Oh, and spoilers may be hiding in here....
10. The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz
So, while Wicked may have made Elphaba a human, this Witch from the original Wizard of Oz will always be my favourite bad tempered woman. Not only is she quite powerful, but she has a nazty habbit of holding grudges. I also like that we don't know her back story in the original, but I like to think she spent years saving up her bitterness for when Dorothy arrived. The Wicked Witch is deifinitely a fun villain to watch, and she did create that famous witches cackle!
9. Debbie Jellinsky from The Addams Family Values
Not a name that commonly crops up on these sorts of things, but I love this character. Joan Cusack's performance here is one of the best I've seen of her, so over the top and hilarious. I love both of the new Addams Family movies, but the second one is probably my favourite, thanks to Debbie. A professional black widow, who seduces Fester, tries to murder him on numerous occaisions to get his money, goes insane, and then tries to murder the rest of the Addams family as well. And her motivation? Because she deserves more. Brilliant!
8. Beverley Sutphin from Serial Mom
Now, here's an interesting thought. What happens when you're villain is also your main character, who also believes that she is doing nothing wrong by brutally murdering anyone who comes against her family or who doesn't represent the American way? You get a hilarious yet (slightly) underrated John Waters comedy! This is a brilliant idea of a serial murdering housewife, played wonderfully by Kathleen Turner, and the murder scenes themselves are great on their own. For example, an old woman is beaten to death with a lef of lamb whilst watching Annie. But what makes this film great is the trial scene at the end, where Mrs. Sutphin manages to outwit the prosecutor and the many witnesses that are called against her. Certainly the most intelligent mother/wife/murderess to be seen onscreen!
7. Lamia from Stardust
People seem to forget that Michelle Pfeiffer has played too witches. I like this one better, she's a lot more fun to watch, and pretty much goes into evil overdrive. Part of what makes Lamia one of my favourites is that Pfeiffer is just having so much fun with the role! The way the character has changed from the book to the film might be seen by some as heresay, but it's one of the things that I like. The film created an identifiable villain whose vanity motivates and blinds her. Plus, she kidnaps, tries to kill and deceives the main characters for the duration of the film. And the make up is just amazing.
6. Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca
Psychological manipulation and subtle lesbian overtones time! Mrs Danvers is the housekeeper of Manderlay and obssesed with the previous (and deceased) Mrs de Winter, the Rebecca of the title. When Maxim de Winter brings back his new bride, Danvers does everything she can to manipulate and undermine her authority over the estate. This culminates in Danvers trying to persuade her to jump out of her second story window. This woman is crazy! She patronizes our heroine, bullies her, seems to have been in complete idolisation of Rebecca, and thanks to Hitchcock's incredible direction, is creepy as hell. Seriously, she floats instead of walks!
5. Ursula from The Little Mermaid
Now, this wouldn't be a list of villainesses without some from Disney! Oh Ursula, with you 'I am fabulous' attitude, and your overwhelming confidence, it's no wonder your song is one of the best remembered from the Disney archives. And you end up on so many top ten lists! But the thing I admire the most about Ursula, is that she doesn't care what others say about her, and her determination to get whatever she wants, by any means necessary. She's also really scary when she's insane!
4. Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series
There are likeable villains. Well, not likeable, but enjoyable villains. I've already introduced to a few of them on this list. Then there are those that I respect as characters in their own rights, because they are strong characters. We will be getting to them. Then there is Umbridge. Good god I loath this woman! She is a vile, patronising creature and I wish I could have the good fortune of destroying her in her entirety! But why is she on the list if I hate her so much? Could it be that because I hate her so much that she is on the list? It is true that there are few characters who make me want to hurt something as much as Umbridge does! And I think that counts towards something. Well done to Imelda Staunton in a fairly unforgiving role.
3. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Yes, the most famous of all the Disney villains is not number one. And it isn't because she isn't menacing, powerful or evil enough, but rather that her motivation seems to me to be a little... petty. She isn't invited to a party. So? Why should she care? It didn't look like her sort of affair anyway, not that I am any judge on the sorts of parties that evil fairies might like... This is one of those characters where a backstory is gratefully welcomed, and I can't wait for Maleficent to come out next year. But this doesn't mean that I don't think she's a good villain. She is more powerful than any other of the magical women on this list. And I especially like that for most of the film she is creepily subdued, until she gets angry at the end and turns into a dragon. Which is awesome!
2. Milady de Winter from The Three Musketeers, and The Four Musketeers
But it has to be the Faye Dunaway 1973 version! It has to be! Milla Jovovich is terrible, and Rebecca de Mornay is a completely different character than the one in the books. Dunaway's Milady is selfish, remorseless, incredibly intelligent and holds grudges against everyone who treated her wrongly or stands in her way. While she is more of a bit player in The Three Musketeers, in the sequel her vengeful nature comes out full force as she seduces D'Artagnan, tries to kill him, tries to kill Athos (maybe marries him for his money, we don't really know) and then turns Buckingham's servant Felton against his master, all in a bid to get revenge against the men who wronged her. And in that way, she is a little sympathetic. She has a motivation that people can relate to. Okay, it's revenge, but who hasn't wanted something bad to happen to someone else? Also, no one can give that pitying stare that Dunaway can give.
1. Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest
Yep. This woman. This sadistic, self-righteous, iron fisted woman. If you haven't seen One Flew, then you need to. I think the thing that makes her number one for me is that she seems respectable. If we were watching the movie from her perspective then we would sympathise with her, but since we see the film from the patients point of view, we see her for the twisted snake of human she is. The only pleasure she seems to get from her rather thankless job is to torment her patients and treat them as lesser human beings. Also, every other character on this list I can empathise with in one way or another. But this woman, I can't understand her motivation, and when I try to I just can't comprehend that anyone could act the way she does. It doesn't help that Louise Fletcher's performance is so wide-eyed and emotionless. She is indeed, the most evil of all villainesses.
And that is my list! Hopefully, a little different from others you've read/seen, but what's wrong with different. There were some I wanted to put on here, but I deemed them either to be not evil enough or not my favourite, so they were left off. Anyway, happy Halloween lovelies! Until next time, readers.
(If this was a video, the outro music would be "Evil Woman" by ELO!)
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