? What if your antagonist is a gelatinous sentient pile of goo that likes to absorb people? What exactly was the Blob’s key need? How do you write a compelling monster that clearly has some sort of goal that drives them to stab all those half-dressed teenagers?
In short, as the title says—how do you motivate a monster in a narrative sense?
Enter Now | Final Deadline in 24 days
Crafting Your Monster's Motivation
There are TWO key factors, both of which are broken into smaller parts. You have a paradigm your monster adheres to behaviorally, and you have key monster story beats.
When it comes to horror movies, my spooky-themed OCD has decided that there are four key villainous paradigms that your monster likely falls into. Please note, by “monster” in this context, I am simply referring to the antagonists of your horror story and whether they are a legit monster, a ghost, or just a deeply bad person.
1. The Bad Guy
A Bad Guy monster is one that, despite its terrifying nature, basically has the mind of a human, however fractured, enhanced, or undead that mind may be. If they can blend in and speak, they are a bad guy.
Like any good antagonist in other genres, they need to think they are the hero of the story, or, at the very least, believe their needs are more important than any sort of human suffering.
The best way to develop this kind of antagonist is to put them through the same process you put your hero through. Be that using archetypes, focusing on their skills, triggers, or anything else that motivates a character, good or bad.
Within these structures, just like a compelling hero, you can craft a compelling villain by simply writing their words and actions to those key traits.
2. The Unstoppable Force
An Unstoppable Force is any sort of monster that is relentless in its attempts to kill your heroes. It’s great for slashers, survival horror stories, and creature features. This angle treats your monster as something propelled by a SINGLE motivator. Hungry? Angry? Horny?
What’s fun is that the audience can know what that motivator is or not. To revisit the first example—what did the Blob want other than to absorb people and get bigger? Why does Jason Voorhees hate teenagers? What was Bruce the Shark thinking?
Or you can reveal that single motivator as a key plot point. It took eight movies to find out Michael Myers just wanted to go home. Freddy Krueger is seeking revenge on all the parents who killed him in a vigilante mob by toying with their kids.
All we know is that this sort of monster doesn’t stop. You can still build an arc around this, only revealing bits of the monster over time as they become more (hungry/angry/horny) along the way as the story chugs along.
Read More: 5 Lessons from 'Raise the Stakes: How to Write Action & Adventure That Sells'
'The Blob' (1988)
3. From Darkness
This strategy is all about the monsters that hide in the dark. It’s possible they are smart like a person, but most likely are some sort of lesser intelligence. They are smart enough to track, hunt, and strike at just the right moment, but snatch and grab in isolated kills.
Xenomorphs. Killer ghosts. Werewolves. Creatures that come from darkness are actually a bit of a hybrid. They have a goal of some sort, likely singular, driven by a need based on habits, directives, curses, or rules of some sort, but we can only guess as to what they might be. Think of it less as an instinctual need, and more of a singular task.
The general rule in writing this type of monster is that the motivation isn’t known ever, or if it is discovered, it will be the game-changer in the final act. Maybe your characters understand this need, maybe they don’t. Maybe discovering it is the key to fighting them as well.
In that third act, this type of monster then turns into an Unstoppable Force until dealt with.
4. Cause and Effect
Something has started the evil on its path… an event. A sacrifice. An intrusion. A slumber disturbed. A desecration. A summoning. In this paradigm, the monster is normally at rest or inactive. But now, it’s been made more active, and it will continue until it succeeds with its goal or is stopped.
Also a bit of a hybrid, this monster will start quiet and stay hidden or even seem innocent at first… then will build as the story goes. If intelligence is a factor it will get cleverer as time passes as well. It usually wants something very specific and will get it by any means necessary.
Keep in mind, these paradigms are not a thing that has to be revealed. You COULD build to revealing a monster’s motivation as your story, or you could just as easily keep it a complete mystery both can be scary in their own way. It’s more important to see these paradigms as YOUR guidelines when writing.
If your monster doesn’t adhere to some sort of set of rules (even if they are never made clear to the characters or audience) it pouches credulity… which is kind of an absurd thing to say, again, what motivated the Blob?
But here’s a thing…
Human brains look for patterns and logic, even subconsciously. If your monster appears/acts/attacks in random ways, people will sense something is off about it.
Read More: What is Symbolism and How Do You Use It In Your Writing
'The Babadook' (2014)
Know the Monster Story Beats
Now, the other half of this equation—monster story beats. Regardless of your chosen outlining and story-breaking methodology, be it classic Hollywood three-act structure à la Save the Cat or a story circle or something of your own design—within that structure, there are five key story beats that apply to your monster.
In Act One, there is going to be some sort of awakening or reveal. Often this may even be the opening scene, it’s a moment that tells the audience THIS THING IS REAL. You’ll want to revisit this in another dozen pages or so when your main character gets their first clue that something monstrous is at play.
The first half of Act Two is all about the monster building its presence in the story. The speed and pacing vary greatly on the paradigm, type of monster, type of horror movie, etc. But generally, you’ll be building scares, each one a little bigger than the last. Keeping your paradigm in mind should give you an idea of how to go about this.
For example, if they are a bad guy, we likely see and meet them, uncovering clues that reveal they are not what they seem without outright showing what they are up to.
By the midpoint of your story though, we should have seen some scary stuff. I’m not saying don’t show anything until the midpoint, but that by your midpoint, your characters have an idea of what they are dealing with (even if they don't know HOW to deal with it). Again, look at your paradigm. A monster coming from darkness will have snatched some people, and maybe we are now getting our first good look at it.
The back half of Act Two and breaking into the third act, is all about what your characters are doing to survive/escape from/defeat the monster.
Finally, your last monster beat will be the moment that this plan is realized… or is it? Don’t forget studios love a franchise, so don’t be afraid to have that hand punch up from a grave, or get that last jump scare in! (Or don’t and let evil be defeated).
Knowing how your monster behaves, and when they should do certain things are what you as the writer need to adhere to.
'An American Werewolf in London' (1981)
---
Plug time! If you found this helpful, I actually have a whole workbook full of exercises, prompts, and information on creating a horror screenplay. It’s called "The Scary Movie Writer’s Guide" and is available on Amazon.
Read More: 101 Movie Deaths to Inspire How to Kill Your Characters
Get actionable Horror/Thriller Notes from a professional reader with real industry experience!
The post How To Motivate a Monster appeared first on ScreenCraft.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings