10 Famous Movie Villains That Had Understandable Motives

2. Norman Bates - Psycho

Like Leatherface after him, dear old Norman Bates suffers from mental illness... although unlike Leatherface, he seems to function quite well on his own. Norman suffers from a pretty severe case of Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder to you and me). He has a tendency to dress up as his deceased mother and murder the guests at his motel, nothing a little therapy can't fix though. As a child, Norman was severely psychologically tormented by his mother and the implication certainly is there that he eventually murdered her. His mental illness means that his mother's personality lives in him and influences his decisions. He's a victim of abuse and is trapped within his own mind, if indeed his condition is genuine, then he literally has no control over the murders he commits, Norman Bates is innocent, his mother is the real killer. It's a rare and controversial disorder and can be easily faked, but if Norman really is afflicted with it, then he's done nothing wrong.