10 Most Underrated Horror Movie Villains

Overshadowed by her hulking hockey-masked son Jason, many forget that Mrs Voorhees was the original Friday the 13th killer.

When she first arrives on screen partway through the third act, Mrs Voorhees initially looks like a late addition to the bodycount, a possible afterthought crowbarred in due to test audience responses, since director Sean Cunningham has almost run out of characters to kill.

From her benign, neighbourly introduction "Why I'Mrs Voorhees, an old friend of the Christys" to her warm smile and cosy woollen sweater you'd never guess that she was responsible for the brutal murders we've witnessed so far. However, it doesn't take long for the cracks to show, revealing an unhinged personality and she quickly turns on final girl Alice, commencing a deadly battle of wits and improvised weaponry.

We learn that Pamela is motivated to avenge her son's accidental death and that she holds all crystal lake counsellors, past and present, responsible for her loss. When Pamela recites the phrase "Kill her Mommy" we wonder if she is driven by voices in her head? Or if there is a supernatural psychic link between her and her deceased son? This question is never answered as the mute Jason would be the one to carry the torch in the sequel, having clearly inherited his mother's bloodlust and flair for murder. Jason would return eight more times, then face off against Freddy Kruger before being rebooted.

The filmmakers missed a trick by not bringing Pamela back at least once.