Blogaversary The Fourth

Folks, today marks the fourth anniversary of Popcorn Culture, and it’s amazing we all survived this long, let alone this little blog. Now, our good friend Hunter over at Kinemalogue started on the exact same day, so I want you to head over there and give him a little love. Our blogs are fraternal twins, after all. In celebration of this landmark, and in honor of the traditional fourth anniversary gift being electrical appliances, I have a little list prepared for you.

THE TOP 5 HORROR MOVIES DEATH SCENES INVOLVING ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

#5 TV Set in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

The boob tube gets a bad rap. It might turn your eyes square and your brain into mush, but at least it won’t murder you… unless you’re in the nightmarish thrall of Freddy Krueger. This TV kill is one of the most iconic Elm Street scenes ever, and for good reason. It’s pithy, playful, and yet still unspeakably dark in its absurdity.

#4 Microwave in The Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left remake was altogether much less grim than Wes Craven’s original, but that also allowed them to go to some incredibly silly places that even the intermittently goofy 1972 flick couldn’t reach. The highest peak of this bonkers attitude is this scene that brings a popular urban legend to bloody life: death by having your head shoved into a microwave.

#3 Lawn Mower in Misery

Is a lawn mower an appliance? I’m not actually sure about that, but who could resist Annie Wilkes’ inimitable gusto and the creative way she dispatches one of her captive’s only means of potential survival? [Editor's Note: OK, I'm dumb. This scene is in the book, not the movie. But it's still great.]

#2 Toaster in Inside

Inside is a bleak, incredibly gory movie, but one of the scenes that has the most impact is this little moment of blunt force with a toaster. It’s a startling gag that’s so abrupt you want to giggle, but quickly devolves into full-fledged horror.

#1 Blender in You’re Next

You don’t get to be one of the best new horror flicks of the decade without an awesome kill scene, and You’re Next is chock full of them. One of the most memorable is the incredible denouement where our heroine demonstrates the incredible versatility of a common household blender.

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Moving Right Along...

Howdy, folks! It's time for some quick Brennan news! Today is my first day at a new job I'm very excited about, interning at Blumhouse.com. Blumhouse Productions has been responsible for a lot of the horror content of the last few years, including the Paranormal Activity and Insidious films, and their web site is a repository of all sorts of horror discussion.

I'm really eager to get started, but this also means that I'll be transitioning out of writing news for Arrow in the Head over the next few weeks. That doesn't mean I'll be gone completely, but I'm still defining where I'll be with them. I'm just letting you guys know everything that's going on! I think this shift will have a negligible impact on how frequently I update Popcorn Culture, but the next couple weeks might get a little on-and-off as I find my feet. Plus, I'm officiating a wedding this week, so that's a wee bit distracting.

Thank you everyone for bearing with me! Here's a quick list for your enjoyment. Although Blumhouse is a household name in horror, they have their fingers in all sorts of pies...

5 Films You Probably Didn't Know Were Made by Blumhouse

#5 The Normal Heart (2014)

I did compare The Normal Heart to a body horror film thanks to its terrifying depiction of disease, but Ryan Murphy's AIDS drama is definitely a surprise from the Blumhouse team. It was also my #6 film of 2014!

#4 The Jinx (2015)

Another project that's tangentially horror, Blumhouse was behind the groundbreaking documentary about wealthy murderer Robert Durst that eventually got him arrested.

#3 Whiplash (2014)

Damien Chazelle's debut film Whiplash was a Blumhouse Production, so you have them to thank for the glory that is La La Land.

#2 Jem and the Holograms (2015)

Maybe they don't want to be reminded they made Jem and the Holograms, but glittery girl pop musicals are the farthest genre I could imagine them exploring, and boy am I glad they did.

#1 Tooth Fairy (2010)

That's right, before Blumhouse found their horror niche, they threw a lot of spaghetti at the wall, and one of those noodles was this vehicle for The Rock in which he turns into the Tooth Fairy for some reason. Who knew?

