5 of the Best Mothers in Horror Movies Who Deserve to be Treated Like Queens on Mother’s Day
These mothers will do anything to protect their family.
updated on
Earlier we published a list of the worst mothers in horror movies. Now, more in the celebratory spirit of Mother’s Day, we’re considering who the very best mothers in horror cinema are. Collected below is a list of our favorites. Who is your best horror mom?
Rose Da Silva
Silent Hill (2006)
Rose Da Silva fights her way through an entire town of supernatural monsters to save her adopted daughter in Silent Hill. Rose’s daughter, Sharon, has recurring nightmares about the abandoned town of Silent Hill, and when mother and daughter travel to the city to find answers, Sharon disappears. With the occasional help from police officer Cybil Bennett, Rose tracks down her daughter while avoiding nightmare creatures in a town that periodically transforms into a blood-and-metal-filled hellscape. Rose’s goodness as a mother is further highlighted by a woman she meets along the way, Dahlia Gillespie, a mother who allowed her own daughter to be taken by the darkness that resides in Silent Hill.
May
Home Sweet Home (aka The Monster, 2005)
Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi stars opposite Karena Lam in Home Sweet Home. Shu Qi plays May, a young mother who is timid around strangers, but who has a strong connection with her son. After moving into a new apartment, May’s son is kidnapped by a strange woman (Lam) who lives in the walls of the apartment complex. Few people believe May about the kidnapper, so May sets out on her own to rescue her son from a dangerously unstable woman. With her fellow tenants telling her to stop acting crazy and the police actively working against her after she calls them out for not doing their job, May puts her life on the line for the well-being of her son.
Donna Trenton
Cujo (1983)
Donna Trenton’s marriage may be on the rocks, but her devotion to protecting her son is unquestionable. In Cujo, Donna takes her son Tad with her while she visits a mechanic’s home for some car repairs. The mother and son encounter a rabid St. Bernard, and their car, of course, won’t start. Donna and Tad become trapped out of fear of Cujo catching up to them if they try to run away. As the heat of the car becomes just as dangerous as Cujo, Donna is forced into action, saving her son at the risk of her own life.
Diane Freeling
Poltergeist (1982)
Mother of three Diane Freeling will do anything to protect her children. After her youngest daughter, Carol Anne, disappears after making contact with the paranormal entities residing in the family’s house, Diane is desperate to bring her baby back. Experts on hauntings are brought in, but Diane is the one who physically does the work to bring Carol Anne back to the world of the living. Secured by a rope, Diane enters a mysterious portal and comes back with her daughter in tow.
Wendy Torrance
The Shining (1980)
Wendy Torrance has to endure a lot throughout The Shining. For one, her husband Jack has a history of abuse and alcoholism, and it all comes flooding back to him during their stay at the completely isolated Overlook Hotel. Wendy’s son Danny also has some issues, both natural and supernatural, that Wendy helps him deal with. But despite everything, Wendy is able to overcome her submissive nature to fight back against Jack and save her son’s life when things get amazingly horrible for her and her family.
