









































“Psycho”, “maniac”, and “madman” are all 
words that are found to be synonymous 
with serial killers and criminal activity. 
For decades, the media has perpetuated 
an extremely harmful image that those 
suffering from mental illness are violent and 
dangerous. These portrayals can be found 
across mediums from fictional books and 
movies to docuseries and podcasts. In the 
realm of fiction, specifically, some of the most 
harmful depictions can be found in horror 
films. These films tend to paint their villains 
to be caricatures of various psychiatric 
disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar 
disorder, dissociative identity disorder 
(formerly known as multiple personality 
disorder), and narcissistic personality 
disorder. These misrepresentations are not 
only grossly exaggerated but also highly 
inaccurate. In this piece, I will explore and 
expose the negative distortions of mental 
illness in various horror films. The scope 
will focus on two of the most influential 
psychological thrillers in the industry: 

Psycho and The Shining. These films 
each depict an antagonist who displays 
exaggerated traits indicative of mental 
illness. By deconstructing and comparing 
these traits with modern research on 
the mental illnesses they are meant to 
represent, I will expose the inaccuracies of 
these portrayals. Furthermore, I will outline 
the lasting impacts of these inaccuracies 
on both the public perceptions of mental 
illness, as well as help-seeking among 
individuals suffering from psychological 
disorders. Even if the characters in 
these popular films are fictional, the 
stigma they direct toward mental illness 
is very real and must be addressed. 

Taking the “Psycho” out of 
“Psycho-killer”: The Impact 
of Criminal Portrayals of 

Psychiatric Disorders in Horror 
Films  

Makayla Edwards, BallBall State University

37



Introduction

“He has done horrible things to people, and he will do horrible things to you,” 
(Split 2:23). These are the final words of the trailer for the 2017 horror film Split, 
wherein the primary antagonist speaks about himself in the third person, saying he 
is about to harm the girls he has abducted. The movie centers around a man named 
Kevin, whose dissociative identity disorder (DID) supposedly leads him to kidnap and 
torture people. Throughout the film, Kevin takes on multiple personalities, ranging 
from peaceful to violent, all of which participate in the abduction of the girls. His 
disorder plays a principal role in his crimes and violence in the film. 

 Upon initial release, the film immediately sparked controversy due to its negative 
depictions of DID and its villainization of mental illness. Many found the film to be not 
only offensive but also extremely harmful to the public perception of the disorder. 
With various scenes cutting between peaceful and violent personalities, an extremely 
dangerous picture is painted: any individual suffering from the disorder may simply 
switch at any given moment and start attacking people. However, many studies, which 
will be discussed in detail later in this essay, have found that individuals suffering 

Edwards

Figure 1. Film capture of Hedwig, a 9-year-old with a lisp and one of the many personalities of Kevin (James 
McAvoy). 27 July 2016, Split Official Trailer 1 (2017) - YouTube.com. )

38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI


from psychological disorders are statistically no more violent than their neurotypical 
counterparts.  
 Furthermore, a very important aspect of this characterization is often glossed 
over: Split is far from the first horror film to exploit and criminalize mental illness. 
Rather, much of the genre is built on it. Dating back to the 1960 release of Alfred 
Hitchcock’s Psycho, various psychological disorders, both named and unnamed, have 
been used as grounds for a character to be violent and homicidal. Psycho’s antagonist 
is a young man, Norman Bates, who suffers from an unnamed mental illness that 
causes him to take on the persona of his abusive mother. When taking on this persona, 
he murders various people, including a young woman staying at his motel. The mental 
illness being negatively portrayed would now be referred to as DID, but was not 
called such in the actual film. This film laid the framework for the “psycho-killer” and 
many others followed suit. Suddenly, horror antagonists didn’t have to be fantastical 
creatures like Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster, they could be human beings.  
 In the two decades following Psycho’s release, the industry became flooded 
with the new brand of “homicidal maniac”. From Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) 
to Halloween (1978) to Friday the 13th (1995), villains characterized by various 
symptoms of mental illness filled the theaters. Audiences loved the concept of a “real” 
killer and Hollywood knew it. While these films may not have given as much focus to 
the actual mentality and inner struggles of the antagonist as Psycho did, it was still 
clear that the reasoning behind their violent tendencies was assumed to be mental 
illness. It wasn’t until the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining (1980) that 
filmmakers circled back to a more antagonist-led plot structure. Much like Psycho, 
The Shining centers around one man, Jack Torrance, and his descent into “madness.” 
Similarly to Norman, Jack has a troubled past as well as delusions that both play a role 
in his unraveling. Although we are once again not given an actual diagnosis for the 
character, many analysts believe that Jack suffers from schizophrenia.  
 While Split has been heavily targeted in the media for its controversy and 
inaccuracies, both The Shining and Psycho remain revered as some of the best horror 
films to date. Though they are well-constructed films in many ways, this is cause 
for concern. These portrayals were cornerstones in shaping modern horror; they 
have even spurred off a subgenre now known as the psychological thriller. They are 
commonplace in present-day media, which means that even those who haven’t seen 
the films are likely familiar with them in one way or another. What a majority of the 
population is less familiar with, though, is what people with psychological disorders 
are actually like. These films build such a stigma around mental illnesses, such as 
schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, that many people fear even being in 
the general vicinity of individuals suffering from them. They produce shame, and even 

