5 Female Horror Characters Who Don’t Get the Love They Deserve

Without a doubt, Picnic at Hanging Rock is among the most beautiful and ethereal horror films ever made. Based on the Joan Lindsay novel, Peter Weir’s 1975 adaptation will get under your skin and stay there.

The premise is simple: a group of schoolgirls takes a field trip to the eponymous Hanging Rock, only for several of the students and one of their teachers to go inexplicably missing.

For most fans, the character of Miranda gets all the attention, because she’s not only among the vanished, but also because she’s so otherworldly to begin with.

However, when it comes to being underrated, Miranda’s friend and fellow student Sara is the most quietly tragic character in the whole film. Sara is not among the girls who vanish; in fact, she was punished for no good reason and not permitted to attend the picnic at all.

Consequently, she must deal with crushing survivor’s guilt after her beloved Miranda disappears without a trace. Things only get worse for Sara from there, culminating in an ending that’s as chilling as it is heartbreaking and wholly preventable.

Picnic at Hanging Rock captures the utter helplessness of adolescence all too well, so if you’re looking for a reason for a rewatch, then check out the film all over again just to watch Margaret Nelson’s nuanced portrayal of this forgotten character.  

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that when you have a chance to scream from the rooftops about how awesome Grace Jones is, you take that opportunity with gusto.

Despite being a box office disappointment upon its release, Vamp has amassed a bit of a cult following over the years.

However, it deserves even more fans, in particular for Grace Jones’ iconic portrayal of Queen Katrina.

She’s the owner of a vampiric strip club on the wrong side of the tracks, a clear precursor to From Dusk Till Dawn’s similar locale ten years later.

While Grace Jones plays Queen Katrina without uttering a single line of dialogue, she still manages to steal every scene she’s in. If you haven’t seen Vamp lately, then be sure to remedy that as soon as possible.

This is one vampire movie that’s utterly out of this world. 

It’s always tough being a final girl in a sequel. That’s especially true of Alice Johnson, one of the most interesting and resourceful heroines in Freddy Krueger’s world who, despite her remarkable vim, has been mostly forgotten by horror fans.

Part of that is because the later Elm Street films usually don’t rank high on anybody’s favorites list. Also, it doesn’t help that the fourth film made the very controversial choice of killing off the remaining Dream Warriors in the opening scenes.

That’s a shame too because it detracts from actress Lisa Wilcox’s sweet and dedicated portrayal of Alice who must survive the loss of nearly everyone she loves, thanks to the bloody hijinks of Freddy Krueger.

But just when you think Alice might be down for the count, she always comes back swinging.

A true Final Girl for the ages, even if she is far too underrated. 

There’s nothing like a surly beatnik to make a horror TV show even more fun. And that’s exactly what you get with the pitch-perfect Rhonda in the criminally underrated television show School Spirits.

This is a series where every performer is highly entertaining, including series lead Petyon List who stars as Maddie Nears, a girl dealing with her afterlife as a ghost trapped forever in her high school (that is, if she’s a ghost at all).

But when it comes to unsung heroes of the show, look no further than beatnik Rhonda, played by the incredible Sarah Yarkin. Before becoming a ghost, Rhonda was a loner with no support from her family; that’s why she turned to her guidance counselor who seemingly supported her quest to get into college, no small accomplishment considering Rhonda lived in such a restrictive era.

But just as Rhonda’s college acceptance letter arrives, the guidance counselor reveals his creepy motives, and in a moment of rage, attacks Rhonda with devastating consequences.

Thus, in her afterlife, Rhonda is deeply cynical, with a well of pain constantly simmering beneath the surface. That doesn’t stop her from delivering some of the show’s best one-liners as well as literally setting the schoolyard on fire.

She’s seriously that cool. If you aren’t watching School Spirits yet, consider adding it immediately to your streaming queue. Come for the ghosts—stay for the top-notch cast.  

The serial killers in The Silence of the Lambs tend to get all the attention, but if you ask me, this is a film that’s all about the powerful female characters. Case in point: FBI trainee Ardelia Mapp, played by the fantastic Kasi Lemmons.

Despite not having much screen time, Ardelia is clearly a force to be reckoned with—as well as a loyal and perceptive friend to Clarice. In addition to her work as Ardelia, Kasi Lemmons has built an illustrious career over the decades.

Horror fans might remember her as Jackie, Nicolas Cage’s would-be love interest from Vampire’s Kiss, or as grad student Bernadette in Candyman.

In 1997, Lemmons made the transition to directing with the celebrated Eve’s Bayou, and she’s continued to helm a wide array of films ever since, including the Oscar-nominated Harriet.

Now, over thirty years since the release of Hannibal Lecter’s most famous film, I’d still love to see Lemmons return to the role of Ardelia, even if just for a cameo.

Because she’s without a doubt one of the best female characters in horror that doesn’t get nearly enough attention.