10 Lady Horror Villain Costumes to rock this Halloween.

Halloween is a great opportunity to dress like some of our favorite characters. While most of our horror icons, are dastardly lads, there are plenty of wicked ladies out there too. Maybe you’re a girl who’s bored with the whole female Freddy thing. Perhaps you’re a dude who’d like to get in on the whole gender-bending craze. Either way, here’s a list of costume concepts that will excite any horror fan!

1. Lola – The Loved Ones

When talking about psycho prom dates, Carrie is the queen supreme. Still, Lola from The Loved Ones is not a girl to take lightly. When she fails to obtain the attention of her high school crush, she sets up her own prom for just the two of them. Lola’s idea of prom includes torture and lobotomy, all with a little help from her daddy. For this costume just get a hot pink dress, a crown, a drill, and maybe some blood. Also this could make a cool couple’s costume, if your significant other wants to go as her date, Brent.

2. Esther- Orphan

She’s just an unloved orphan having difficulty adjusting to her new home, right? Wrong! In reality, Esther is a childlike adult with psychotic tendencies. Once she sets her eyes on her new father, it’s just a matter of getting rid of her other inconvenient family members. Dressing as Esther presents a range of options. The easiest Esther look requires an old school blue dress, pigtails, bows, and maybe some white tights.

3. Sadako- Ringu

A cursed videotape, a well, a vengeful ghost? Yep, we’re talking about Sadako from Ringu. Sadako is possibly the most well known onryo (vengeful ghost) in Japanese cinema. There are at least 6 books, and 7 movies existing in the Ringu universe. Over the course of time, Sadako’s history has become muddled. Still, her appearance has always remained the same. To rock Sadako’s look, you need a tattered white dress, long black hair, and the ability to crawl out of the television. I wish you luck with that last part.

4. Thomasin- The Witch

The 1600s were a tough time to be alive, especially when there’s witchery afoot. In The Witch, poor Thomasin and her family are banished to the woods. As their religious zealotry grows, so does the power of evil. A proper Thomasin outfit needs Puritan garments and a bonnet. To really make it clear who you are, find a stuffed black goat.

5. Mary – American Mary

Katharine Isabelle is something of a horror goddess, and Mary Mason is one of her best characters to date. For those who haven’t seen the film, Mary starts out as an on edge med student. Then she is raped as her professor’s party. Mary decides to put her surgical skills to work. She uses her medical capabilities to seek revenge on those that abused her, but can she stop at simple revenge? Mary’s outfit is easy to master. You just need a basic white top, black pencil skirt with tights, a pair of black heels, and a black vinyl apron. I’d also add a surgical mask,  some gloves, and some bloody surgical tools.

6. Baby Jane Hudson- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane

Bette Davis is my absolute favorite actress, because she just got better with age. Her finest work is Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Those of us who’ve seen the movie know that Baby Jane grew up to be a bitter alcoholic, who dominates her paralyzed sister. As the film goes on Jane becomes more and more delusional. Jane believes in all sincerity that she will become a Hollywood star again, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep her dream alive. If you want to transform into Baby Jane Hudson, you’ll need a frilly light colored dress, red lipstick, messy curls, and a baby doll. It also helps if you walk around singing “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy”.

7.  Nina – Black Swan

Like Baby Jane, Black Swan’s Nina cracks under the pressure of trying to be a star in a competitive field. Ballet is tough enough as it is. If you throw in an overbearing mother, a lecherous choreographer, some repressed sexual desires, and few hallucinations you get the absolute insanity that is Black Swan. To look like Nina as the Black Swan, wear a black tutu, tights, some ballet style shoes, a tiara, some dark makeup, and red contacts.

8.  The Female- Hellraiser Series

Huge Clive Barker fan? Are you a master at makeup? Maybe The Female is the right costume for you. The Female was a nun until she opened the box. She was then whisked away to Hell, where she became a cenobite. If you’re a diehard horror fan looking to impress with your costume, give this one a shot. To turn into the lovely female cenobite, you’re going to need some FX supplies, a wig cap, a ton of blue and grey makeup, and a black leather wardrobe.

9. Moira- American Horror Story

I’m hesitant to bring up American Horror Story. I was really into the first couple seasons, but then it just kind of descended into self indulgent chaos. Still, Murder House was pretty awesome. If you’re interested in going as one of the AHS ladies, I suggest sexy maid, Moira. While Moira is seen by women as her true age, men see her as a young pin-up babe. This is her curse to carry. Before the events of Murder House, Moira made the mistake of becoming involved with Constance’s (Jessica Lange) husband. This led to rape attempts, jealousy, and ultimately Constance shooting Moira’s eye out. To perfect this costume, pick up some maid attire and play around with retro makeup and hair. I’d also make one eye nice and gross.

