10 Scariest Witches In Horror Movies
5. Helena Markos - Suspiria
Dario Argento's cult classic Suspiria tells the story of a coven of witches running a ballet academy who feed off of their prospective students. Each of the brutal murders that befalls the aspiring dancers is suitably disturbing, but it is the leader of the witches Helena Markos who will make your skin crawl the most.
The other witches draw power from Helena and are bound to her, which means they safeguard her for most of the film. In one scene, the witches have to move Markos to sleep in the dance studio with the other students due to a maggot infestation in the upper rooms. Helena is concealed behind a curtain, but her throaty and pained breathing provides a creepy image as we do not yet know her appearance.
In the film's climax, when she is revealed to us, we see her hag-like and rotten visage as she looks almost mouldy in her bed. Her distinguished and crazed voice only adds to the sense of anguish our protagonist feels in that moment.
Although Luca Guadagnino's remake doesn't quite live up to the original, it deserves a shout out for its updated use of practical effects that add to Helena's terror.