MY FAVORITE BAD MOVIE MOMS OF ALL TIME

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, and while most folks will be sending flowers, calling their moms, and watching sweet, sentimental tributes to all the wonderful mothers out there (and yes, they deserve it!), I’ve decided to celebrate the occasion… a little differently.

If you know me, you know I like my holidays with a twist. I like things a little off-kilter, a little weird, maybe even a little dark. So in true Nick D fashion, this year I’m honoring Mother’s Day with a countdown of my 10 favorite BAD movie moms of all time.

And I don’t mean moms who make a few parenting mistakes or forget to pack a lunch. I mean BAD. Twisted. Deranged. Sometimes dangerous. These are the mothers who wreck lives, wreak havoc, and sometimes even murder—whether it’s with a knife, with psychological torment, or just by being epically, unapologetically terrible people.

Some of them are disturbed. Some are from another planet (literally). Some are just plain evil. But one thing they all have in common? You will never forget them.

Now look—I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of great movie moms worth celebrating. Of course there are. Stella Dallas, Shirley MacLaine’s powerhouse in Terms of Endearment, Sally Field in Places in the Heart, the indomitable Sarah Connor in T2, Jodie Foster in Little Man Tate, and let’s not forget Molly Weasley—queen of maternal magic in the Harry Potter series.

These are inspiring, heroic, loving figures who make you want to call your mom and tell her how much you appreciate her. But that’s not what this list is about.

This is about the unforgettable monsters in mom jeans. The chaos-bringers. The emotionally scarring, occasionally homicidal, always entertaining ladies who make you extra grateful for your own mom. They may not be winning any Parent of the Year awards, but they’ve definitely earned a place in movie history—and in my dark, twisted cinematic heart.

So, in honor of Mother's Day, I present to you… my Top 10 Favorite Bad Movie Moms of All Time. Ranked. Commented on. And just the way I like it—a little twisted.

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE BAD MOVIE MOMS OF ALL TIME:

1) NOLA CARVETH – THE BROOD (1979)

David Cronenberg’s The Brood is a masterpiece of body horror—unsettling, subversive, and filled with visceral metaphor. At the core of its madness is Nola Carveth, played with chilling, eerie control by Samantha Eggar.

Nola doesn’t just stew in anger. No, she gives birth to it. Literally. Through the twisted therapy of a mad doctor and the power of her own repressed rage, she manifests her hatred as a group of deformed, murderous children. These creepy little killers, her “brood,” enact violent revenge on anyone who angers her. The movie dives headfirst into disturbing themes about parenthood, trauma, and repressed emotion, with Nola embodying a terrifying allegory for toxic motherhood.

Eggar is magnetic and frightening, especially in the infamous birthing scene (if you’ve seen it, you know). Cronenberg’s take on broken family dynamics and the horrors of divorce is grotesque and unforgettable—and Nola is the monstrous mother at the center of it all.

2) MONA WASSERMAN – BEAU IS AFRAID (2023)

Say what you will about Ari Aster’s bloated, pretentious, endlessly meandering Beau Is Afraid—and believe me, I have—but its saving grace arrives in the form of Patti LuPone, who storms in like a wrecking ball as Mona Wasserman.

The film is one long, anxiety-drenched trek through maternal trauma, but all of that dread hinges on the mystery of Beau’s mom. And when LuPone finally shows up in the third act, she delivers. Oh, does she deliver. She’s cruel, manipulative, theatrical, hilarious, and terrifying—sometimes all in the same scene. Everything you need to know about Beau's mental and emotional damage is summed up in LuPone's gloriously over-the-top, venom-laced performance.

As evil movie moms go, Mona might not wield a knife or birth demons, but she is the demon. Her psychological grip over her son is suffocating. She is the final boss of passive-aggressive manipulation, and LuPone plays her with relish.

3) BEVERLY SUTPHIN – SERIAL MOM (1994)

Leave it to John Waters to give us a suburban housewife who bakes cookies and brutally murders people over the most mundane etiquette breaches. Beverly Sutphin, played by a delightfully unhinged Kathleen Turner, is the twisted heart of Serial Mom, a cult classic black comedy.

Beverly seems like your average cheerful homemaker—until she bludgeons someone with a leg of lamb for not rewinding a VHS tape. Turner’s performance is brilliant: charming, deranged, and side-splittingly funny. She plays Beverly with a mix of cheerful Stepford politeness and sudden, gleeful violence. Whether she's prank calling a neighbor or bashing in skulls, she does it with flair and perfect comic timing.

This movie takes every cinematic mom cliché and flips it on its blood-soaked head. And remember: if you wear white after Labor Day around Beverly, prepare to die.

4) MOTHER – MOTHER'S DAY (1980)

Slasher trash at its finest. In the deranged cult flick Mother’s Day, Mother (played by Rose Ross) sends her two backwoods, sadistic sons on a killing spree—because what’s a holiday without a little murder?

This film is sleazy, cheap, gory, and completely bananas. It’s the kind of early '80s exploitation horror that showed up in grindhouse theaters and terrified video store clerks. But what makes it stand out is Ross’s gleefully psychotic performance. Her "motherly advice" includes torture techniques and methods for disposing of bodies. She encourages rape, violence, and general mayhem, all while grinning like a demented den mother.

It’s outrageous, offensive, and not for everyone. But in the annals of horror movie moms, Mother is a grindhouse legend.