Word Count: 379

Blogaversary: Third Time's A Charm

Hey, everybody! Today is a very special day. June 12th. Filipino Independence Day. The beginning of summer break (for those plebs who are still in school). And the anniversary of Popcorn Culture! The traditional gift for a third anniversary is leather, so today our celebratory list is...

The Top Ten Horror Movie Punks

Now, to be fair, I did fudge the term a little bit and threw in four leather-clad characters who aren't actually punks, but it's my list so I can do what I want. Also, please do a blogger a favor and hop on over to my good friend Hunter Allen's blog Kinemalogue to wish him a happy blogaversary too! That's right, we both started our blogs on the exact same day! Talk about fate.

#10 Rod Lane (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

After watching his girlfriend be dragged across the ceiling and eviscerated by an invisible maniac, he rightly assumes he'll take the blame so he takes off: in just a leather jacket and jeans. No shirt, no shoes, no service. How hardcore is that?

#9 Dr. Katherine McMichaels (From Beyond)

This outfit might just seem like another bout of Stuart Gordon exploitation, and it is. But it's also an exploration of a buttoned-up doctor discovering a new dimension of experience and being ruined by its cessation. It's dark, it's sexy, and it's hilariously 80's.

#8 Aaron Boone (Nightbreed)

The newly immortal Boone strolls around bearing a bloody stab wound and a bullet-riddled leather jacket, making him an instantly iconic Halloween costume. That is, if anybody had actually ever watched Nightbreed.

#7 Sex Machine (From Dusk Till Dawn)

I loved Tom Savini long before seeing this film, but now it's more of an undying all-consuming passion. With his beer whip and penis gun, Sex Machine is the badass of a generation.

#6 Amber (Green Room)

She's not the punkiest of the bunch in her look, but her blasé attitude to violence and death is unparalleled. It's the best performance by Imogen Poots maybe ever, and her prickly humor serves the film tremendously.

#5 Vinnie and Pete (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)

OK, I couldn't find a great picture of these two leather-clad bros, but their car unfortunately breaks down on the side of the roads within the vicinity of the motiveless copycat killings that plague the film. So what do they do? One of them sings a song while the other goes to crap in the woods. Gotta love 'em. "Crap, my ass!"

#4 Boom Box Punks (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)

These punks are just minding their own business in the Day-Glo nightmare vision that is Toronto-Manhattan (although this particular scene was shot in actual Times Square) when Jason crushes their good time by smashing their boom box. They prepare to fight, but one glimpse under the hockey mask shuts them up real quick.

#3 David (The Lost Boys)

The bleached blonde mullet that defined a decade of filmmaking. Kiefer Sutherland's super gay seduction of Jason Patric is both deliriously subtext-sexy and the ultimate punk manifesto. "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire."

#2 Taryn (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)

"In my dreams, I'm beautiful... and bad."

The dream of the late 80's came alive with Taryn, an ex-heroin addict whose dream power is being a tarted-up, butt-kicking punk. She didn't deserve what came to her, but she took it with style and panache.

#1 Trash (The Return of the Living Dead)

The standout in a group of dementedly hilarious punks, Linnea Quigley's trash does a graveyard striptease while fantasizing about the best way to die. It's only fair that she becomes one of the first zombies, wreaking naked havoc upon her punk friends. Isn't that the ultimate dream?

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This Is Your Captain Speaking

Hello, world!

Today is a very special day. Since my graduation in May, I've been working hard to become a full-fledged grown-up person. And, lamentably, I seem to have achieved this goal. I have found a job and am thus embarked upon a course that will either lead to a successful career or the demise of the human population of this world.

Starting today, I am now a horror news editor for Arrow in the Head, the horror wing of JoBlo.com. If you add that to my current job at The Backlot, it's almost like I'm a real person!

