Top 10 Horror Villainesses

February is Women in Horror Month, a 28-day celebration of our favorite genre gals. Ladies have long been a staple of the horror genre, from “final girls” like Jamie Lee Curtis and Ashley Laurence, to the homicidal maniacs themselves. This list is dedicated to the latter with ten of the scariest, nastiest, downright craziest women to ever grace the big screen.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT***

10. Julia Cotton, Hellraiser

She starts out as a cold stepmother and bored housewife, but Julia soon transforms into a hammer-wielding psycho at the persistence of her husband’s skinless, undead brother Frank, with whom she is in love. She is indifferent to murdering the strange men she lures home, and what’s worse, her and Frank seem to get off on it. They are a match made in Hell, literally. Clare Higgins brings the perfect combination of classy and crazy to the role. Even the iconic Cenobites take a backseat to Julia and her twisted relationship with her zombie boyfriend.

9. Asami Yamazaki, Audition

I belong to the minority that believes this Takashi Miike film is overrated; however, I cannot deny the effectiveness of Eihi Shiina’s eerie performance. She is soft-spoken, pretty like a porcelain doll, and completely insane. While putting needles through a man’s eyelids, she smiles sweetly and whispers, “Kiri, kiri, kiri…” (deeper, deeper, deeper). My favorite moment is when Asami saws through his leg with a metal wire – grinning all the while – and then tosses the severed foot aside, like a distracted child playing with toys. I like how this scene plays on the stereotype that Japanese women are meek and subservient. To all those men out there who desire a quiet Japanese wife to dominate – be careful what you wish for.

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8. Mitsuko Souma, Battle Royale

All the teenagers trapped on Okishima Island are forced to become killers but this chick enjoys it a bit too much. Once the most beautiful girl in school, Mistsuko is shipped off to a deserted island as part of the BR Act and there she becomes a ruthless killing machine. While everyone else is panicking, Mitsuko has time to calmly apply her makeup before seducing and slaying a group of men. And like any great horror movie villain, the girl can take a bullet (or five) and keep coming. See Mitsuko in action starting at 0:50 below.

7. Annie Wilkes, Misery

Long before Robert DeNiro was The Fan or Mark Wahlberg terrorized in Fear, Kathy Bates became the reigning queen of crazy stalkers as super-fan Annie Wilkes. You may not know her by name, but you know the infamous scene with the wooden plank and a sledgehammer. Bates’ complete sincerity is what makes Annie so terrifying. Her love for Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is genuine – she just has a twisted way of showing it. Bates’ calm, sweet delivery also seals in the crazy. Her final words in the clip below are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.

6. The Ladies of The Evil Dead

Ever the victim of deadite torment, Ash is forced to watch his girlfriend, sister, and friend all become possessed by an ancient evil. All three of them are creepy-awesome in their own unique way. Cheryl, the sister, is like the ring-leader – a crazy demonic bitch who thrives on pencil-stabbing and emotional torture. Her initial possession scene is classic (see clip below). Shelly is the ugliest of the three witches, with a face that appears to be dripping off. And Linda, Ash’s beloved girlfriend, turns into a pale-faced baby-doll that giggles and chants, “We’re gonna get you…” The trio of ladies – Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, and Sarah York – put up with a lot of discomfort making this film (i.e., freezing cold, painful eye contacts) but it completely paid off.

5. Lola Stone, The Loved Ones

Lola (aka “Princess”) is the newest addition to the pantheon of great horror villains. She may be young, but there is a whole lot of crazy packed into her petite, teenage body. When her crush turns down her invitation to the prom, Lola kidnaps him, ties him to a kitchen chair, and throws her own prom, complete with disco ball, pink dress, and various torture devices. She treats her victims like they are pets, or perhaps dolls, and shows no mercy on them. Together with her equally-nuts father and lobotomized mother, Lola would fit right in with the Sawyer Family.

4. Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist

Technically, Pazuzu is the villain here, but in the body of a 12-year old girl, the demon takes on terrifying new dimensions. It is profoundly disturbing to see a sweet young girl stabbing herself violently with a crucifix…especially where she is putting it. The filthy words, the spewing vomit, and the crab-walk are all images that still haunt filmgoers long after the film ends. The possessed Regan did things that few film characters – male or female, let alone a child – would ever dare to do. Linda Blair and stand-in Eileen Dietz are to thank for bringing this legendary monster to life.

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3. Mrs. Carmody, The Mist

Mrs. Carmody has the distinction of being the only lady on this list who is not a direct killer, though she practically killed a young soldier by convincing an angry mob to throw him to giant insects from another dimension. She also has the distinction of being the most hateful woman listed here. If I had 10 bullets and all the occupants of this list in front of me, I would shoot Mrs. Carmody 10 times. She is a bat-shit crazy, Bible-fearing fundie with the worst weapon of all – a terrified, impressionable audience. Marcia Gay Harden did one hell of a job portraying the most loathsome female character on film since Nurse Ratchet.

2. La Femme, Inside

The nameless “la femme” is so frightening because, like all the greatest villains, she doesn’t say much. There are no rants or monologues – she just grabs some scissors and gets to work. Her motive is to steal an unborn baby (a disturbing act that has occurred multiple times in real life) which is terrifying in its sheer craziness. Also, maternal desires can be even stronger than obsession or revenge. She stops at nothing to get what she wants, no matter how brutal the means. She has that dangerous combination of strength, persistence, and pure insanity.

1. Pamela Voorhees, Friday the 13th

Who better to top this list than Jason’s mommy? People obviously associate Friday the 13th with the hockey-mask-wearing killer, but he was just a deformed little creature in the first film. It was his mother Pamela who stole the film, knocking off all Camp Crystal Lake’s horny teenagers out of vengeance for her drowned boy. Jason even talks through her, which is supremely creepy. “Kill her, mommy! Kill her!” Don’t let the grandmotherly smile and knit sweater fool you – Mrs. Voorhees is a cold-blooded killer, again fueled by those powerful motherly instincts. She started the entire franchise, and without her, there would be no Jason Voorhees.