Female Villains of Horror

Female villains have appeared throughout horror cinema, some old memorable ones being Freaks (1932), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958). However, female villains are as much a rarity today as they were in the past. Are female villains as frightening as their male counterparts? While their numbers are significantly smaller, a handful stands out as unique, highly memorable, and downright scary.

Women are generally not as strong or big as men, so their wickedness has to surpass their physical abilities through cunning or obsessive drive. Some are psychologically motivated to carry out evil, such as Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990); others are possessed by evil, such as little Regan in The Exorcist (1972); Asian cinema brought us a new brand of vengeful spirits from the dead, such as Samara in The Ring (date), Kayako in Ju-on: The Grudge (2003), and the Slit-Mouthed Woman in Carved (2007); And then some are just pure evil, such as Baby Firefly in Rob Zombies’ Devil’s Rejects (2005) and House of 1,000 Corpses (2003).

Many may argue that female villains are not as frightening as males, but surely other talented storytellers will continue to put that myth to rest.

Obsessed

Annie Wilkes from Misery – Kathy Bates received an Oscar for bringing such credibility to the role of Annie, a character we see evolve from kindly rescuer to vengeful captor. In fact, the American Film Institute ranked Annie Wilkes (as played by Bates) the 17th most iconic villain (and the seventh-most iconic villainess) in film history in their “100 Heroes and Villains” list. Annie has an in-depth back story, more fully realized in the novel by Stephen King. A former nurse, Annie saves romance author Paul Sheldon who was hurt in a car accident and helps nurse him in her home. She is his number one fan and she is especially enamored with his main character, Misery Chastain. Paul suspects early on that Annie is mentally unstable, and this fear comes to full realization as she physically and psychologically torments him after discovering he has killed off Misery at the end of the romance series. In a rage, Annie destroys the only copy he has of a new book he hoped would put him back on track as a writer and forces him to write a new novel that brings Misery back to life. The most powerful scene is when she breaks Paul’s ankles with a sledgehammer to prevent him from escaping (in the novel she chops off a foot and one of his thumbs). He discovers that she has in fact been suspected of killing many people in her lifetime and he fears he’ll be her next victim, leading to a climactic showdown. What is so engaging about Wilkes is her cunning, brutal persona hidden behind a cheery countenance. She is highly religious and gets enraged by profanity, replacing such words with childish ones of her own, like ‘cockadoodie’. She is paranoid, depressed, and most likely schizophrenic, having a difficult time perceiving the difference between fiction and reality. She is a multi-layered character who will long be remembered in horror history.

Possessed

Regan from The Exorcist is an empathetic character as a 12-year old girl possessed by a demon – an incongruous villain of pure innocence and pure evil. In the first act, we see Regan as the apple of her single mother’s eye. When Regan begins to exhibit radical changes, her mother exhausts all medical possibilities before searching out a priest, Father Karras, who is questioning his own faith at the time. During the exorcism, Regan’s possessed self is bent on survival and is primarily focused on Karras. He doubts the possession until the ‘devil’ shares intimate personal details that Regan would never have been aware of. Regan’s mother also questions her faith as she increasingly loses hope in saving her daughter. What was most terrifying to audiences of the day was Regan’s physical change, her raspy voice, and use of exceedingly foul language. The novel had more a philosophical drive while the movie made use of the visual medium for special effects galore that now look rather dated, yet the story still stands on its own feet. At the time of its release and Oscar nomination, The Exorcist was immensely popular because of its strong character portrayals. While other films have explored exorcism, such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2006), none has been as memorable and long lasting.

Gifted

Carrie is another empathetic villain, a nice girl pushed to the brink by her psychotically religious mother and mean kids in school. It is easy to feel sorry for this shy girl who grew up in virtual isolation and is the subject of frequent taunting at school. Carrie has a well developed back story that helps explain her telekinetic gifts born out of anger and frustration. It is puberty and a desire to fit in that sets up the conflict with her mother. She is innocent and frightened by her own blood when her period starts, which leads to more conflict at school when other students cruelly make fun of her. The other kids are punished for humiliating Carrie, turning them even more against her. Only one student feels sorry and asks her popular boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom. For the audience, it is easy to get caught up in Carrie’s fantasy night. She defies her mother and feels beautiful and welcomed at prom. The suspense builds as a couple pranksters turn the dream into a nightmare and Carrie unleashes her venom. With few exceptions, it is hard to feel pity for the hoards of teens and teachers she destroys – we are on the antagonist’s side, feeling her pain and anger. The combination of a protagonist/antagonist can be a difficult feat for a writer to pull off, as the evil must be strongly justified, as it is in Carrie.

Vengeful Spirit

The recent Asian horror wave introduced a number of new, frightening, and creepy female villains, the most memorable of which are Samara from The Ring, Kayako from Ju-on: The Grudge, and the Slit-Mouthed Woman from Carved. Unlike the other antagonists mentioned in this article, these girls/women never speak (though some rattle or gurgle). Their ashen skin, long tangled hair, piercing black eyes and sudden appearances are visually shocking. Their desire for vengeance is unrelenting. Given an over abundance creepy, dark-haired waifs, Asian filmmakers are searching for ways to keep the chills they’ve grown famous for, while avoiding clichés and over-use of prototypes. The Slit-Mouthed Woman has evolved from her earlier predecessors – her spirit does not only haunt and kill, it possesses innocent victims (typically mothers) to do her dirty work. At the end of the day, they get killed as a result of mistaken identity while her spirit remains allusive and free.

Pure Evil

Baby Firefly – (Sheri Moon) from House of 1,000 corpses and Devil’s Rejects is devoid of compassion, rather relishing in taunting and torturing her hapless victims. A beautiful member of the notorious Firefly family, she is a sexual creature the family uses to bait their prey. Her giggly, playful childlike attitude is consistent and unnerving, especially when coupled with her expertise with firearms and knives. Devil’s Rejects is superior to its prequel and Baby definitely shines as a sadistic wench. She and another Firefly member, Otis B. Driftwood, manage to escape an all out police assault on their home and immediately capture, torture, and kill members of a traveling country band. The tables are turned when the main officer chasing them, Wydell, captures and tortures Baby and two other Rejects for having murdered his brother. The only time Baby shows any emotion beyond sadistic pleasure is when Wydell taunts her about how he killed her mother and when her father, Captain Spaulding, tries to take blame for one of her crimes to save her from being tortured. Baby lives life hard and dangerously but, like the family name symbolizes, the brightness is short lived.