Horror movies are rarely subtle about their morality. Heroes and villains are quite clearly defined, and while many of them use their monsters to make observations about all-too-human failings, ethical complexities are few and far between. This is especially true for the lighter end of the genre, with movies intended for children or families.
ParaNorman, Chris Butler and Sam Fell’s stop-motion animated feature, defies that principle with an amazingly sophisticated moral arc at the center of its story. Its world has no heroes or villains: just people who do good or evil based on their temperament and experience. That leads to an absolute gut-punch of a revelation in the finale, with heartbreaking implications that somehow remain both kid-friendly and thoroughly unsettling for adults. It’s rare to see films of its ilk manage such a feat, which is part of what has made it a cult classic.
ParaNorman’s Witch Reveal Is Absolutely Heartbreaking
The bulk of ParaNorman entails the hero’s efforts to halt a witch’s curse, which creates a plague of zombies that threaten to overrun his town. The moral complexities arise almost immediately, as the zombies turn out to be victims themselves, and a mob of enraged townsfolk turns on Norman when he attempts to defend them. But the real twist comes when the witch is revealed to be the spirit of an 11-year-old girl, Aggie, who — like Norman — could communicate with the dead.
Aggie was murdered by the town’s leaders, who mistook her abilities for witchcraft. The curse stems from her boundless rage at what they did to her. In the film’s climax, Norman reaches Aggie and reveals what she has become. With his help, she’s able to let her anger go and pass on to the next world. But before she does, she reveals how her killers pulled her away from her mother, whom she never saw again.
Why ParaNorman’s Twist Is Still Effective 10 Years Later
Monsters in horror movies are often victims themselves, with the trope going all the way back to the original novel Frankenstein, at least. But ParaNorman keeps that card very close to the vest for most of its run time. Early scenes portray the “witch” as a seemingly omnipotent force, looming over the town like a hurricane. She lashes out when Norman tries to break the curse and tries to destroy the town after Norman and his friends convince the townsfolk to stop rioting.
The twist comes not only in revealing the witch to be the ghost of a murdered child with every reason to be rageful but in the fact that she’s no less monstrous in her subsequent actions. Her curse actively harms innocent people, while her killers — the zombies unleashed by the curse — have suffered for centuries and now wish only to protect the town from the effects of their crime. Norman confronts her with the truth while still sympathizing with her.
It helps the film’s heartbreak stay fresh and relevant, even after a decade. A child was murdered by adults in power, and nothing will change that. ParaNorman makes that truth clear, too, and Aggie’s final act before passing on is to express the terror and pain she felt at it. But she also remembers the love of her mother, which grants her the peace she needs to pass on. Its closure comes as much in acknowledging the monstrosity of what happened to her as it does the grace of her happier moments. It’s a very real — and complex — moment, which helps adults identify with the movie and its protagonists as much as any child. Few films of any kind are capable of such deft emotional delivery.
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