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Don't mess with a mother's instincts — especially in a horror movie. Join us as we count down our picks for the most fierce and fearless mothers in horror cinema who went to terrifying extremes to protect their children! Which of these horror moms do you think deserves the ultimate badass title? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:03Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest mothers in horror
00:08who face terrifying threats to protect their children or families. Beware of spoilers.
00:18Number 10. Lynn Peltzer, Gremlins
00:23Most people will be running for the nearest exit after discovering their house has been
00:27invaded by murderous little monsters. Not Lynn Peltzer. Shortly after Billy's warning cuts off,
00:32Lynn discovers there's something inside her house. Without hesitation, she goes to find out what,
00:39only to walk straight into an ambush in her own kitchen. You'd think being taken by surprise
00:43would freak Lynn out. Instead, she switches into combat mode. Going full Rambo on the monsters,
00:49she straight up stabs them while using a folding table as her shield. One gremlin becomes worm food
00:54after she switches on her blender. Not one, but three of the creatures fall at her hands,
00:58and she takes them all on unassisted. It's only through trickery that she's nearly defeated.
01:08Number 9. Sarah Scarangella, Inside
01:12What would you do if an insane intruder wanted your baby as a replacement? That's the terrifying
01:17situation Sarah finds herself in. Heavily pregnant, and still raw for mourning her husband, Sarah wakes
01:23up to find a stranger already inside her home, armed and certain of what she's come to take.
01:27I'm going to take care of myself.
01:35What do you want me to do?
01:38From there, the film is one prolonged fight for survival. Sarah's stalked, attacked,
01:44and cornered in the one place she should feel the safest. Many would have broken long before
01:48the credits, but Sarah keeps resisting, escaping, and protecting herself and her baby. Notwithstanding
01:54La Femme's relentless determination, Sarah ultimately leaves her with a mark. She may not
01:58have won, but she made the night cost something.
02:03Number 8. Sydney Prescott, Scream 7
02:07Surprise, Sydney
02:11Do you need a minute? Oh, oh my gosh, she looks like you need a minute. I'll wait.
02:17Nice try. Stu Mocker is dead.
02:19We watch Sydney Prescott evolve from a vulnerable teenager into someone who fights back on instinct.
02:24Scream 7 raises the stakes by giving her someone new to lose.
02:28You can't just leave. Listen, I know this story, and if we stay, more people will die.
02:33I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk you getting hurt.
02:36Settled in Pine Grove with her husband and daughter Tatum, Sydney receives a call from
02:40Ghostface promising to comfort them. Not on Sydney's watch.
02:43Where is my daughter?
02:45When the masked killer finds his way into their home, Sydney and her husband take him on together.
02:49When beating him senselessly doesn't work, she adapts, retreating into a panic room,
02:54and survives being stabbed through the wall. For Sydney, the mission is simple.
02:58Protect your child at all costs. When she's asked if she's a good mom,
03:02she proves she's not one to mess with. Seriously, when will Ghostface learn?
03:05Remember me? I'll never forgive you for what you did to my son.
03:11And you know what? I would do it again and again.
03:13Sydney proves yet again why she's the true final girl.
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03:22And she is so pretty.
03:26Do not talk about my daughter.
03:29Number 7. Chris McNeil, The Exorcist.
03:32How do you go about getting an exorcism?
03:38I beg your pardon?
03:39We all know physical combat isn't Chris McNeil's greatest suit, but then again,
03:43the demon inside her daughter isn't the type any human wins against cleanly.
03:50Yet, Chris doesn't accept defeat.
03:52When Reagan's condition defies any medical explanation, she goes looking for another answer.
03:57That door opens to the church, which is its own kind of desperation for a woman with no faith.
04:02I'm telling you that that thing upstairs isn't my daughter.
04:06Now, I want you to tell me that you know for a fact that there's nothing wrong with my daughter
04:11except in her mind.
04:12You tell me you know for a fact that an exorcism wouldn't do any good.
04:16You tell me that!
04:17Seriously, at what point do you give up as a parent?
04:20Chris watches two priests die trying to help her child,
04:22and sees Reagan grow more violent and unrecognizable.
04:26Still, Chris never turns her back on her daughter.
04:28What is your daughter's middle name, Mrs. McNeil?
04:32Teresa.
04:36What a lovely name.
04:38That quiet ferocity is what makes her a true lioness.
04:41When every reason to stop keeps piling up, she keeps going.
04:44Don't be scared.
04:46We've met before.
04:48Mother.
04:49Number 6. Adelaide Wilson. Us.
04:52They can't hurt you.
04:55You understand?
04:56Technically, Adelaide Wilson is the bad guy in Us, but she's downright mesmerizing.
05:01From the moment something feels off, she's the first to notice.
05:05While her family is still processing the fear, she's already thinking three steps ahead.