Edwards

39



go so far as to deter those suffering from mental illness from seeking care for fear of 
being labeled as dangerous. Psychological disorders in film, particularly within the 
horror genre, can be extremely damaging to individuals who want to seek help but 
are afraid of negative societal perceptions of mental health. After all, films are not just 
moving pictures; they are active catalysts for real-world perceptions. 

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Psycho 
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho follows Norman Bates, a homicidal motel owner who 
murders the primary female protagonist and motel guest, Marion Crane. As people 
begin to investigate the woman’s death, Bates goes on to commit another murder and 
two additional attempts. The key thing to note here, though, is that the audience does 
not find out Norman is guilty until the end. Throughout the film, it is suggested that 
his sickly mother is committing the crimes and that Norman is simply another victim of 
her manipulation. And while the latter half is true, it is revealed that Norman’s mother 
has been dead for a substantial amount of time and that he has been taking on her 
persona during the murders. While her death was initially ruled as a murder-suicide by 
her lover, Norman had actually killed them in a fit of rage. It is suggested that Norman’s 
present mental state was a result of childhood abuse combined with unmanageable 
guilt from killing his mother. 
 This representation is problematic on a handful of fronts. Firstly, dubbing Bates 
as simply a “madman” without any particular diagnosis creates a blurred image of 
mental illnesses, grouping them all together as one generalized concept of “madness”. 
This is damaging because it further alienates individuals suffering from any variant 
of mental illness by collectively categorizing them as dangerous. In the case of 
Norman Bates, the modern equivalent of the psychiatric condition he displays would 
be dissociative identity disorder. However, due to the lack of information about the 
disorder available following the film’s release, many viewers miscategorized the 
character as suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Misguided assumptions 
such as these can be detrimental and lead to widespread misinformation concerning 
the symptoms of various disorders. In her article entitled “We all go a little mad 
sometimes,” Sonya Lipczynska contends: 

The antagonists in these kinds of films usually display the kind of behaviours, which 
mainstream media generally considers as indicative of psychopathy. Rarely are these 
characters diagnosed with any particular disorder (the psychiatrist character at the 
end of Psycho does have a go), but instead, they present with specific symptoms 
to indicate a general ‘‘madness’’. These include split personality behaviour, talking 
to imaginary people, violent urges, sadism, manipulation, obsessive behaviours, 

Edwards

40



remorselessness, and general acts of depravity. Crucially, all these particular 
antagonists are human beings, made villainous by their mental illness. (61) 

 General “madness,” as Lipczynska describes, is extremely prevalent in Psycho. 
There are many scenes throughout the film that portray the violent behavior that 
Lipczynska is referring to, most notably being the infamous shower scene. The 
scene shows Marion getting into the shower, followed by Norman sneaking into the 
bathroom and pulling back the shower curtain to stab her multiple times. The scene 
is filmed to not directly show Norman, which functions not only as a plot device to 
maintain the mystery of the killer but also as a way to dehumanize him. The camera 
is maneuvered in alternating shots that specifically show only Marion or a backlit 
silhouette of the killer. The act of dehumanization is further shown through the use 
of dramatic music during the murder followed by the juxtaposed calm demeanor of 
Bates as he cleans up the aftermath, insinuating a lack of empathy and psychopathy. 
Even though the audience is led to believe at this point that the murderer is Bates’s 
mother, Bates’s eerie composure remains unsettling, to say the least. 
 The violent actions of Norman combined with the psychiatrist’s “psychoanalysis” 

Edwards

Figure 2. Film capture of Norman Bates approaching Marion. 1960, Psycho. 

