Sisters can be a little scary for a number of reasons, but in the movies they’re given a few more just for good measure. They tend to know all your secrets, enjoy watching you squirm on occasion, and yet can still be your best friend if everything pans out. But the one thing about sisters you need to recognize is that while they can be in your corner they can also yank the rug out from under you largely because, well, they just can. Sisters are on occasion a lot more vindictive than brothers since like many men and women the women will always be a little more cruel since they won’t be up front about what they’re going to do and will make everyone guess what’s coming. Obviously it’s not a universally-female thing, but far more often you’ll see sisters in film being a little more cagey and decidedly quiet about their actions in the movies.
Here are some of the scariest sisters of the 80s in movies.
5. Poltergeist – Carol Anne
It might seem like this is picking on Carol Anne but in truth the kid is a little creepy. She listens and talks to the “TV people” but won’t say much more about it. She’s either afraid of them or just wants to keep them her little secret at first, but later on she’s obviously afraid, having been through some kind of hellish ride through the regions beyond our mortal realm. That might be enough to warn anyone off from talking to the TV people. But the scariest part is that once she’s located she becomes a beacon for those beyond the veil and they just don’t stop chasing her since she’s become their burgeoning light all the way into the third film.
4. The Howling – Marsha Quist
Marsha is one of those few sisters in films that will actively try to take what she wants. Maybe being a werewolf is the reason she’s more aggressive, but it could just be that she knows exactly what she wants and will go get it. Her brother, T.C., is well aware of what she’s like and since he’s just like her there’s no mincing words, he’ll stand back and let her do her thing. But when it comes down to taking the man she wants and getting rid of the competition Marsha is a little more interested in the carnal pleasures that she can get in the process. It would have been interesting to see her transform and start causing havoc.
3. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Jeanie Bueller
Jeanie is the sister that doesn’t buy excuses and doesn’t believe that her brother is sick and is definitely tired of Ferris’ ability to do whatever he wants. She’s the big sister that will dime you out simply because it’s unfair and will seek to discredit her brother whenever the chance presents itself. That’s why it’s so surprising when she has her brother’s back at the end of the movie. Of course now she knows that she owns him in a small way, though whether she would ever cash in or not is kind of hard to tell since the movie ends not too long after. But this is the kind of big sister you don’t tick off unless you have a backup plan.
2. Uncle Buck – Tia
Tia is kind of scary since she’s young, thinks she knows everything, and is bound and determined to get her way. The lies she tells her mom and Buck’s girlfriend are simply too unreal and entirely vindictive, even for a teenager to dream up. She’s not a very good sister since she’ll gladly leave her younger siblings home alone to go and do what she wants, but near the end of the movie at least she starts turning into a better person. But this is every parent’s nightmare since a young woman that doesn’t know what she’s doing and is willing to go off with a guy like Bug to do who knows what is simply terrifying.
1. The Shining – The Grady twins
“Come play with us Danny…forever.” How many of as kids would have sat there and soiled ourselves upon seeing this? The sisters as they appear in the first moment aren’t that bad. They’re a little creepy and kind of odd, but upon seeing them chopped to bloody bits only a moment later it’s no wonder that Danny would be hiding his eyes and looking away. Apparently the director, Kubrick, guarded the young actor pretty close and didn’t allow him to see the gorier bits of the movie. So Stanley Kubrick did something right it would seem apart from making a classic movie and terrorizing Shelly Duvall.
Sisters in the movies are not to be messed with most times since for some reason even the most timid among them can become a vindictive devil that has your number.
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