20 Recent Movie Villains Who Were Instantly Iconic

The fact that Weapons' witchy villain Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) has her own Wikipedia page says it all really, not to ignore the fact that Amy Madigan won a well-earned Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her phenomenal performance as the character.

Witches have been done to death in horror, so what a breath of fresh air it was to see Zach Cregger do something fundamentally different with such a well-trod archetype.

Beyond Gladys' inherent theatrical menace, realised through the offputting makeup, wardrobe, and Madigan's skin-crawlingly eerie performance, a lot of the brilliance comes from Cregger's relatively restrained, even subtle approach to her depiction.

We don't glean many direct details about Gladys' past or how she came to terrorise the town of Maybrook, but small slivers of dialogue and subtle inflections in Madigan's delivery do nevertheless nod towards some intriguing possibilities.

But at her core, Gladys has everything you need in an instant classic villain - an astonishing central performance working from a rich script and an unforgettable look that's ripe for cosplay.

As such it's little surprise that Warner Bros. and Cregger are exploring the prospect of a Gladys prequel, even if she might be better off left an enticing enigma.