Mental health and horror films go hand in hand. As a screenwriter in horror, reaching for a motive for a perfectly crafted character can run into a basic cop-out—“He/She/They had a mental health issue. They have Borderline, Schizophrenia, DID, MPD, etc.”
The end. That’s the story.
But for those who are diagnosed with these terrifying diseases, there is no end. With proper use of research and representation, these illnesses can be used as a plot device without coming across as ignorant.
I was first hospitalized when I was nineteen years old. I had a breakdown, injured myself very badly, and was rushed to the psych ward in Akron, Ohio. I met a lot of people in that stay, but it wasn’t going to be my last.
When I was twenty, I nearly bled to death from self inflicted wounds. I was rushed to the same psych ward, but I was now marked as a danger to myself, as it wasn’t my first hospitalization. That time, I met a man who had torn his own eyes out. I met a woman who would only scream when she talked. The sunlight always had a grey filter from the multiple bars and metal screens on the windows to keep any of us from clawing our way out. I stayed there for two weeks before I was permitted to leave.
When I was twenty-one, I overdosed and spent 13 hours in the ICU. Afterwards, I stayed in the hospital for a month under constant monitoring. That’s where I received a diagnosis that finally made sense- Borderline Personality Disorder. Turn on any crime show and after a few episodes you’ll hear the term. BPD is rarely the cause of most crimes, but the term is overused by those who do not do their research.
I am now twenty six years old with no severe problems. But watching films where these illnesses are poorly represented is very frustrating. In the 2001 independent film Session 9, we have Mary—a key character—shown only in nine hypnotherapy recordings. Her case of Dissociative Identity Disorder is incredibly rare, but accurate. During my third hospitalization, I was woken one night as the nurses brought in a patient who was inconsolable. She was screaming, crying, yelling as if she was ready to tear someone to pieces. I found myself in the hallway, watching the orderlies strap her down, and suddenly, she started to split. Her violent mannerisms were gone. Her voice changed to that of a normal woman. The anger that was once burning in her eyes was gone.
“Who are you?” she asked. “Where am I?”
She sounded like a child lost and looking for their mother. To be clear, she had not been administered any drugs. The doctors had not given her injections of any kind. I witnessed a minimum of two very different people living inside of the same person. I later learned that she had been a victim in a human trafficking ring and had escaped. Her brain had developed DID to protect her from herself when she started to have flashbacks. Mary in Session 9 is also portrayed this way, splitting between different voices that are used to protect herself from the violent events she was a part of. We have “The Princess”, the innocent piece of Mary that remembers only the good things about the day of the tragedy; “Billy,” who serves as the protective facet of Mary’s personality; And “Simon,” the malevolent identity that instructs Mary to do harmful things to her family.
However, the idea in Session 9 near the end that Simon “lives in the weak” is inaccurate. To have a story that includes the terror of this illness, the director could have used Simon in the way that the woman in the hospital’s brain made her violent side split from her usual self: childhood trauma. DID is commonly caused by child abuse. Delving deeper into Mary’s story and revealing the cause for her illness would offer an extra layer of accuracy to the character while simultaneously removing the implication and stigma of mentally ill people committing atrocious acts for no particular reason. A similar process could be used with the character of Gordon— delving into why he splits and doesn’t recall murdering his family.
DID is a very complicated and rare illness, and using it as a plot device comes with a lot of tweaks to small details. Also, the case of DID in a male carries even more of a rarity- 1% of the population suffers from DID. Females are ten times more likely to suffer from this illness than males. So what happened to Gordon? Were he and Mary both abused in similar ways, causing their minds to split into different personalities? Ignoring this facet of DID is ignoring the chance for some fantastic character development. Was Gordon triggered by being in a mental hospital? Was he once admitted himself?
These ideas can be added to the screenplay very easily without burning up too much time.
In contrast, the idea of Simon being an entity that possesses people and causes them to do evil things is a cheap cop-out. An accurate backstory for these characters would not only provide better character development, but it would remove the stigma that these illnesses are unknown and should be feared.
Mary’s character is sadly very accurate and a reality for a lot of people. The difference in accuracy lies in the reasoning for the disorder, which is commonly overlooked. More often than not, a disorder has some sort of source. It is the job of the screenwriter to research the disorder and tell the story realistically. I believe that I speak for everyone with a mental illness when I say that we all have stories. Elaborate on them, make them your own, and realize that these illnesses are not our fault.
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