05:09The second the tethered breach their home, Adelaide shifts from preventing disaster to doing whatever it takes to keep her
05:15family alive.
05:16Then she does something no one in the film attempts.
05:18For her son's sake, she goes underground alone to confront Red, the woman whose life she stole.
05:23During their brutal standoff, she kills her with a fireplace poker and her bare hands.
05:28That's peak survival instinct wrapped around something darker.
05:31The desperation of a woman protecting everything she took.
05:42Number 5. Wendy Torrance. The Shining.
05:45How do you like it?
05:47When you realize how much Wendy endured, you'll understand she isn't weak.
05:51Her husband gradually lost his mind, even to the point of hurting their son.
05:55Trapped in a haunted and isolated hotel, Wendy has to keep both herself and Danny safe.
06:00Yeah, she's not the calculated badass Sarah Connor might be, but she keeps doing what needs to be done anyway.
06:06She may panic, but when it's time to swing the bat and fight for her life, she does just that.
06:10Give me the bat. Give me the bat.
06:13Oh god damn!
06:17That's arguably a more realistic form of courage.
06:20Stephen King famously found Stanley Kubrick's Wendy weaker than his original character.
06:24But a woman so scared, yet holding it together long enough to save her child?
06:28That's not weakness. It's a different kind of tough.
06:43Number 4. Laurie Strode. Halloween.
06:46Michael Myers did more than enough damage to Laurie Strode.
06:53He stalked her, murdered her friends, and left her with trauma she spent 20 years trying to outrun.
06:59Happy Halloween, Michael.
07:00By Halloween H2O, she's living under a new identity, still traumatized and constantly looking over her shoulder out of fear
07:07that he might come back.
07:08Then, he goes after her son.
07:10That's when Laurie stops running and hiding.
07:12Armed with an axe, she confronts Michael, determined to finish what he started.
07:16Michael!
07:21Michael!
07:23Even when it seems like Michael is dead, Laurie doesn't take chances.
07:26She makes sure.
07:31Because she knows almost dead isn't dead, she chops his head clean off and finally takes her piece back.
07:37Now, that's Mama Bear mode at its most terrifying.
07:40Number 3. Karen Barkley. Child's Play.
07:42Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?
07:49No matter how terrifying Chucky may be, Karen Barkley isn't letting any demon-possessed doll have her child.
07:54A single struggling mom, Karen buys her son a second-hand doll, only to end up with something that wants
08:00him dead.
08:00When she realizes Chucky is alive, she holds it over the fireplace.
08:04Even when Detective Norris doesn't believe her, Karen ventures into the night to track down the back-alley peddler who
08:09sold the doll.
08:10Once she knows what Chucky wants, she tosses it into the fireplace, shoots it repeatedly, barricades doors, and survives several
08:17attacks.
08:18Help me!
08:19The back-head!
08:20Andy!
08:22Please, no!
08:24But her fierceness isn't only physical.
08:26When no one believes Andy, she stands by him anyway, even when doing so gets her committed to a mental
08:31hospital.
08:36Number 2. Diane Freeling. Poltergeist.
08:44The last person anyone would want to be is Diane Freeling.
08:48Her quiet suburban life is shattered after her young child becomes targeted and is abducted by supernatural forces.
08:54Most people would wait for someone else to fix it. Diane doesn't.
08:58With the help of her husband, she crosses to the other dimension and pulls Carol Ann back.
09:08But her most impressive moment comes on their last night in the house.
09:12When the demon tries to kidnap her children again, Diane acts quickly.
09:15Swimming through skeletons and coffins, she drags her kids away from forces that have no business being fought by anyone
09:21without powers.
09:22Thanks to her determination, their haunted home implodes without either of their children being taken away.
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09:42Are you not entertained?
09:45Number 1. Pamela Voorhees. Friday the 13th.
09:49Look what you did to him!
09:52Wait, did you really think we put her at number 1?
09:55Pamela may be a mother, but she's hardly winning any Mother of the Year awards.
09:59Now let's head to the real one.
10:00Number 1. Donna Trenton. Cujo.
10:03Don't worry about it, man. Cujo won't hurt him.
10:06With Cujo lurking outside, locking herself and her son inside their car seemed like the safest option to Donna Trenton.
10:15But Cujo isn't just a dog anymore.
10:17He's a rabies-infected killer with a growing body count.
10:20Donna and Tag can't simply outrun or overpower it.
10:23But when their car becomes like an oven, and Tag grows dangerously dehydrated,
10:27Donna's protective instincts kick in.
10:29Cujo may be scary, but her determination to save her son is far greater.
10:33Making a run for a baseball bat, she takes on Cujo,
10:36and when he springs up on them yet again, she finishes him off.
10:39To crown her victory, she ends up with something the book Donna never did.
10:43A son who survives the ordeal.
10:49What other badass mom deserves to be on this list?
10:52Let us know in the comments section.