5) LILLY DILLON – THE GRIFTERS (1990)

Based on the Jim Thompson novel, The Grifters is a noir-soaked descent into con artistry and emotional destruction. At the center is Lilly Dillon, played by Anjelica Huston in one of the most complex and haunting performances of her career.

Lilly is both victim and predator. She’s survived abuse, turned to crime, and hardened herself into a cold, manipulative grifter. Her son (John Cusack) is also a con artist, and their relationship is one of simmering tension, manipulation, and unspoken trauma. The final scenes—particularly her desperate, brutal actions and the blood-soaked cash—are unforgettable.

Huston brings elegance, bitterness, and tragedy to Lilly. She's not a slasher or a screamer—she's subtle, internal, and cold as ice. A bad mom not because she’s insane, but because she’s emotionally bankrupt and morally hollow.

6) PAMELA VOORHEES – FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

Before Jason picked up the hockey mask, there was his mother. Pamela Voorhees, played by the sweet and sunny Betsy Palmer (in her most batshit role ever), is the original killer in Friday the 13th.

Driven mad by grief after her son drowned at Camp Crystal Lake, she takes revenge on a new generation of camp counselors. Palmer plays the role with terrifying conviction, oscillating between kindly camp cook and knife-wielding maniac. Her monologue—channeling Jason’s voice—is legendary.

She’s a maternal figure who murders out of love, which makes her scarier. And let's face it, if Pamela hadn’t gone on a rampage, Jason wouldn’t have risen from the lake, machete in hand. The whole franchise owes her.

7) MRS. LIFT – THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN (1987)

Few characters are as obnoxiously hilarious as Mrs. Lift, played by the incredible Anne Ramsey in this pitch-black comedy from director Danny DeVito. Ramsey is pure nightmare fuel: loud, abrasive, demanding, and hilariously cruel.

The movie, a twisted take on Strangers on a Train, finds DeVito’s character fantasizing about killing his mom and enlisting Billy Crystal in the plot. Ramsey delivers every line like a slap in the face, barking insults and stomping through scenes with total chaos energy. “I had a dream Louis Armstrong tried to kill me!”—iconic.

She’s the kind of mom that makes adult children reconsider therapy. And Ramsey’s performance earned her an Oscar nomination. Rightfully so—she owns the movie.

8) JOAN CRAWFORD – MOMMIE DEAREST (1981)

“No wire hangers!” Need I say more? Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest is pure, uncut camp. Based on the controversial memoir by Crawford’s daughter Christina, the movie was initially slammed by critics—but it’s since become a cult favorite.

Dunaway goes all in. Every expression is dialed to 11, every tantrum a volcanic eruption of madness. Is it accurate? Who knows. Is it compelling? Absolutely. She’s terrifying, controlling, emotionally abusive, and completely unforgettable.

The film has become a midnight movie classic, particularly beloved in LGBTQ+ communities for its outrageousness. Dunaway may have burned bridges playing this role, but she also delivered one of the most iconic bad moms of all time.

9) MARGARET WHITE – CARRIE (1976)

If there’s a performance that defines the phrase “religious trauma,” it’s Piper Laurie as Margaret White in Carrie. She’s one of the most horrifying movie mothers ever put on screen.

Margaret is a fundamentalist nightmare, punishing her daughter for growing up, for having a body, for being normal. Laurie delivers every line with deranged intensity—her eyes bulging, her voice trembling with judgmental fury. Her scenes with Sissy Spacek are electric. And when she finally snaps completely and tries to kill her own daughter, it’s both terrifying and tragic.

The death scene—levitated, crucified by kitchen tools—is one of horror cinema’s most unforgettable images. Margaret White is more than a bad mom; she’s a cultural archetype of parental fanaticism gone violently wrong.

10) NORMA BATES (via Norman) – PSYCHO (1960)

She’s dead, but still dominating. Norma Bates, as “portrayed” through her son Norman, is the dark soul of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Anthony Perkins gives a career-defining, genre-shattering performance as Norman—a soft-spoken innkeeper who moonlights as his mother.

Norman’s fractured psyche and his terrifying double life are revealed slowly, masterfully, and horrifyingly. The iconic moment—when he turns, knife in hand, dressed as Mother—is still bone-chilling. And that final monologue, with Perkins smiling as Mother’s voice plays in his head? Chilling genius.

It’s one of the greatest performances in movie history and one of the most twisted “mother” figures ever conceived. Norman is Mother, and Mother is forever.

So there you have it—ten of the baddest, maddest, and most memorably messed-up movie moms to ever grace the screen.

From the knife-wielding maniacs to the emotionally destructive divas, these maternal figures have burned themselves into our brains not because of their nurturing warmth... but because they make us say, “Wow, my mom wasn’t so bad after all.”

Now listen, everybody loves their moms. These movie moms? They’re the cinematic cautionary tales. They remind us that motherhood—like everything in film—is open to wild interpretation. And when the interpretation goes full-blown psycho (sometimes literally), it makes for some unforgettable viewing.

So yes, celebrate your mom this weekend. Get her something nice. Take her to brunch. Watch Terms of Endearment if you must. But later, when the sun goes down and dessert’s been served… maybe throw on Carrie or Serial Mom. Because nothing says “I love you, Mom” like watching a fictional mother bash someone’s head in for wearing white after Labor Day.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the good ones. And a tip of the hat to the bad ones—we’ll never forget you.

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