10. Dracula’s Brides- Dracula

This costume really only works in a trio, but what devilish beauties you will be.  The Brides are timeless icons. There have been many depictions of the bloodsucking group throughout the years. Usually they’re depicted as mysterious and captivating. I can picture tons of options when it comes to these vampiric vixens. I like the traditionally elegant look, but a modern twist could be fun too. Let your creativity take over and see what you come up with. My only advice is to make sure the three of you at least kind of match.

There you go! Hopefully this list helps you to come up with a unique Halloween costume that you feel proud of. If you liked this article, please follow us here on the blog and also on Twitter. @HallowsHaunts Happy Haunting!

31- Blood, Guts, and Clowns

Rob Zombie is back in a big way with 31. 31 is RZ’s first crowd funded film. It has long been a point of speculation and controversy. With the film hitting the public on September 16th, I decided to catch a special sneak preview screening. On September 1st, I hunkered down in the theater amongst other local goths and ghouls. Over the course of the film’s one hour and forty two minute duration, I experienced a non stop ride full of all Zombie’s tricks and treats.

31 follows a group of traveling carnies who migrate from town to town to perform their show and possibly engage in some prostitution. The band of shady characters enjoy vulgar jokes, free love, and the open road. Life is good until they encounter some odd looking scarecrows placed in the middle of the road on Halloween night. When they get out to move the creepy forms, they’re ambushed.

They awaken to see Malcolm McDowell and two of his female cohorts (Judy Geeson and Jane Carr) who look like they’ve stepped straight out of a Rococo painting, powdered wigs and all. McDowell informs them that they’re going to play a game. The group will be given the duration of the night to fight off a whole variety of attackers.

The purpose of this whole game is for McDowell and his lady friends to place bets on who will survive. Over the course of the night the likeable group of rednecks are pitted against all sort of psychopaths, including a Nazi dwarf (Pancho Moler), a pair of sex crazed clown brothers (David Ury and Lew Temple), and the aptly named Sex-Head (Elizabeth Daily) and Death-Head (Torsten Voges). The biggest and baddest of the group is Doom-Head, played by Richard Brake. Doom-Head comes off as a combination of a long rambling Western villain with the the style of Count Orlok. Brake’s performance is chilling, and I wish his character had been given more screen time.

Of course it wouldn’t be a Rob Zombie film without his muse/wife Sheri Moon Zombie front and center. In 31, Moon plays Charly, the smoking hot sassy final girl of the film. She is basically the “nice” version of Baby. While I enjoyed Moon’s more vulnerable side in Lords of Salem, I’d say she’s more suited to this type of role.

While Moon gives a kick ass performance, the standout in the group of carnies is Venus played by Meg Foster. Foster brings dimension to what could’ve easily been a one note character. She’s the oldest of the gang, and she seems like she’s seen some shit in her day. While she’s tough as balls, she cares for her friends, and even strangers. When the group finds a bloodied girl tied to a mattress, it’s Venus who instantly wants to help her. She suffers pushback from her friends, but stands her ground. In a a film full of wacky antagonists, Foster is able to make her role as a plain old good guy stand out.

In terms of cinematography, there’s a lot to look at. I’ve always had a deep admiration for RZ’s use of color. His preferred palette of vivid circus style lighting has never been more appropriate. The building the film takes place in appears to be some sort of wearhouse. Most would’ve opted for a darker, grungier look, but but Zombie’s approach adds an extra layer of visual intrigue without losing the sickly textures the space possesses.

If there’s one thing I don’t like about the film is how much the camera shakes. There’s a real lack of restraint when it comes to camera movement. I imagine RZ wanted the film to feel like a roller coaster, but the thing is, no one would want to be on an hour and a half coaster ride. There were times where I was starting to feel dizzy and nauseous. I’m a fan of found footage films too, so it’s not like I have a low tolerance for this sort of thing. It’s just that sometimes what the camera was doing overshadowed the story.

I wouldn’t call 31 Rob Zombie’s best film. I’d say Zombie is consistently good so determining his “best”, all boils down to opinion. However, 31 is the one that best represents him as a director. I have a friend who declared 31 the “Zombiest of Rob Zombie films”. In 31, his love of the 70s, white trash characters, carnival-esque lighting, and Halloween blend seamlessly creating a standout slasher extravaganza.

I have to agree with others, his crowd funding stunt comes off as a little bizarre. The man isn’t hurting for money, so it seems like he should be using the finances from his own bank account, if he doesn’t want to go the studio route. However, I don’t really have a problem with him crowd funding as long as investors are being offered incentives like autographs, memorabilia, etc . At the end of the day, an individual has the right to spend their money as they please. Plus, I don’t think backers will be disappointed with the results. Those who’ve never liked RZ, probably won’t be converted by 31. On the other hand, Zombie’s large fan base and enthusiasts of extreme horror will be jumping for joy.