I'm very very excited to begin a career of actually being paid to write about horror movies instead of only writing extended essays about them for free like a lunatic. Mind you, I will still be writing extended essays about them for free, but I at least have something to augment that with.

If you are so inclined, you can view updates of my new work in the right hand column above my Backlot widget.

In honor of my super cool new job, our post today will be...

Five Unforgettable Deaths by Arrow

#5 Coach is Hoist by his Own Petard in Final Exam

One of my favorite things in slasher movies is when the heroes who triumphantly arrive at the last minute to save the Final Girl are unceremoniously offed seconds later. The only way those scenes could be improved is if the guy brings a hilariously exaggerated, outmoded weapon like, say, a bow and arrow, which still somehow gets turned around and used upon him in a matter of minutes. What a great film.

#4 Megan's Shopping Spree at the Sporting Goods Store Goes Terribly Wrong in The Initiation

What I love most about the scene where Megan is shot with an arrow is the fact that it's such a deliriously out-of-place murder method in a Midwest shopping mall. The 1984 slasher was a particularly desperate strain, so they had to resort to scenes like this to keep raking in the cash, and I can't say I have any complaints about that.

#3 Nolan's Application for Arrow in the Head is Rejected in Friday the 13th 2009

The Friday the 13th remake doesn't get enough credit for its silly, overwrought deaths that call back to the best of the old franchise. My personal favorite is a double death, beginning with that of Nolan who finds an arrow spontaneously thrust through his skull while driving a boat, which then immediately runs over his girlfriend who was swimming nearby. Classic.

#2 Beverly's Little Sister Abuses the Peephole in her Closet in Bloody Birthday

Little siblings can be annoying sometimes, but I think Beverly holds the world record for most annoying sister. Not only does she carve a peephole in her closet door and sell time to neighborhood boys who want to watch Beverly change (which she always does while dancing to the hits of today, naturally), she also wings an arrow through it, shooting her sister in the eye. Kids, am I right?

#1 Jack's Probability of Getting Throat Cancer Goes Way Down in Friday the 13th

While he's enjoying a nice post-coital smoke, Kevin Bacon's character Jack gets a nasty surprise in the form of an arrow through the back of his mattress. That's what you get for doing anything at Camp Crystal lake besides respectfully buttoning up your blouse or being boring.
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How The Time Flies

Well hello there, dear readers! Today is a very special day. Two years ago today, Popcorn Culture was born! In one of those serendipitous twists of fate that only seem to happen in movies but leak out into real life sometimes, this is also the blog birthday of my good friend Hunter over at Kinemalogue. You should give him a visit. Consider it making up for the fact that you didn't buy me a gift.

Since the traditional second anniversary gift is cotton for some reason, our celebratory list for today will be:

The Top Ten Horror Movie Costumes

#10 Tippi Hedren's Green Pantsuit in The Birds

My undying love for The Birds has earned me no horror awards. Yet. But my passion continues, a roaring, crackling flame. This green outfit has perhaps not aged as well as it could have, but it's intrinsically tied in with her character, a complex, bored society women who suddenly finds herself trapped inside the worst hell nature can offer. It's thematic, it's brilliant, and she looks fantastic. What more is there to say?

#9 Daniel Radcliffe's Leather Jacket in Horns

I love love love this outfit, which highlights everything that isn't Harry Potter about Daniel Radcliffe. It's slick, it's cool, and it's street fashion at its highest degree. If I had a wish list for blog readers to send me things, this outfit would be at the top. Hint, hint.

#8 Hugh Keays-Byrne's Plastic Breathing Apparatus/Face Mask in Mad Max: Fury Road

OK, so this isn't technically a horror film. But screw that, it's my blog birthday. Immortan Joe's iconic costume, much like Darth Vader's, is functional rather than fashionable: It's a suit designed to keep the pale, ill, irradiated despot alive. The plastic body armor is hooked to a breathing apparatus that looms fleshily over his back, feeding oxygen into his mouth via that terrifying Donnie Darko face mask. It's remarkably stunning costume design, and I'm not likely to forget it anytime soon. Or ever. In my life.

