Ferocious females are getting their due in a debate around the best XX villains in X-rated horror.
Naturally, r/horror is the stage for this noteworthy discussion. User letthedecodebegin made the first post on the topic by writing “Who are the best female villains in horror?”, before citing obsessive fan-turned-kidnapper Annie Wilkes from Misery, the Stephen King novel adapted into the movie featuring Kathy Bates’ Oscar-winning turn.
The Redditor then asked for others to chime in, while clarifying that the villains can be from any type of media.
Several others chose Wilkes, for obvious reasons given that Bates’ memorable performance became instantly iconic. Her work was so stellar, in fact, that she’s one of the only people to win an acting Oscar for a horror movie.
Another highly-upvoted female villain is Bev Keane from the Netflix miniseries Midnight Mass. “Hated her about as much as I hated Joffrey from GoT,” wrote Homeless_Alex, “which means the actress [Samantha Sloyan] did an impeccable job.”
Unsurprisingly, Annie Wilkes isn’t the only King creation on the list. Mrs. Carmody from The Mist got multiple shout-outs. Again, most people are probably referring to the character from the movie adaptation, in which she’s played by Marcia Gay Harden, rather than the novella.
Rounding out the top female villains as chosen by r/horror are Rose the Hat from Doctor Sleep, Julia from Hellraiser, Asami from Audition, and Norma Bates from the Psycho franchise, although plenty more entered the conversation.
Which female villain scared you the most? You can let the world know in this thread.
