10 Terrifying Horror Movie Villains Ruined By Terrible Backstories

Shepard and Julian Lambrick both use their charm and ridiculous wealth to convey such a powerful sensation throughout their time on screen, an absolute must for a couple of villains who are keeping an entire group of people hostage during their time on screen.

But, besides being rich and powerful, there's not a whole lot more audiences need from their baddies in a film like this. They have more money than sense and can afford to stock their house up with enough goons to keep their guests playing their twisted game. And that's it, that's the entire plot set in motion right there.

With that being said, there are a couple notable moments in the film where the writers attempt to shoehorn a backstory for Shepard and his son. The history of Shepard's charity work that lands him in contact with Iris' doctor and the absence of a maternal figure for Julian that causes his aggressive tendencies and attempted rape of Iris are all raised during the film, only to be suddenly dropped again in the next scene.

All these disjointed bits of backstory do is either distract audiences away from the terror these characters are invoking at the time or, at worse, bring them down to the other characters' level. What makes the likes of Shepard and Julian so terrifying during the film is their total lack of humanity in inflicting so much psychological and psychical pain on other people, however seeing them more exposed through a hastily constructed attempt at a backstory just puts a chink in that effect.