41



(which is being used very liberally as it is not a real informed medical opinion), creates 
a taboo around matters pertaining to mental health. The film is framing the scenario 
as “Norman’s mental illness makes him kill people,” which is a misinformed perspective 
that ultimately leads to negative perceptions. Dissociative identity disorder is not 
inherently linked to or considered a cause of criminal activity, including homicide 
(Weberman & Brand). However, characters such as Norman Bates encourage stigma 
suggestive of villainous intent among those suffering from mental health conditions. 

 In one of the final scenes of the film, the audience sees Norman sitting alone in 
a cell after being caught. While Norman does not appear to be speaking, his mother 
voices over the scene, implying the killer’s inner thoughts. Mother speaks to the 
audience, telling them that she always knew Norman was “bad” and that he “intended 
to tell [the police] that [she] killed those girls and that man” (Psycho 1:48:01). The voice 
of Norman’s mother had been present throughout the whole film, but it is only at 
this point that she speaks directly to the audience. Ominous music underlays as the 
camera zooms in on Norman who seems to be in a trance. The audience is intended 
to be horrified by this, inching closer to Norman’s face as his smile becomes more 
sinister. This, the only point in which the audience experiences Norman’s psychological 
condition directly, is explicitly made to be one of the most frightening scenes in 
the entire film, which further encourages the idea that those suffering from mental 
disorders are to be feared, even in a calm and resting state. 

Edwards

Figure 3. Film capture of Norman smiling sinisterly at the camera. 1960, Psycho. 

42



Schizophrenia in The Shining 
Jack Torrance, from Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining, is another example of violent 
misrepresentations of mental illness. Note that this is specifically referring to the 
film, not Stephen King’s novel which the film is based on. This difference is critical 
because while the book focuses much more on supernatural elements, the film takes 
an approach far more indicative of mental illness. Though the film does incorporate 
the presence of spiritual entities as a reason behind Jack’s homicidal behavior, a 
majority of audiences still perceived him to be “crazy” or “psychotic” (Mancine 17). This 
is because many of the behaviors exhibited by Jack in the film are gross exaggerations 
of symptoms associated with schizophrenia, including delusions, hallucinations, and 
disorganized behavior (Yusfa 50). This is then coupled with violent outbursts that 
imply a connection between schizophrenia and violence.  

 One example of such behavior is the notorious “Here’s Johnny!” scene, wherein 
Jack chases his wife Wendy into the bathroom and chops through the locked door 
with an axe. This scene, much like the one in Psycho, is accompanied by dramatic 
music as well as screams of terror from Wendy as Jack tries to harm her. He hacks away 
at the bathroom door as Wendy begs him to stop and even tries to defend herself with 
a knife. At this point, though, Jack has become so engrossed in his delusions that he no 
longer cares for her well-being and wishes to cause her harm. This outburst is caused 
by Jack’s belief that Wendy is trying to get him to abandon his responsibilities because 

Edwards

Figure 4. Film capture of Jack’s face in the hole of the door he chopped through. 1980, 
The Shining. 

43



she is selfish and doesn’t want him to succeed. He is extremely angry at her for this and 
chases her, trying to stop her from leaving the property. In reality, their son had been 
injured, and Wendy wants to take him to get help. Paranoid delusions such as these are 
a common symptoms of schizophrenia (Yusfa 49); however, the violent reaction that 
Jack had is not.  
 Another instance of delusion-induced violence is when Jack chases Danny 
through the hedge maze. This happens after the encounter with Wendy, and it is clear 
that Jack is exhausted, as well as suffering the effects of the head injury he received in 
an earlier scene. He eerily stumbles through the maze yelling out for his son, whom he 
intends to harm. It is the middle of the night, and the maze is hazy and snowy. Intense 
music once again plays to create an anticipatory effect for the viewer. The scene is 
extremely dark and intense because it is one of the moments in which the audience 
is meant to be the most scared of Jack. The concept that Jack is trying to find his son 
Danny in the middle of the night in a foggy maze and harm him is not only terrifying 
but unrealistic. This is a man suffering from multiple injuries and paranoid delusions. 
In a real episode such as this, it is much more likely that an individual suffering from 
schizophrenia would not be violent, but would rather be terrified themselves. Paranoid 
delusions more often cause severe and debilitating anxiety and stress, not violence 
(“Paranoia”). The individual would be much more likely to go into a more catatonic 
state or sent into an anxiety attack than to chase down and attack their family. Framing 
the condition as scary and threatening encourages a negative perception of psychosis 
that can create harmful backlash for individuals suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.   

