Nothing is cooler than a female psycho unless of course its in real life. If we are discussing horror and horror thrillers as well as sci-fi horror, a female nutcase is welcome once in a while. Of course, if she is your ex or your current flame, you have a problem!
I think its more realistic when a female psycho is unattractive or even attractive but very unassuming and able to come in the guise as a librarian looking chick or an old lady or something cool like that.
Let us begin with
Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction (1987). She certainly is a handsome woman, isn't she? By far the only movie that Glenn Close was actually "bad", she portrays the character, Alex Forrest, a woman in the publishing industry who appears self-confident, fun, and put together.
Unfortunately, Alex has a serious case of attachment disorder or borderline personality disorder or something. She just can't seem to let go of the married man she had a one night stand with. Although Dan finds Alex to be a handsome woman and is attracted to her, he loves his hot but sort of boring wife. Alex is crazy so she's exciting, you see.
Alex begins to stalk Dan and the story goes on, but Alex was certainly a fabulous villainess, don't you agree!?
Let us continue our discussion of female psychos in film with the unassuming
Hedra Carlson in Single White Female (1992). She's cool, calm, collected, understanding, and super nice at first and on the surface, but damn does she have some underlying issues and she certainly takes being roommates and even best friends to a whole new level. Heddie likes to get very close to her best female friends to the point where she needs to "take out" her other friends and especially her cheating dooshbag of a boyfriend (ex-boyfriend).
Yeah, it becomes sort of a problem when Heddie colors her hair and cuts it in the exact same style as Allison Jones in the film and she realizes she has a "single white female" on her hands. Of course, that figure of speech was coined from this very film. Who would have ever thought Jennifer Jason Leigh could be such a super psycho?
We should never forget
Misery's (1990) Annie Wilkes, where we are truly introduced to Kathy Bates and how she can act her a mean psycho with some seriously deep rooted issues! This is probably also the first and last time we've seen James Caan (Paul Sheldon) portray such a helpless character.
Ms. Wilkes is so enamored with the writer, Paul Sheldon's book character, Misery Chastain that she imprisons him and makes him "unkill" the character he has killed off in his book after rescuing him from a car accident in which he breaks his leg. Annie is a nurse and sort of nurses him back to health, but she's really just keeping him immobile and cut off from the outside world so her favorite writer can write at her will!
Sissy Spacek portrays one of the best female psycho characters in another film such as Misery that is an adaptation of a Stephen King book,
Carrie (1976).
Carrie White is a super telekinetic teen with a bad temper and a tough life. Her religious fanatic mother (
Margaret White) and the real villainess in this film from a book is portrayed by Piper Laurie. Carrie is provoked at the prom by having pig blood thrown on her head over her beautiful pink gown she made all by herself and the horror ensues. Even though they all deserved her wraith, she's still the film's villainess of purpose, she's just a sympathetic one.
Baby Jane Hudson, portrayed by Bette Davis in
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) is one of the best and scariest horror villainesses of all time! If you remember Baby Jane serving the rat on the silver serving tray to her wheel-chair bound sister, Blanche (Joan Crawford), you know exactly the fear Bette Davis instilled in audiences everywhere in black and white, literally! My father is afraid of her to this day!
Sharon Stone redefines the role of a psychopath as a sexy, intelligent and well-to-do bisexual woman named
Katherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992), her weapon of choice an icepick and her vajayjay. Katherine toys with the cops and bangs the detective investigating a murder in which she is a suspect. Its even implied that she killed her own parents, oh Katherine, you naughty girl, you. This put Sharon Stone on the map in her famous scene where she uncrosses her legs and isn't wearing any panties when being interviewed by detectives.
