I’m back again to bring you 5 ladies in horror I feel deserve more love than they generally get. Villainesses, take it away!
5. Nancy (Fairuza Balk, The Craft)
Okay, okay, Nancy does get a fair amount of love from the horror community. But seriously, this witch, brought brilliantly to life by Fairuza Balk, is an idol for all us weirdo horror gals who came of age in the 90’s. So maybe she wasn’t a great friend in the end, and I admit, she ultimately proved to be a bit psychotic and megalomaniac. Doesn’t matter. She still rules.
4. Grand High Witch (Angelica Houston, The Witches)
How many of us out there LOVED this movie as kids and still do as adults?!? This lady is a major reason for that. The Witches absolutely helped mold me into the horror fan I am today, after seeing it at the tender age of 5. In her “human” disguise she was elegant, powerful, and compelling. In her actual skin she was super gross-looking and just plain freakin’ frightening. What I’m saying is, get you a lady who can do both! Minor character flaw? She was really into that whole, “extermination of children” thing.
3. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates, Misery)
Annie is actually moving up in the world and seems to be getting more and more cred with horror fans, and I could not be more proud of the girl! Annie is a truly frightening and all-too-realistic example of what monsters human beings can be. She’s not a creature, not a demon. She’s one of us. Annie even blended into society for a while until she became a frost-bitten wilderness woman. Ms. Wilkes is a scary reminder of what one person is capable of doing to another. All it took for this obsessive fan was a little opportunity.
2. Minnie Castevet (Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby)
Our beloved genre is notoriously over looked when it comes to winning (let alone) being nominated for all those big fancy schmancy Hollywood awards. But the powers that be could not ignore Ruth Gordan’s glittering performance in this film. In fact, she won both the Oscar and the Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of the manipulative, conniving, and frightening satanic cult devotee, Minnie Castevet. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, mix yourself up a nice cold tannis root smoothie and enjoy.
And who is my number one most underrated villainess of horror?!
1. Claudia (Kirsten Dunst, Interview with the Vampire)
This little blood sucker is trapped forever in the body of a child while her mind matures over the years. Not surprisingly, this makes for one twisted individual. Claudia is a selfish, obsessive, Machiavellian, remorseless little killer vampire in a satin bonnet. What’s not to love?
But wait! I do have a few women of note who deserve an honorable mention…
Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan): Dear, sweet, misunderstood Esther. All she wanted was love. The only problem is, she’s completely fucking nuts. Esther does get a lot of attention for being a villainess, and she totally deserves it. I mean, just look at those EYES!! Spine tingling.
Laurie (Anna Paquin, Trick ‘r Treat): How can you not totally love this girl?! There’s really no way to talk about Laurie without spoiling the whole plot of her story in this beloved Halloween anthology. Anyway, let’s just say there’s more to Laurie and her posse than MEATS the eye. ← PUN.
Mombi (Sophie Ward, Return to Oz): Maybe this one technically isn’t horror, but I can’t be the only genre fan out there that absolutely loves this twisted movie. Mombi is a great princess villainess. But let us not forget the most frightening thing about her. She can take off her freakin’ HEAD and change it out for others in her collection. That my friends is the stuff of nightmares. Note: the above picture is my personal favorite noggin in her collection.
~ Sandra (@LilMsMnstr)