 

Edwards

Figure 5. Film capture of Jack walking through the maze. 1980, The Shining. 

44



 Violent behavior, such as that exhibited by Jack Torrance, is not considered to be 
directly caused by psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia (Stuart 122), but this does 
not stop the film industry from perpetuating this stigma. In a study of films portraying 
schizophrenia conducted by Patricia Owen, thirty-five out of the forty-one films 
reviewed depicted characters suffering from schizophrenia as dangerous and violent, 
and thirteen of them exhibited homicidal behavior (657). This behavior is also often 
coupled with various other horror tropes such as paranormal activity or cults (657). 
These portrayals may seem like mere works of fiction, scary movies to enjoy with a bag 
of popcorn, but unfortunately, the reality is far more detrimental. 

Real World Impacts 
Whether one claims that the portrayal of psychiatric disorders in the horror genre is 
merely fiction or a “warning” to the public, the result remains the same. It perpetuates 
societal bias against those with mental illness. In regards to simply categorizing it as 
fiction, it is ignorant to assume that means that cinematic depictions don’t influence 
public perception. Hollywood and the advertising industry have vicious holds on 
society’s collective subconscious and grossly impact the way that people understand 
the world around them (Hyler 1047). For instance, an individual who has never 
encountered somebody suffering from schizophrenia has no other reference than 
what has been shown to them. Whatever the media puts in front of them, they are 
inclined to believe. If the film industry is presenting violent images of people with 
schizophrenia or DID, then audiences have no explicit reason to believe otherwise. The 
viewer could theoretically seek out resources to help them understand the disorders, 
but that is assuming they are even aware of their existing bias, which is unlikely.  
 This stigma is rooted deeply in societal perceptions even though they are not 
based on fact. This is where the argument that cinematic portrayals are a sort of 
“warning” comes into play. These warnings and cautionary tales are not scientifically 
sound, however, and their impacts are staggering. In a study conducted by Bruce Link, 
a sociologist employed by Columbia University, and his colleagues, it was found that 
sixty-one percent of participants believed that individuals with schizophrenia were 
prone to violence (1331). Furthermore, sixty-three percent of participants claimed that 
they would prefer to social distance from an individual described as suffering from 
schizophrenia (1332). Another more recent study found that after viewing the film 
Split, participants were twenty percent less likely to be willing to be in contact with a 
person suffering from DID, and the number of participants who reported a negative 
impression of the disorder rose from zero to forty percent (Chen 545). The same study 

Edwards

45



found that after viewing Shutter Island, another film that inaccurately portrays DID 
(although less explicitly than Split), participants were fifty percent less willing to get in 
touch with an individual suffering from DID (545). This is proof that even if a negative 
portrayal may not be perceived as entirely accurate, that does not negate the overall 
stigma that is being encouraged by the film. The viewpoints that end up developing as 
a result of these films are unfortunately very real. 
 In contrast to this perception, it has been found that the prevalence of violence 
among those with a major mental disorder was virtually no different from those not 
suffering from one, assuming that neither party is abusing illegal drugs (Stuart 122). 
Furthermore, out of those studied, individuals suffering from schizophrenia were 
statistically least likely to commit an act of violence. More impactful determinants of 
violent behavior were actually socio-economic and socio-demographic factors, like 
being a working-class young male (123). A similar study of individuals suffering from 
dissociative disorders, including DID, found that symptoms of the disorder (emotional 
dysregulation, dissociation, etc.) were not indicative of criminal activity (Weberman & 
Brand 9), which greatly contrasts the cinematic portrayals of these disorders in both 
Psycho and Split. 
 Regardless of this research, the public perceptions of these specific disorders, 
along with public perceptions of mental illness as a whole, remain predominantly 
negative. This is a very harmful truth, not only because it creates a societal bias against 
those with psychological disorders, but also because it may deter said individuals from 
seeking help at all. A review of various studies at Cambridge University concluded in 
qualitative research that “anticipated and experienced stigma based on stereotypes 
deters help-seeking directly and through non-disclosure” (Clement 22). This 
compounded with inaccessible and underfunded mental healthcare puts individuals 
suffering from mental health conditions at a loss for support and treatment.  

