Hey, I'm currently studying women in film for my media. i've decided to research the topic 'Women Villains in Horror over the last 40 years'. Do you believe that women villains have changed over the last 40 years? can you name any? are they scarier than male villains in horror? any comments on female villains? thank you!!!
Definitely Mrs. Carmody from The Mist. You'll hate her so bad you wanna rip her fucking guts out and eat it. At least that's how I felt when she started turning people into religious zealots.
Undisputed Classics:
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Iconic Horror:
Audition
Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan aka La Maschera del Demonio
Battle Royale
Friday the 13th Part 1
The Witches (1990)
The Last House on the Left
Recent:
A L'interieur
"Baby" in House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects
Haute Tension aka High Tension
Queen of the Damned
The Hole
Saw series (doesn' really stand up to the above movies but does show mainstream embracing a woman serial killer)
A Tale of Two Sisters
More Obscure:
Rampo Noir
Nadja
Art of the Devil 1 & 2
off the top me 'ead. will post more if I think of 'em
Some comments: Really, female villains are very limited compared to male villains, following into a polarized scheme of potential character archtypes.
-There are those that purposely exude sexual appeal. But that's not just marketing, look back to The Mask of Satan, and you will see that sex appeal as a lure to get victims is more common among female villains than male villains. This villainess is physically powerful, extremely determined, without the trappings of obsession over the act of murder itself (motive, trophy collecting, an"ideal kill" fantasy) and instead focusing on her ultimate goal.
-There are those that have no sex appeal, but perhaps may look harmless, though usually this type will be "uglified" a bit to increase her grotesqueness. Emphasis is placed on how mentally demented the character is, as opposed to luring victims. Opposite to the other sort, these characters use their helplessness and seemingly nice demeanor to trap victims. They are usually very detail oriented when it comes to a specific kill, and their ultimate motive is a psychological scar or illness of some sort whereas sexy villains tend to be "just bad because bad is fun".
I predict that there is currently a movement to merge these types and create sexy villlains that are also very calculating serial killers (Audition, Haute Tension, L'Interieur, Saw(s)).
My favorite female villian is definately Angela Baker A.K.A The Angel of Death from the Sleepaway Camp movies.
Also, Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and The Nanny.
For recent entries You're going to find a lot more in Neo-French Horror and J-Horror
Inside,
Teeth,
Marebito,
The Ju-On movies or the Grudge,
The Ring
Tale of Two Sisters,
Tomie,
Haute Tension,
Urban Legend,
Ginger Snaps,
May,
The Woods,
For Classics,
Carrie,
Suspiria,
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage,
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS
Misery,
Vamp,
Serial Mom,
Parents,
The Howling,
Spider Baby,
Alice Sweet Alice,
Dead Alive,
Evil Dead (Especially the first one),
Deadly Friend,
The House With Laughing Windows,
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane
The Honeymoon Killers,
Rabid,
I'm sure there's more, but these are the ones that come to mind.
I tend to find that women villians in horror tend to be a little less merciful than the male ones. If they're gonna kill someone they usually just do it. Males tend to drag out a ten minute long story about their motives for bragging purposes and then usually get outsmarted before they can kill their victim.
