10 Worst Betrayals In Horror Movie History
9. Marge Is A Terrible Mother - A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The role that parents play in the Nightmare On Elm Street series was crucial to its story; in horror, they're often sidelined as interfering or display a complete lack of understanding for the crisis being faced by our heroes. In the case of ANOES, it's the parents who are directly responsible for the life threatening mess Nancy, Glen, Rod and Tina are in.
When a "filthy child murderer" is released on a technicality, the outraged parents corner him in his lair and burn him alive, with deadly consequences for the surviving teens. Nancy's mum Marge straight out admits the crime: "We lit the whole thing up and watched it burn. He's dead now. He's dead because Mommy killed him." Which is a pretty strange thing for your mum to admit to.
However, Marge refuses to accept that Freddy is back and is killing from beyond the grave - now in nightmares. She has the windows on the family home literally barred up to 'protect' Nancy, unwilling to accept the reality of the situation, effectively imprisoning her own daughter.
This short sighted betrayal effectively kills Nancy's boyfriend Glenn, as her daughter is powerless to help, locked inside her own home, guaranteeing a showdown with Old Pizza Face himself. Marge refuses to listen and just drinks herself into a stupor, leaving Nancy with all the danger and herself with none of the responsibility, even though she bears nearly all of it.
Parents are meant to be wise protectors, not drunken, self indulgent vigilantes who refuse to listen. A mean betrayal of her own daughter!