You wouldn’t want to upset these onscreen moms

The theme of family – whether it is a drunk and beaten-up father or a crazy sister or even a deranged psychopathic brother – has been quite popular on pages and onscreen. Even the literary classics have the most twisted family members raining down hell on others. And the result is quite terrifying.

But nothing comes quite close to the moms – the onscreen mothers who have that other side of them. We love to associate motherhood with care, love, compassion, responsibility, and sometimes movies show how strong a mother’s love really is. But not everyone is built as Lily Potter. Like Norma Bates or Margaret White who show that not all mothers are full of love but are straight up terrifying. Horror movies centered around terrifying moms have a scary factor of their own.

So, brace yourself for a list of movie moms that are so terrifying that they make the movies so much better.

Norma Bates

The famous Norma Bates from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho created a benchmark for scary moms. Back in the ‘50s, someone whose only presence onscreen is her harsh voice sure did enough to create a feeling of terror. If you haven’t watched the movie yet, we won’t spoil it for you.

Annie Graham

Hereditary by Ari Aster employs the brillians of Toni Collette as the family matriarch Annie Graham. After a pair of tragedies, Annie, the grieving mother slips slowly into madness. Or so she thinks. Movie is carefully built around the varying raging emotions of Annie as she questions everything that happens around her.

Amelia

The Australian psychological horror has Amelia as the mother with a difficult son and a just-deceased husband. There are manifestations of anxiety and depression as unrelenting violence and the takeover of the creature Babadook that goes dookdookdookat night. There aren’t any jumpscares, so indulge yourself in a brilliant movie.

Peyton Flanders

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle gives us Peyton as the mother driven to vengeance. A peak 1990s evil mom category, Penny Flanders gets hired by the woman who Penny believes ruined her family. As a hired nanny, Peyton does hideous things to ruin this woman’s life.

Mutter

In Good Night Mommy, mother is called Mutter, and returns home with her face wrapped in bandages after a medical procedure. Her twin sons grow suspiciously close to being convinced that this isn’t their real mother. This Austrian psychological horror leaves you with goosebumps and the slow-paced madness and the revelations will keep you up.