#7 Dennis Christopher's Dracula Makeup in Fade to Black

I didn't care much for this movie with its moppish Final Girl and uncharismatic, deeply strange lead, but this outfit is superb. The killings in this movie are themed to imitate classic films, and none of the various incarnations of Eric Binford rival the majesty that is this glorious make-up job, which more or less perfectly turns reality into a black and white film for a few blissful moments. Then a hooker gets impaled on a fencepost. That's slasher movies for ya.

#6 Tim Curry's Sweet Transvestite Lingerie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

This is the outfit that earned Rocky Horror the longest theatrical run of any movie in the annals of space and time. Cobbled together from a low budget consortium of lingerie, this indelible outfit changed the face of cinema history. And damn, does Tim Curry pull it off.

#5 The Killer's Dancing Bear Costume in Girls Nite Out

This costume is high camp at its finest. Combining a silly, colorful design with a genuinely terrifying weapon (the steak knife claws sheathed in his big fluffy paws), the Dancing Bear is a perfect ironic Killer for a thoroughly weird and delightful slasher.

#4 Johnny Depp's Crop Top in A Nightmare on Elm Street

Do I even need to explain myself here?

#3 Béatrice Dalle's Black Dress in Inside

Inside is one of the classic films of the French Extremist genre, combining over-the-top gore with a heretofore unknown artistry and class. The black dress encapsulates that tone to a T, swirling with the violent, chaotic motion of its owner, swooping like the Angel of Death without ever diminishing its beauty.

#2 Bruce Campbell's Torn Shirt and Chainsaw Ensemble in Army of Darkness

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the more action-oriented third Evil Dead movie, but nevertheless this costume is the perfect complement to its loopy tone. Bruce Campbell has never looked better than as the besieged badass whose hardened, indescribably cool appearance provides a stark contrast to his Stooge-like antics.

#1 Kane Hodder's Waterlogged Jumpsuit in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

You can tell this movie was directed by a special effects guy. This glistening costume lovingly displays Jason's riddled corpse to its best effect. With a slimy bit of spine poking out the back and the battered, lake-worn hockey mask sitting atop it like a trophy, no Jason has ever been more lovingly detailed and disgusting. Combined with Kane Hodder hulking appearance and series-best performance, it creates one of the scariest killers of modern time. Too bad the movie still sucks, but I take what I can get.

The Bottom Five Horror Movie Costumes

#5 Kiefer Sutherland's Bleached Mullet in The Lost Boys

Maybe "worst" is a strong word. I absolutely adore this blonde abomination, but let's be honest. This hairstyle should be locked in a safe an submerged in the Mariana Trench.

#4 Barbara Cupisti's Hooker Wig in StageFright: Aquarius

Just like about everything else in StageFright (including the spectacular, atrocious sax-riddled score), this outfit goes above and beyond in its attempt to rival the already screechingly 80's fashions of other, lesser horror films.

#3 Everyone's Lingerie in Sorority House Massacre II

If my whole movie was going to be about busty girls in their skivvies, I think I'd want to invest in something sexier than a formless one piece and a Dora the Explorer wig.

#2 Beth Gondek's Hyper-perm in Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

This costume has to be a joke, right? Somewhere down the pipeline, you're telling me no actor, hairstylist, production designer, director, producer, or local deity stopped to think "Hmm, maybe this won't age well?"

#1 Gary Oldman's Mickey Mouse Wig in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Here we are. The creme de la creme. The strong suit of Bram Stoker's Dracula is its hyperbolic, gaudy stylization, but this costume is where the film oversteps its boundaries. It's like what Baz Luhrmann sees when he presses on his eyes too hard.