Conclusion 
As Sonya Lipczynska explains in her article, the primary purpose of any horror 
movie is to scare its audience. By using mental illness as a motivator for murder, the 
stigma will only inevitably increase (62). Fueling public fear of those suffering from 
psychological disorders with villainous caricatures cannot be construed as anything 
but harmful. Even though the inaccuracy of these portrayals has been proven 
through empirical research, it doesn’t seem to prevent Hollywood from continuously 
exploiting psychological disorders. Instead, as we see in the recent release of M. Night 
Shyamalan’s Split, filmmakers continue to ostracize those with mental illness through 
depictions of violence and criminal activity. 
 People suffering from psychiatric disorders are not villains. They don’t plan 

Edwards

46



to sneak up on women in the shower or chase their families with axes through 
abandoned hotels. A vast majority of them are compassionate people with good 
hearts that happen to face more complex mental and emotional struggles than the 
average person. The film industry paints them as “madmen” and “psychos” when in 
reality they are simply trying to live their lives, the same as anybody else. Individuals 
exhibiting signs of mental illness or psychosis should be able to seek help without 
feeling threatened by what social repercussions a diagnosis might bring, and, 
unfortunately, that will not be the case as long as they are continuously depicted as 
“psycho killers.” 

Edwards

47



Works Cited 

Chen, Suqi. “Analysis of Dissociative Identity Disorder Presented in Popular Movies 
and the Possible Impacts on Public Stereotypes.” Advances in Social Science, 
Education and Humanities Research, Atlantis Press, 2022, https://doi.
org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.100. 

Clement, S., et al. “What Is the Impact of Mental Health-related Stigma on Help-
seeking? A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies.” 
Psychological Medicine, vol. 45, no. 1, Cambridge UP (CUP), Feb. 2014, pp. 11–27. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291714000129. 

Hitchcock, Alfred, director. Psycho. Paramount, 1960.  

Hyler, Steven E., et al. “Homicidal Maniacs and Narcissisfic Parasites: Stigmatization 
of Mentally Ill Persons in the Movies.” Psychiatric Services, vol. 42, no. 10, 
American Psychiatric Association Publishing, Oct. 1991, pp. 1044–48. https://doi.
org/10.1176/ps.42.10.1044. 

Kubrick, Stanley, director. The Shining. Warner Bros., 1980.  

Link, B. G., et al. “Public Conceptions of Mental Illness: Labels, Causes, Dangerousness, 
and Social Distance.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 89, no. 9, American 
Public Health Association, Sept. 1999, pp. 1328–33. https://doi.org/10.2105/
ajph.89.9.1328. 

Lipczynska, Sonya. “‘We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes’: The Problematic Depiction of 
Psychotic and Psychopathic Disorders in Cinema.” Journal of Mental Health, vol. 
24, no. 2, Informa UK Limited, Mar. 2015, pp. 61–62. https://doi.org/10.3109/0963
8237.2015.1022252. 

Mancine, Ryley. “Horror Movies and Mental Health Conditions Through the Ages.” 
American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, American 
Psychiatric Association Publishing, Sept. 2020, pp. 17–17. https://doi.
org/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2020.160110. 

“Paranoia and Delusional Disorders.” Mental Health America, Mental Health America, 
2023, https://mhanational.org/conditions/paranoia-and-delusional-disorders.  

Shyamalan, M. Night, director. Split Official Trailer 1 (2017). YouTube, 27 July 2016, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI. Accessed 10 Mar. 2023.  

Stuart, Heather. “Violence and Mental Illness: An Overview.” World Psychiatry, vol. 2, no. 
2, Wiley, May 2003, pp. 121–24. 

Edwards

48

https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/sdmc-21/125968645
https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/sdmc-21/125968645
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/what-is-the-impact-of-mental-healthrelated-stigma-on-helpseeking-a-systematic-review-of-quantitative-and-qualitative-studies/E3FD6B42EE9815C4E26A6B84ED7BD3AE
https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ps.42.10.1044
https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ps.42.10.1044
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.89.9.1328
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.89.9.1328
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/09638237.2015.1022252
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/09638237.2015.1022252
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2020.160110
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2020.160110
https://mhanational.org/conditions/paranoia-and-delusional-disorders
https://youtu.be/84TouqfIsiI


Webermann, A. R., & Brand, B. L. (2017). “Mental illness and violent behavior: 
the role of dissociation.” Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion 
Dysregulation, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-017-0053-9. 

Yusfa, Weldina, et al. “The Schizophrenia of Jack Torrence’s Character in ‘The Shining’ 
Movie by Stanley Kubrick.” Eliterate: Journal of English Linguistics and Literature 
Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2021, pp. 41–51. 

49

https://bpded.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40479-017-0053-9

