5 Scariest Women in Film

Scream queens have their fan followings, and it’s really no surprise: they’re typically gorgeous, daft but likeable, and either die within the movie or survive for a sequel. I’m sure all of that vocalized terror does a number on your lungs and keeps both Ricola and Halls in business, and that’s all very impressive; but what really lights my fire—and I’m sure I’m not alone in this—are the female villains.

There’s just something about an evil incarnate mother figure, a seemingly innocent, a beautiful but deadly vixen, that makes your eyes shine with glee. Maybe it’s because, as women, we’re sick of hearing about (or being victims of) violence against women. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen Freddy, Jason, and a slew of other testosterone-filled evildoers have their share of the limelight and we like a little xx chromosome thrown in.

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the simple fact that it’s so unsettling, so unlikely to us, that a woman would be capable of such madness that it makes her all that much more terrifying to us.

No matter the reason, scary women rock, and here are five of the greats.

5. Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates absolutely shines in every role she has. Of course, as Annie Wilkes in Stephen King’s Misery, she positively sparkled as a serial killer. Her sweet-turned-psychotic demeanor left me completely terrorized after watching the film, and though it contained several big differences from the book (as usual), Kathy completely played Annie to a T.

4. Sissy Spacek

Who wasn’t terrified when they first saw Stephen King’s Oscar-nominated Carrie? Sissy Spacek delivered a commanding, nightmare-inducing performance as telekinetic misfit Carrie White. And while I know it’s unfair, and I know I shouldn’t, every time I see Sissy in a movie I can’t help but see Carrie’s crazed, furious glare staring back at me.

3. Louise Fletcher

As Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Louise Fletcher simply made me feel as if my soul had been stolen. From her anal-retentive tyranny over troubled grown men to her spirit-breaking, lobotomy-ordering, and suicide-inducing monsterhood, Louise gave female villainy a whole new depth.  

2. The Evil Queen

I had to include an animated villain, and it was hard to pick because there are so many great ones. There’s Ursula from The Little Mermaid, who liked to turn her fellow ocean folk into little weed creatures, and the evil stepmother in Cinderella who worked the title character harder than Mickey did Rocky. But I decided to go with the evil queen from Snow White because she’s simply the most wicked of them all. Who else would demand a little child’s heart for the sake of vanity?

1. Michelle Pfeiffer

We’ll never forget how awesomely Michelle played good-gone-bad Selena Kyle, AKA Catwoman, in Batman Returns, nor just how creepily brilliant she was in What Lies Beneath. She’s even voiced Eris, the goddess of discord, in the animated version of Sinbad! But my absolute favorite villainess Michelle has so aptly played is none other than the evil witch in Neil Gaiman’s film adaptation of Stardust.  Beheading people like nobody’s business, she was more than ready to eat Claire Dane’s heart and let her sisters die. What a truly terrifying—and delightful—delivery.

I know there are many more awesome female villains out there other than my favorites above. Which ones do you like best? Alyson Hannigan as evil Willow on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest? The bathtub chick in The Shining? Share your favorites in the comments.