So there we go. Another year down, another glorious year of slicing and dicing to come. If you've been here since the very beginning, I bow down to your commitment. If you've come more recently than that, welcome! Thank you for reading and, by doing so, encouraging me to keep pursuing my relentless, daunting movie reviewing goals. Now if I could only get someone to pay me.
Word Count: 1078

Women In Horror Month: Fashion Victims

When I was coming up with ideas for celebrating Women in Horror Month, my mind kept wandering to the 80's, because that's just how I'm wired. I guess I was born with a legwarmer in my mouth. Anyway, when one thinks specifically of women in 80's horror, it's hard to see past the Mount Everest of teased hair and shoulder pads, so I decided to pay tribute to some of the most indelible fashions of the decade, as presented on the catwalk of horror (I call dibs on that movie name).

The Ten Best-Dressed Eighties Ladies

#10 Kim (Prom Night)

Inflicted Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis
Year: 1980

OK, this outfit isn't truly special until you see it in motion during a three minute disco sequence crammed into the middle of a pretty run-of-the-mill slasher film. But Jamie Lee's ringlets combined with the ineffable puffiness of that Pepto pink dress keep legions of fans coming back to Prom Night, a dull film which really should be overshadowed by its brain-dead, endlessly bizarre sequels.

#9 Denise (Splatter University)

Inflicted Actress: Denise Texeira
Year: 1984

Splatter University is low on this list - as it should be on any list - because it's too low-fi to actually afford any provocative (read: non-beige) costumes. But Denise's spiked fingerless gloves and fire engine red hair that threatens to engulf her entire head like the creature from The Blob form an irresistible axis of evil.

#8 Debbie (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master)

Inflicted Actress: Brooke Theiss
Year: 1988

Among all the high school stereotypes presented in this film (jock, nerd, outsider, etc.), Debbie's is the only label that could only have existed in 1988: Workout Queen. Although she's only shown lifting weights (good for her, though - bustin' gender barriers), you just know she spends every weekend sweatin' it to the oldies in her headband and aerobic sneakers. Add in the nails and that chained belt and you've got yourself a recipe for instant success.

#7 Sara (Sorority House Massacre)

Inflicted Actress: Pamela Ross
Year: 1986

The unequivocal best scene in Sorority House Massacre is when the sorority girls try on their rich friend's clothes, resulting in an endless montage of the girls wearing different-colored baggy pantsuits. But even the gauzy garishness of that scene is outmatched by Sara's midriff-revealing fruitsplosion, which makes her look more like a Fantasy Island desk clerk than an actual human university student.

#6 Diane/Blaze (New Year's Evil)

Inflicted Actress: Roz Kelly
Year: 1980

As any aging music host knows, it's tough to keep up with the shifting trends of youth culture. But for Blaze - wife, mother, and patron saint of crappy New Wave rock - it's as easy as slipping into her hot pink aluminum foil minidress and accompanying choker.

#5 Jess (Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II)

Inflicted Actress: Beth Gondek
Year: 1987

I told you Prom Night is always gonna be inevitably overshadowed by its much weirder sequels. Jess is living proof of just how far fashion had gone down the rabbit hole in the seven years since the beginning of the decade. Her mismatched astrological earrings fit exactly imperfectly with each carefully clashing layer upon layer of endless cloth that drapes her trembling frame. I'm surprised her bones don't just snap under the weight, but I have a sneaking suspicion that her hair is aerodynamically designed to prevent her from falling over.

#4 J.J. (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)

Inflicted Actress: Saffron Henderson
Year: 1989

She almost made it. Poor J. J. almost escaped the decade before Jason's resurrection dragged her and her bubblegum guitar and her patent leather jacket and her broom bristle Joan Jett bangs out into the open ocean... and certain doom.

