Top 10 Terrifying Women in Movies
Published on January 21, 2008 - 61 Comments
The Femme Fatale character is not seen often enough in movies, but when she does appear, she is hard to forget. This is a list of the 10 most terrifying women in movies. Be sure to add your own favorites to the comments.
10. Louise Fletcher
Movie: Flowers in the Attic
Fletcher - also famous for her role as the cold nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest appears here as the evil grandmother who flogs her daughter, beats her grandchildren, and ultimately tries to poison them.
9. Rebecca De Mornay
Movie: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
De Mornay plays Peyton Flanders who seems to be the perfect nanny, but secretly she is out to wreck the lives of the family she is supposed to be helping.
8. Faye Dunaway
Movie: Mommie Dearest
The life story of Joan Crawford who was the Bitch of Hollywood in her time. In the trailer above we see the “best” bits of her life - in which she beats her daughter, mentally abuses her, and goes slowly insane.
7. Piper Laurie
Movie: Carrie
Skip to 06:26 in the clip above. Carrie may seem scary, but her mother is so much more so! Laurie plays Margaret White, the hyper-religious woman who uses religion to abuse her telekinetic daughter.
6. Juliette Lewis
Movie: Natural Born Killers
Juliette Lewis brilliantly plays the character of Mallory in this Oliver Stone film. The clip above sums her up perfectly.
5. Glenn Close
Movie: Fatal Attraction
Glenn Close is also known for her role as the evil Cruella Deville in 101 Dalmations. In Fatal Attraction, a married man’s one night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family
4. Chiaki Kuriyama
Movie: Kill Bill
Chiaki Kuriyama played the part of Gogo Yubari, the school girl with perfect hair, impeccable clothes, and a killer personality. While Chiaki is a full-fledged teen idol in her home country of Japan, her name elicits no recognition from mainstream filmgoers in the West. Nevertheless, she is not a complete stranger to the geeks of international cinema, who can’t easily dismiss her stirring performance in Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale.
3. Jennifer Jason Leigh
Movie: Single White Female
Allie’s new roommate is about to borrow a few things without asking. Her clothes. Her boyfriend. Her life.
2. Eihi Shiina
Movie: Audition
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all…
1. Kathy Bates
Movie: Misery
It is said that a picture paints a thousand words… watch the clip above and you will understand completely why Kathy Bates has position one on this list.
Bonus: Anthony Perkins
Movie: Psycho
Yes, I know he is a man, but the character could not be left off a list like this!
Notable Extras: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct
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1. chsrocket47 - January 21st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
although i don’t remember her name the girl off the exorcist was pretty scary.
2. Tony - January 21st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Awesome, did you get this from me awhile back when i said Kathy Bates was one of the “badass” women? Once again wanted to thank you for posting such great reading material while we are slow at my job. As i said before technically i owe you some of my salary i think hah.
3. goof_ball - January 21st, 2008 at 3:23 pm
chsrocket47-lol good one
4. SocialButterfly - January 21st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
How about the girl in the white dress from The Ring. That movie gave me nighmares!
5. Mikerodz - January 21st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I salute Rebecca de Mornay and Kathy Bates on this list.
6. 5′10″ - January 21st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Faboo list, but I was hoping to see Lauren German. She was “Beth” in Hostel 2; the only movie that I can remember seeing wherein a guy gets his junk ripped out/off and the audience actually sees it. Now that’s one cold-blooded bitch. ;p
7. downhighway61 - January 21st, 2008 at 4:03 pm
linda blair is the actress from the exorcist
8. Magnolia - January 21st, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Misery. Holy crap. I never saw the whole movie, but the book was fantastic. I love their adaptation of that particular scene. I don’t think that chopping off his foot would’ve had the same effect as the hobbling they used in the movie. The sounds were fantastically disgusting.
9. jbjr - January 21st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Charlize Theron in Monster. John Travolta in Hairsray.
10. Atom - January 21st, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Ellen Page in Hard Candy came to mind while reading this list.
11. melloyello - January 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Fantastic list! I’m so glad that Kathy Bates made number 1. It’s a great movie that often gets over looked. *shudders*
12. jwbm2525 - January 21st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Great List!!
No More Wire Hangers… EVER!!!
13. SgtPanda - January 21st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
baby firefly from the devils’s rejects and house of 1000 corpses should be here
14. Mom424 - January 21st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Right bang on with the list…
I was always more scared of Carrie’s mom than Carrie..and I had forgotten the bloodfest of NBKs
Also good job using actual characters who are evil in their humaness,,,would’a been cheating to use chick monsters or ghosts
ps: gotta get me some J flicks…
15. jesse - January 21st, 2008 at 5:40 pm
uh exorcist? hahah
16. Blogball - January 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Great list!
I know I’m showing my age here but does anybody remember the movie What ever Happened to Baby Jane with Betty Davis and Joan Crawford ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTtpDwrKaxo Here is a clip to show how sweet she is.
