10 Most Terrifying Women In Horror Movies
8. May Canady - May
Once again, we have a female anti-hero who is in many respects thoroughly sympathetic, yet undeniably terrifying. Writer-director Lucky McKee's 2002 film boasts a truly stunning lead performance from Bettis as a lonely veterinarian's assistant who at first seems a little socially awkward, but turns out to be a total sociopath.
Living by her appearance-obsessed mother's mandate, "if you can't find a friend, make one," May's only friend her whole life has been a doll kept in a glass case. After her efforts to make friends of a living and breathing variety prove unsatisfactory, the surgery-obsessed young woman ponders whether she might be better off building a friend of her own, Frankenstein-style.
A quirky and unusually character-based horror, May keeps things grounded for a long time, slowly building an intense atmosphere of dread and imminent threat as the title character's grasp on her sanity grows ever thinner.
It's one of the first truly great horror movies of the 21st century - and not the last Lucky McKee film to appear in this list.