Ah, Mother’s Day… The one day a year we get to show our mothers how much we truly appreciate them. With the Mother’s Day remake being released this month, I can’t help but to stop and think of some of my favorite and most memorable mothers in horror film history. Check out my list of horror film mothers who have gone out of their way for their children and right into our hearts!
1. Pamela Vorhees – Crazy Mom – Friday The 13th, Part II, Part III, Freddy vs Jason, Friday The 13th (remake) – Pamela literally murdered people for her deformed son, Jason. Sure she was an absolute loon and mimicked the voice of Jason to herself, but hey, she needed justice for the untimely death of her child. Even after her beheading in Friday The 13th, Pamela remains one of the most influential and driving forces in Jason’s murderous sprees.
2. Maureen Prescott (Lynn Mcree) – Bad Mom – Scream, Scream III – Maureen is probably the least likable mother on the list, but still one of my favorites. She was a whore, an addict, a failed actress, a liar, and abandoned different family members at different times. However, I still feel sort of bad for her as she is trashed throughout the first three Scream films. “Your mother was a slutbag, whore, who flashed her shit around town like she was Sharon Stone.” Ouch. Maureen’s rape and murder by Stu and Billy left the door open for Sidney to spend her years without a mother figure, which caused her to be more kick ass and Matrix-like in Scream 4.
3. Mrs. Kinter (Lee Fierro) – Grieving Mom – Jaws, Jaws: The Revenge – The slap heard around the world… Ok, not really, but Lee Fierro playing the grieving mother of shark bait was pretty classic and is recognized as one of the key scenes in Jaws. It just goes to show you that a grieving mother will let her emotions out, and Momma aint afraid to bitch slap a cop! I actually had no idea she returned in a later Jaws entry, which is both cool and unwarranted.
4. Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) – Bad Ass Mom – Poltergeist, Poltergeist II – Let’s be honest, Diane is pretty bad ass. And when you team her up with a psychic midget she is even more bad ass! Diane is attacked by a giant tree, almost raped by her nearly possessed husband, swims in a pool of dead bodies, and battles unruly, demonic spirits in another dimension..and that’s just in the first movie! If that isn’t bad ass, I don’t know what is.
5. Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) – Dedicated Mom – The Exorcist – Few mothers (ok, none…) have had to deal with what Chris MacNeil has gone through. And yet her dedication to Regan never wavered. Regan really put her through the ringer; pissing all over the floor in front of guests, slapping people around, being mean to priests, hitting her with a dresser, and covering her mother in her own menstrual blood. Still, Chris was there as constant support against the demon Pazuzu and it is because of her love that Regan was able to pull through the possession. Ok, I’m talking out my ass, but “dedicated” Mom’s summary needs to end with something positive.
6. Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau) – Slow Mom – The Fog – “Andy, don’t open the door!” Unless they have free candy! The Fog is one of my favorite horror films, but the character of Stevie Wayne leaves much to be desired. I mean, I know there are ghost pirates in the fog that are attaching the town, but you could leave a little faster, think a little better in the situation to save your son instead of leaving it to strangers. If Diane can go into another dimension for her child, and Chris can get covered in vagina blood, the least you can do is leave your frickin’ lighthouse!
7. Caitlin Greene (Emma Caulfield) – Accept-everything Mom – Darkness Falls – It’s one thing to have a serial killer after your child, or even some sort of Biblical demon, but it takes a lot of guts to just accept the fact that the pissed off tooth fairy is after your kid. Ok, let me keep it real…only reason she’s on the list is because I liked the movie and Emma’s “Buffy” fame.
8. Estelle Collingwood (Cynthia Carr) – Penis Biting Mom – The Last House On The Left – She. bit. off. a. man’s. penis. to. avenge. her. daughter. Is there anything else that needs to be said about this Mom? That is mad love, and bad balls here.