Also another Betty Davis movie where she was pretty starry is a move called The Nanny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk46BjwUZvE
17. SubliminalDeath666 - January 21st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Misery was a traumatizing movie man!! That was some sick shit!! Crazy ass lady!! O.O
18. Boarderbabe - January 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Carrie’s mother was more terrifying than Carrie was
19. opensaysamy - January 21st, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Juliette Lewis as Mallory Knotts should have been on the Badass list instead, IMHO. I don’t know if I’d call her character “terrifying,” anyway- I think that was part of the point of the movie. Mallory had a sort of vulnerability… or at least you could see how she evolved into what she eventually became.
And besides, the NBK scene featured here (first one) has always been one of my favorites- how many girls have fantasized about letting loose on a disgusting lech like that? “How sexy am I now…?!” Genius!
20. Kelsi - January 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Damn, I’ve been wanting to see Carrie for a really long time but I keep forgetting that I want to. xD Thanks for reminding me. Cool list.
21. Mom424 - January 21st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
blogball; i second the nomination for Bette Davis..
22. corinthian0430 - January 21st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
one of my favorite lists =^_^=
23. jfrater - January 21st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Blogball: ARGH! If it had not slipped my mind I would have included Whatever Happened to Baby Jane! Brilliant film and truly a terrifying woman!
I am really pleased to say that the films you have all mentioned were ones I considered! You could say they would make the top 15 - it was only after a lot of deliberation that I didn’t put them on.
opensaysamy: She is on the badass list as well
Boarderbabe: I am not sure if your comment is in agreement or saying she should be here not carrie - but the item IS the mother, not the girl
24. Bill - January 21st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Awesome list, but what about Sharon Stone’s character from the movie casino? Not so scary, but she’s definitely insane and cause DeNiro a whole lotta grief.
25. Miss Destiny - January 21st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I so knew Kathy Bates would be number one. I saw just a few minutes of Misery as a kid and it terrified me!
26. sue - January 21st, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I think Sharon Stone is pretty creepy in just about everything she’s been in.Basic Instinct 2??!!(I know,I watched it by accident!) talk abt terrifying.But Rebecca De Mornay in “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” takes the cup for me.
27. Yikkity - January 21st, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Cecile De France in High Tension
28. jfrater - January 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 am
Bill: I did consider her
29. Yikkity - January 22nd, 2008 at 12:18 am
Oh and Cynthia Bond in “Def by Temptation” with Samuel L. Jackson and Kadeem Hardison. It is a 1990 low budget Black horror film but made over $2 million in the box office.
It is about the temptress that lures New York men to her home to sex them up…BUT they get there only to find out that this nutty bitch is a vampire and she eats their souls or some craziest like that. I remember being freaked out by film when I was little. She is cold wicked.
30. Tony Alvarez - January 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
Do you realize how many of us have known women like this ?
31. el duderino - January 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 am
Even a evil Rebecca De Mornay would be fun to have around the house.
Loise Fletcher played nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest too didn’t she? With all due deference to homicidal swordswomen and psychotic room mates, Nurse Ratched is the most terrifying woman in film, mainly because she’s so realistic.
32. heavybison - January 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 am
Kathy Bates indeed has a weird karma about her. I guess it’s her eyes. Not many actresses i know would give the creeps even to Jack Nicholson(see About Schmidt). I definitely wouldn’t have her around the house in real life. She does deserve no.1.
I would also put in a word for the spiritual presense of Norman Bates’ mother in Psycho. In fact, that could spawn a whole new list of characters who leave an impact despite being non present in a movie.
33. phubbie - January 22nd, 2008 at 5:18 am
ellen paige’s performance in hard candy is truly terrifying
although i kind of view her as hero rather than villin as she carries mission of torture on the pediphile in the movie
(on second thoughts, i do also feel sorry for him in some of the more intense parts)
34. evan - January 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 am
Charlize Theron in Monster, truly scary.Going from a hot babe to that, well, monster, is the worst nightmare for men and what might happen to their future wife’s looks
35. DiscHuker - January 22nd, 2008 at 7:29 am
excellent list…
i realize the point of a good acting performance is to get the audience emotionally involved with the story but rebecca demornay was too good in the hand that rocks the cradle. she terrified me so deep that i, literally, can never look at her without having a very deep seated hatred/disgust towards her. i know she was just a character in a movie but she has crossed the bounds of make believe to truly disturb me.
great quote about glenn close in fatal attraction from the movie sleepless in seattle with tom hanks. his 12 year old boy is trying to get him hooked up with a woman that has written him a letter.
Hanks: this woman could be a lunatic!
Son: but this is the one i want!