#3 Violet (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)

Inflicted Actress: Tiffany Helm
Year: 1985

For a movie supposedly set a full decade after the mid-80's set Final Chapter, A New Beginning doesn't do much in the way of makeup, hair, dancing, and music to even vaguely attempt to paw at futurism. Violet gets the worst of it, looking in every scene like she was just mugged by a Go-Go's video. Even her death is mired in 80's garbage - she dies doing the robot, for crying out loud! If you chug a New Coke before bed and sleep with a Rubik's Cube under your pillow, Violet is who you'll be dreaming about.

#2 Samantha (Night of the Comet)

Inflicted Actress: Kelli Maroney
Year: 1984

The Valley Girl Chic sweater wouldn't be too much of an imposition, but toss on those Cindy Crawford ringlets pulled so tight that she looks like a 40-year-old Target manager and you've got yourself a nuclear meltdown of a fashion disaster. We're gonna have to call in the EPA on this one.

#1 April (Killer Party)

Inflicted Actress: Danielle Kiraly
Year: 1986

Even if you can forget the fact that she's at a drive-in, the most 80's thing about April is everything. I can't quite recall the details of this scene, but I'm more certain than anything I've ever known that she is wearing roller skates in the bottom half of this picture. The song may go "April, you're no fool," but whoever dressed her certainly is.


Thanks for hanging out during this year's Women in Horror Month extravaganza! Stay tuned for next year, where things are gonna get really crazy (In that I don't have school and can actually write more than one post every 94 days)!
Word Count: 914

Women In Horror Month: Mother Dearest

Happy Friday the 13th, everybody! It's a very special day in a very special month, so let's continue our celebration of women in horror in style! One of the few things that only the women of the world can do is bear children (at least until Apple develops an app for that). Over the years, mothers in horror have been badass defenders of their brood, memorably loony zealots, or out-and-out evil masterminds.

Let's raise a glass to the best and the worst of these reproducing rebels!

Ten Memorable Horror Moms

#10 Rosemary Woodhouse (Rosemary's Baby)

Played by: Mia Farrow
Children: Satan

I would be remiss for not including Roman Polanski's epic horror tale of betrayal and pregnancy on this list. Surprisingly, having a life form growing inside you like a parasite isn't always a good thing, and Rosemary's Baby draws on a woman's very real fears of her own body and its potential. However, Rosemary barely deals with the child itself, mostly reacting to the wicked ministrations of her neighbors. For this reason she isn't too high up on the list, but she is far and away the most recognizable mother in cinema history.

#9 Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

Played by: Betsy Palmer
Children: Jason (Ari Lehman)

The inspiration for today's Friday the 13th-themed article, Pamela Voorhees is an unstoppable mack truck of a woman in a cable-knit sweater. Although her revenge for her son's drowning seems a little silly in the light of a dozen sequels proving his rather peculiar inability to die, she's the perfect mom, defending the memory of her son by mowing down inattentive camp counselors. In the process, she is also protecting the other children in the town from the same fate that befell her poor Jason. In the horror world, motivations are usually very narrow and selfish, so Pamela deserves mad respect for expanding her scope. She's like the Bill Gates Foundation of the slasher world.

#8 Margaret White (Carrie)

Played by: Piper Laurie
Children: Carrie (Sissy Spacek)

When people think Carrie, their minds usually jump to blood. Whether it's the period in the gym showers or the bucket of pig's blood, the scenes that stick in the mind are generally Carrie-centric. But without Margaret White's operatic insanity, Carrie would just be a meek weirdo with an embarrassing prom photo. Piper Laurie's performance as her brutal, insane mother can bring any right-minded horror fan into a state of near-religious ecstasy.

#7 Mother (Psycho)

Played by: Virginia Gregg, Jeanette Nolan, & Paul Jasmin
Children: Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)

Is it possible to spoil a movie that's nearly 60 years old? I think the statute of limitations on this one has run out, but nevertheless I'll shy away from revealing anything other than this domineering presence over the life of motel owner Norman Bates has led to one of the most unforgettable classics of slasher cinema. Forget Bates Motel. All the uptight mothering you can ever wish for is right here, stalking the halls and purging them of nosy cityfolk.

