Something I've noticed about villains in horror movies AND in children's movies is that victims generally seem more scared of female villains than they do male villains.

Lets look at some e.g.s

Female villains:

The Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, All her villains and slaves were really fearful of her, and they all begged for mercy.

The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, everyone acted fearful of her.

Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations, everyone seemed intimidated by her.

There are more I can't think of right off now.



Male villains:


Captain Hook, most ppl mocked him and looked at him as a joke, Hell Peter Pan seemed to fear Tinkerbell's temper more then Hook's.

*from more adult horrors*

Freddy Krueger, about 97% of all his villains whome he's killing go down cursing him out, I can't think of anyone right off who begged for mercy.

Same with Jason and Michael, everyone tried to fight them rather than begging for mercy.


And again there are more but I can't think of them now.


BUT has anyone else noticed this trend? Is their something about female "evilness" that's more intimidating than male evilness?

Typically female villains use more manipulation, intimidation and seduction to get what they want; whereas males are more aggressive.

Also, most of the female villains have henchmen under them to carry out their more violent acts. The henchmen aim to please their boss and are terrified if she is dissatisfied w/ them.

Most males don't have the seduction abilities to get what they want and are more "hands-on". In those horror films most of those victims simply didn't take a "big goof w/ a mask on" too seriously and thought that they could take him.

Typically female villains use more manipulation, intimidation and seduction to get what they want; whereas males are more aggressive.

Also, most of the female villains have henchmen under them to carry out their more violent acts. The henchmen aim to please their boss and are terrified if she is dissatisfied w/ them.

Most males don't have the seduction abilities to get what they want and are more "hands-on". In those horror films most of those victims simply didn't take a "big goof w/ a mask on" too seriously and thought that they could take him.

That makes sense, but honestly I would be much for fearful of some super strong guy in a hocky mask coming at me with a machete than I would some tiny little woman coming at me with....finger nails that the breeze could blow away.

It just never made sense to me.

That makes sense, but honestly I would be much for fearful of some super strong guy in a hocky mask coming at me with a machete than I would some tiny little woman coming at me with....finger nails that the breeze could blow away.

It just never made sense to me.

Female slashers wouldn't do that. They're typically more cunning and would use seduction to get close w/ their male victims ex. I Spit On Your Grave. You wouldn't realize there is a threat until too late.

That makes sense, but honestly I would be much for fearful of some super strong guy in a hocky mask coming at me with a machete than I would some tiny little woman coming at me with....finger nails that the breeze could blow away.

It just never made sense to me.

But let's not forget that super strong guy in the hockey mask had a mom who used more than finger nails to avenge her son's death.

The fear for heterosexual males, especially for younger males, is a woman's sexual allure. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.

"L'Anticristo"
Ippolita (Carla Gravina) lures a German exchange student away from the safety of his high school group, by coming on to him, to a deserted part of the catacombs in Rome, where she breaks his neck.

"Lair of the White Worm"
Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) picks up a soaking wet boy scout, thumbing a ride in the rain, who she takes home in her car, and after getting him out of his uniform, she comes on to him by playing Snakes 'n' Ladders with him and giving him a sponge bath in the tub, where she has him stand up, so she can put the bite on him, and when he is completely paralyzed by her bite, she drowns him in the tub.

And, of course, these are just two of many examples.

Male villains:


Captain Hook, most ppl mocked him and looked at him as a joke, Hell Peter Pan seemed to fear Tinkerbell's temper more then Hook's.


I assume you're referring to Disney's movie version of Captain Hook. Now, granted this is not a movie, but there have been better portrayals of Hook where he is much more menacing- I'm namely thinking of "Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates"- Tim Curry did an excellent job as Captain James Hook. The 1989 "Peter Pan- The Animated Series" by Nippon also portrays a Captain Hook that is truer to the book. In the original novel of "Peter and Wendy" by J.M. Barrie, Hook is more menacing than Disney's version as well.

I've never seen any Freddie Kruger movies, but I did catch the first 3 or so Friday the 13th movies at the theater when they came out

As far as Jason goes, he just didn't seem the type to be bargained with. If he confronts you, you have to take a "either him or me" attitude... one of you is going to die, there's just no talking to him.

The Wicked Witch of the West had magical powers, so there's no telling what she could do to you... probably pretty much anything... so she was someone to fear. I'm sure she had a history with the people of Oz before Dorothy and her friends got there, so they probably had reason to fear her... in fact, they believed that only the Wizard himself was powerful enough to stand up to her.

James G made some excellent points about the method of operation of female vs. male villains. Many females do indeed have henchmen to carry out the more physical part of the job.