Horror movies often feature unforgettable female villains. As thrilling as they are to watch, we can’t deny that many of their rampages are born out of grievances that could have been rectified through non-murdery means. To that end, let’s have some fun and look at the unforgettable Karens of horror movies and TV series.
Suggested Reading
Karen - Taryn Manning as Karen Drexler
Though it’s more thriller than horror, obviously we need to talk about this BET movie featuring the HOA president from hell. It’s terrible, but in an awkward “so bad it’s funny” kind of way.
Get Out - Allison Williams as Rose Armitage
There was something up with Rose and her family right from the start. When she holds up the keys, you know you scream “This bitch!” every time.
Misery - Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes
I’ve seen some extreme cases of toxic fandom, but Annie is definitely the worst. Kathy Bates deserved every piece of that Oscar win.
Carrie - Piper Laurie as Margaret White
Just so it’s clear, Carrie is not the villain. Her awful classmates and her unhinged mother are the villains of this story. Piper Laurie is chilling as Margaret White, who only sees her daughter as an evil connection to the devil. Special shoutout to Julianne Moore who played the role in the 2013 remake, and was truly terrifying.
Cabin in the Woods - Sigourney Weaver as The Director
Cabin in the Woods twists all the traditional horror movie tropes into a series of specially designed tests run by The Director. As usual, it’s all about upper management, or an ancient curse, and the little people don’t matter.
Lovecraft Country - Abbey Lee as Christina Braithwhite
Christina wanted all the power and magic for herself and did not care who she hurt to get it. Don’t act like you didn’t cheer when she got her comeuppance.
Friday the 13th - Betsy Palmer as Pamela Voorhees
I get that Pamela is devastated by her son’s loss, but killing a bunch of innocent teenagers, and saddling us with this franchise, seem like bad ways to deal with her pain. Was therapy not an option?
Antebellum - Jena Malone as Elizabeth
As talented as Janelle Monáe is, I can’t really recommend this movie about racists who open a terrifyingly accurate Civil War theme park. Despite how horrible all the men in this story are, of course, a woman with made up grievances was really the one in charge.
The Craft - Christine Taylor as Laura Lizzie
Christine Taylor may be a lovely person, but Laura Lizzie deserved to go bald, and I hope she stayed that way after the girls lost their magic.
Get Out - Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage
It’s no secret where Rose gets her Karen tendencies from, as Missy is the one who actually sends Black people to “the Sunken Place” so they can be replaced with white personalities. The audacity of her using their weaknesses against them is unsurprising and rage inducing.
American Horror Story: Coven - Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode
Jessica Lange’s Fiona does not want to be replaced by younger, more powerful witches. She uses a racist witch from the 1800s for her own means, forcing Black witches to deal with someone who tortured their friends and ancestors. Also, Angela Bassett’s Marie Laveau deserves her own season.
Master - Amber Gray as Liv Beckman
Regina Hall’s Gail Bishop tries to protect her students from an evil entity terrorizing them, but she’s the only one who actually cares. Turns out the evil entity is just an entitled woman taking out her pain on already vulnerable Black students.
Hocus Pocus - The Sanderson Sisters
Disney retconned some of the more terrible parts of the Sanderson sisters backstory in the sequel, but let’s be honest, they want to eat children so they can stay young. If that’s not a Karen move, I don’t know what is.
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