Hanks: didn’t you see fatal attraction?
Son: no, you wouldn’t let me!
Hanks: well, it scared the shit out of me! it scared the shit out of every man in america!!
36. jfrater - January 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
evan: I was very close to including her.
DiscHuker: hehe love the quote at the end.
37. MzFly - January 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
Awesome list as usual. Wow! Watching that scene from Misery made me appreciate Kathy Bates all over again.
The only ommission of note would be Bette Davis as Baby Jane.
38. Dawn Bearer - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 am
I know this might sound wierd, how about The Queen from Disney’s Snowhite and the Seven Dwarves ?
39. Dawn Bearer - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
Also Amanda Young in Saw 3 was freaky !
40. Csimmons - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Great list, but it needs that girl from the exorcist. she was truly terrifying.
41. SocialButterfly - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:52 am
phubbie: She was just nominated for an Oscar.
Dawn Bearer: I was going to suggest her too…she petrified me when I was young.
42. SocialButterfly - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
I meant The Queen not Amanda Young.
43. Dawn Bearer - January 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 am
Yeah Butterfly The Queen is creepier than many real movie villains. The Queen was ranked no. 10
at the AFI’s 50 greatest movie villains, ahead of villains like Annie Wilkes, Alex DeLarge, Amon Goth, Jack Torrence, Freddy Krueger, an many others
44. Dietette - January 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky scares the beejeezus out of me. Unlike the horror movie characters mentioned here, she is so realistic that I can now vividly imagine dating a slightly unstable girl who suddenly goes off the edge and tries to kill us both. Only a horror show villian has a fiendish plan, unending strength and refusal to die. This is any chick who owns a car and a tenuous grasp of reality. Every time i see her super wide smile it seems like she’s thinking “I’m coming to getcha!” Eek!
45. macabresoren - January 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Atom: I definitely second that. Hard Candy definitely lefts its mark on me.
46. Diogenes - January 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I remember being freaked by fatal attraction.
Now I have no idea what made me go see it alone when it was originaly in the theaters, I was about seven at the time but I had premature facial hair growth(naw just foolin), and I was drivin my dearest mother’s brand new candy apple(or is it fire engine?) red Subaru (was it the XT?)
Anyway this part of the story occurs afterwards and I’m driving and seeing her frizzy blonde hair feflecting in the review mirror, hiding in the back seat!
it was my mother, all along! What do ya know!
47. drogo - January 23rd, 2008 at 2:53 am
I can see where Mother Bates could be considered a terrifying woman in a movie. It was played by the same actor as Norman, but it was Norman’s other personality. You heard her voice. He talked to her [”Mother, the blood, what have you done?!”] Norman turned into a woman, his mother, in his mind… I have to go now, I hear my mommy calling me.
48. phil - January 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 am
The nanny in The Omen was a bit scary.
49. MiSaNtHrOpE - January 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 am
Yikkity: OMG yeah that movie was great, though some of it didn’t make sense (If she was the killer and all of it was in her head, then where did the truck come from?)?
I’m very happy that the girl from Audition is on the list.
How about Becky Fischer (Jesus Camp)? She certainly scared the s— out of me!
50. Reine - January 25th, 2008 at 3:59 am
I could be wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that Kathy Bates was given injections of adrenaline prior to some of the scenes in Misery to give her a slightly “shaken” look.
51. Scar.. - January 26th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Audition + Carrie= Amazing movies.
52. fishing4monkeys - February 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I remember watching misery…great, and disturbing movie
53. Galactic_Coffee - February 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 am
Frau Blucher???
54. Joss - February 7th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Catherine Keener in An American Crime
55. CRM114 - March 15th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Although I agree with much of this list, I must wave the flag for a more recent scary-as-hell woman in film: Mrs. Carmody in The Mist. Marcia Gay Harden takes what could have otherwise been a pretty generic angry religious zealot character and turned her into a being of absolute menace and terror, particularly in considering the scene where she riles up a crowd into murdering a young Army officer. I saw the movie three times in the theatre, and every time the audience cheered like mad when she was finally offed.
56. thtrsjh - May 9th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
what about Kayako Saeki??
57. walterstc - May 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I dont remember her name but the lady that played the mother in the original manchurian candidate was a very evil woman. She used her son to try and kill a man to make her future husband president. And the original manchurian candidate was way better than the one with denzel washington. Also i do not see how you cannot include nurse ratchet from one flew over the cuckoos nest, she was so cold blooded, and ken kesey used her character to embody the man and the evil government .
58. Green Is Good - June 3rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Judi Dench from “Notes on a Scandal”. Judi’s character, Barbara Covett was calculating and straight up evil.
59. Daniel Wallin - June 15th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
good list except the kill bill jap girl. How is she terrifying for anyone other than total geeks that actually like Tarantino’s boring homages.