May 21, 2012

Meanest Movie Moms

by Nora Murphy | Published May 10, 2012

This weekend, offspring young and old will buy flowers, send cards and pay tribute to the women who brought them into this world. Mother’s Day is a time of celebration and gratitude toward the lady dearest to our hearts. And while turbulent times with mom are a natural part of growing up, this year you should be extra sweet to your creator, because she could be a whole lot worse. Don’t believe us? Then take a look at this list of cinema’s meanest mothers. From the psychotic to the just plain nasty, these moms make us glad that making our beds and taking out the garbage were the most ever asked of us.

Mommie Dearest
She may look sweet, but Faye Dunaway gives us the chills as the evil Joan Crawford (and makes us think twice about the hangers in our closets).

Friday the 13th
Jason Voorhees may be the star player in the Friday the 13th franchise, but it was his mother, Mrs. Voorhees (perfectly played by Betsy Palmer) who kicked off the three decade killing spree when she took maternal instinct to a whole other level in 1980.

Carrie
Forget the tampon missiles and pig’s blood. Creepie Carrie (Sissy Spacek) didn’t stand a chance against her mother’s (Piper Laurie) brand of sexual education in Brian De Palma’s adaptation of this Stephen King novel.

Serial Mom
June Cleaver meets Norman Bates in the form of Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) in John Waters’ absurdly funny take on the challenge of being the perfect mother—and recycler. And you thought your mom was suffocating?

The Manchurian Candidate
Whether being played by Angela Lansbury or Meryl Streep (though the former’s 1964 portrayal takes the cake—sorry, Meryl), Mrs. Iselin is one mom you’ll want to obey. A mom who turns her own son into an assassin, all in the name of politics? Jessica Fletcher would not approve!

Got a favorite mom you love to hate? Share it in the COMMENTS section.

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Comment by erbs palsy on 8/10/09 at 11:37 am: Carrie was one seriously horrifying movie and a true horror classic. You can’t be called a horror movie buff if you haven’t seen this one. You should think about making another category. How about scariest stepmoms. Everyone knows stepmothers are way scarier.
Comment by Ebony on 9/30/09 at 4:46 am: I agree with Carrie
It’s a true horror classic.