#6 Sarah (The Descent)

Played by: Shauna Macdonald
Children: Jessica (Molly Kayll)

There are few films more inextricably linked with the idea of motherhood than The Descent. After the unfortunate death of her daughter in an automobile accident, Sarah is trapped underground during a spelunking expedition. Fighting for survival, Sarah taps into her savage grizzly mama instincts and loses herself entirely, escaping her grief through rebirth as a ferocious, blood-drenched woman of the dark.

#5 Chris MacNeil (The Exorcist)

Played by: Ellen Burstyn
Children: Regan (Linda Blair)

Chris MacNeil is an actress who throws away her career in order to protect her daughter's health. She opts out of her next movie to provide full-time care for the possibly mentally-ill, definitely demonically-possessed Reagan, putting her kid's welfare over her own personal dreams of fame and success. Although she is unfortunately sidelined in the third act, Chris MacNeil is personally responsible for saving the life of her daughter after a lengthy, harrowing few months of suffering in an ill-lit Georgetown apartment. You'd think nothing would be worse than the pain of childbirth. Try cleaning up pea soup vomit while a demon tosses wardrobes at you. Motherhood is tough, but Chris is tougher.

#4 Lynn Sear (The Sixth Sense)

Played by: Toni Collette
Children: Cole (Haley Joel Osment)

The Sixth Sense is the only horror movie that consistently makes me cry, and it's due entirely to Toni Collettes's powerhouse performance. Lynn Sear is a harried single mom at the center of a domestic drama, with no idea about her son's traumatizing ghostly encounters. All she knows is that Cole is shutting himself out from the world, and she works tirelessly to make sure that he gets the care and love that he needs. She might not see dead people, but she's the most important, grounded character in M. Night Shyamalan's one truly great film.

#3 Amelia (The Babadook)

Played by: Essie Davis
Children: Samuel (Noah Wiseman)

The Babadook is a new entry into the classic horror pantheon, but it's a doozy. Exploring the taboo side of motherhood through Amelia's extreme dislike of her irritating son Samuel, it brings dark new ideas into the conversation. Amelia is doing her best to raise Sam on her own, but the titular storybook monster threatens to swallow her whole, and the fate of her family rests on her ability to deflect his sinister persuasion. Essie Davis brings a raw energy to one of the most original, deeply disturbing horror moms of all time.

#2 Mrs. Slater (The House on Sorority Row)

Played by: Lois Kelso Hunt
Children: Eric (Charles Serio)

The House on Sorority Row is typically viewed as a second-tier slasher film, but Mrs. Slater's suspended-in-time fixation with her long-lost son is so simultaneously tragic and chilling that it launches the film up to the top of my esteem. Channeling her energies into being a house mother, Mrs. Slater's years of misplaced emotion has soured her natural affection into something bitter and magnetic. Her transformation is the emotional fixing point of a surprisingly well-made mid-80's slashfest.

#1 Heather Langenkamp (Wes Craven's New Nightmare)

Played by: Heather Langenkamp
Children: Dylan (Miko Hughes)

Heather Langenkamp, playing herself in Wes Craven's meta masterpiece, is far and away the best screen mom ever to wage war against the darkness outside the four walls of her suburban idyll. When Freddy Krueger attempts to push into the real world through her son's dreams, Heather does everything in her power to keep him safe. She alternates between soft and mothering (like when she sews up Dylan's slashed stuffed T-Rex) and hardened badass (like when she rips through a hospital's security squad to keep them from sedating him) like a damn pro. I don't know many other moms who would sprint across a busy freeway to protect their son from a dream demon hiding in the moon. OK, that probably doesn't happen to your average mother, but Heather has what it takes to win the gold.
Word Count: 1167