Sometimes, We Just Don't Belong
Outcasts, weirdos, and freaks... maybe that's the whole point
What does it mean to truly be an outsider?
The dictionary definition presents a simple answer of not belonging to a group, but it gives us an unsatisfactory feeling when we accept it.
Being an outcast feels more than just not belonging; it’s an inescapable feeling of grief and wonder. Who are you in another timeline of acceptance? Where would you be in life if you weren’t faced with such harshness?
This indescribable feeling is brought to life through horror, bringing the human face-to-face with what being an outcast really means.
To Find Yourself Again
Teen Wolf (1985) leans into horror comedy more than anything else, but its core message brings forth one about an outsider trying to fit in through any means necessary.
Scott Howard is only known in his school because he plays basketball, though even that is useless for his reputation, as the Beavers hadn’t won a game in over three years.
It isn’t until Scott finds out that he’s a werewolf that he begins to see a change in his popularity. With new powers and strength, he’s able to help the basketball team win games and even the attention of the girl he fawned over.
At the same time, however, his teammates resent him, and his childhood friends are scared of him.
But all of this is just about a boy finding himself. How many stories have you heard of kids doing whatever they needed just to find people? Hanging with the wrong crowd just to feel a sense of community? Partaking in drugs, alcohol, and whatever else if only it meant they would look cool?
But as Scott abuses the wolf, he realizes that the people who actually care about him could care less about the claws.
By the end of the movie, Scott even denounces using the wolf in favor of choosing his own path. Instead, he decides to face the basketball court again as himself, encouraging the team to rally together for the championship. Against all odds, the Beavers win their game.
While Teen Wolf is seen as a feel-good teen comedy about high school popularity, other films aren’t as focused on the fun of the high school experience.
To Embrace Who You Are
Lisa Frankenstein (2024) is another horror comedy that focuses on self-discovery. Differing from Teen Wolf, Lisa Frankenstein would rather you embrace the eccentric parts that make you who you are.
Lisa, a high schooler still suffering from the loss of her mother due to an axe murderer, is an outcast amongst her peers.
She feels alone, unwanted, and utterly devastated about how her life is going. Along with the teen angst and depression comes living with her new stepmother and stepsister as well, making her feel outcasted even in her own home.
She’s not strange because she wants to be—she’s “weird” because of the grief and loneliness that shaped her.
It’s only at the local cemetery that she feels free. It acts as her hideaway, where she can speak to those who actually listen. She takes to one man’s grave in particular: a pianist from 1837 who died from a lightning strike after a failed love.
But this is called is Lisa Frankenstein, and thus, a dead guy has to come back to life via lightning strike. And that’s exactly what the pianist does.
The pianist—or “The Creature”—breaks into Lisa’s home to comfort her… and although she’s initially startled, she warms up to the idea of having someone to be there for her. The Creature, after all, seems to be the only person who actually understands her.
As the film goes on, murders take place, stealing body parts for The Creature to become full again. He is mended together with the electric current from a tanning bed, making the setting undeniably 1980s.
The closer Lisa and The Creature become, the more Lisa lets her true self shine. No longer does she hide herself in the corner but rather wears clothes unique to her style and personality. She embraces being the outcast instead of being ashamed of it.
All of this stems from The Creature’s unconditional love for her. He loves Lisa for who she is, not who presents herself to be.
At the end of it all, Lisa is implicated in all the murders, and instead of facing prison, she asks for The Creature to mercy kill her. Complying to her wishes, he burns her alive in the tanning bed… but Lisa doesn’t go out on something so simple.
The last scene of Lisa Frankenstein presents The Creature sitting on a bench reading a love poem by Percy Shelley, with a resurrected Lisa laying her head in his lap.
At its core, Lisa Frankenstein is a movie about outcasts finding love in one another. It is, in a weird and kinda fucked up way, about soulmates finding each other even through life and death.
To Hold Power Over Them
With films celebrating the outcasts also comes stories warning about the dangers of them.
The Craft (1996) is possibly one of the most well-known of these, considering it focuses on a group of teenage witches. The group consists of four girls—Nancy, Sarah, Bonnie, and Rochelle—each suffering from their own problems unique to them.
Their witchy behavior doesn’t become an issue until they begin to cast spells with real-world consequences, ruining lives and even killing a few. But it’s Nancy who truly goes on the deep end, performing a rite called the “Invocation of Spirit” which gives her almost unlimited power.
After the rite, she is seen walking on water. Dead animals rot in the presence of her. Her soul tarnished. Her empathy dwindling away.
Eventually, Nancy becomes a full-on villain. Her years of being outcasted and abused led to her being power hungry as a coping mechanism, in turn making her abuse the very power she begged for. Although she began as someone we sympathize with, her hunger for power twists that sympathy into fear.
Sarah is thankfully able to bind Nancy and end her reign. But Nancy’s want to prove herself only led her to still be an outsider in the end. She is seen strapped to a bed in a mental hospital, driven crazy by her power being stripped away.
To Prove Them Wrong
You can’t talk about outcasts without mentioning Carrie (1976).
Carrie is a victim of extreme bullying at school, but unbeknownst to her, she has telekinetic powers. It isn’t until she is humiliated at prom with the infamous bucket of pig’s blood that she unleashes her true power.
The thing that makes Carrie so much different than the other films listed here, is that the horror isn’t born from her but rather born from what people did to her. She is, in every sense of the word, ruthlessly bullied. There’s no reason for the entire school to treat her so harshly other than the fact that her mother is crazy and she’s extremely sheltered.
Carrie is innocent at her core, and yet her timid kindness is met with nasty insults and tampons being thrown at her.
And, unlike the others, Carrie never really gets a redemption in her story. She’s never seen as the girl who’s actually secretly cool or the girl who finally finds love despite the odds.
No, Carrie only finds peace in her death.
But there is certainly a satisfaction over the gruesomeness of the prom massacre. While it’s awful to think about the innocents that were caught in the crossfire, the audience becomes so enamored with Carrie that none of that really matters until we snap back into reality.
Remember, Carrie’s rage is a result of a humiliation ritual. Years of pent-up hurt.
In the moment, the scene can almost be seen as powerful as she goes on a rampage against the entire town. But when we step back, we realize Carrie never had to actually harm anybody… yet her murder spree is still a result of a failure from those around her.
However, our perception is so warped by the Carrie’s bitterness that it affects our own idea of what’s wrong and what’s right. Suddenly, it goes from “good for her” to “oh… oh.”
There is an undeniable sadness to Carrie’s story. No happy endings. No bright sides. Just hurt from everybody involved.
To Be an Outcast is…
Being an outcast can be rough. Obviously.
While there can be good and bad that comes from it, it’s important to remember that many outsiders are just the ones who stand out from the crowd. They are the stars in the abyss.
They are the rebellious energy in a sea of conformity. Any time you present yourself even just a little differently, people will be quick to criticize you for going against the status quo. But sometimes, isn’t it better to be remembered than forgotten?
Of course, I can’t deny that the bullies make it a lot harder. Bullies suck. And at the end of the day, it’s always going to be a reflection on themselves, as cheesy and outdated as that may sound.
If you’re an outcast, you may never be accept anywhere else… but you’re always welcomed here.