TAKING STOCK

WICKED STEP-PARENTS

Celebrating the standout stock characters in movies…

There are few so maligned in all of pop culture, literature and fairy tale as the wicked step-parent. In a tradition that reaches all the way back to German folklore through to Hamlet and A Series of Unfortunate Events, the ‘wicked’ step-parent is often the go-to for domestic villainy – popularised by Disney in their early films. It has been theorised that the trope exists as a convenient means for children to manifest fear and hate against their own parents while simultaneously still pedestalling dear old mum and dad. Whatever the case, the wicked step-parent is generally typified by extreme jealousy and a tendency towards cruelty to those in their care, ranging from padlocks on basement doors to straight-up filicide. Taking in the lesser-known wicked stepfather (or mum’s horrible boyfriend, in some cases), Buff meets the grotesquely and deliciously wicked alike. Who’s the unfairest of them all?

QUEEN GRIMHILDE

LUCILLE LA VERNE, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

The original wicked stepmother against whom all others will forever be judged, Grimhilde is so malicious that she is most commonly referred to as ‘The Evil Queen’ or ‘The Wicked Queen’. Setting the standard for villainy, the Queen’s vanity led her to make multiple attempts on stepdaughter Snow White’s (Adriana Caselotti) life – first with the Huntsman and his hunting knife, then the poisoned apple. The girl’s only crime? Being prettier than her stepmother. La Verne achieved the change in performance between regal Queen and ‘hag’ by removing her own false teeth. Meanwhile, the animators preferred to draw the Queen over Snow White herself because she was ‘more real and complex as a woman, more erotic and driven to desperate acts by her magic mirror’ according to Cracking the Magic Mirror: Representations of Snow White author Jack Zipes.

JERRY BLAKE

TERRY O’QUINN, THE STEPFATHER (1987)

Obsessed with building the ideal family, a serial killer assumes life with a widow and her teenage daughter (Jill Schoelen). This schlocky thriller follows Jerry as his American dream deteriorates - plotting to bump off his wife and stepdaughter when they fail to live up to his standards. Loosely drawing on the activities of murderer John List, screenwriter Donald E. Westlake was in turn inspired by his own stepdaughter (uh-oh) who he struggled with at the time. Schoelen claimed that she suffered from nightmares after filming the final act – accusing O’Quinn of stalking her in her dreams. Two lesser sequels followed – only one of which starred O’Quinn. The Lost actor was offered a cameo in the bland 2009 remake, but he stepped away from that opportunity.

MOTHER GOTHEL

DONNA MURPHY, TANGLED (2010)

Mama knows best, or so dastardly Mother Gothel (a name which translates roughly to ‘foster mother’ in old German) would gaslight Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) into believing. Keeping the ageing process at bay with the magical properties of Rapunzel’s hair, the ancient crone kidnapped the princess as a child and locked her away in a remote tower, posing as her doting mum. Her true intentions are foreshadowed in references to the classics – glimpses of Sleeping Beauty’s spinning wheel, the Evil Queen’s apple from Snow White. When the facade drops, she goes all out, stabbing dashing Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) and restraining Rapunzel with actual ropes and chains. The villain’s song is typically the best one, and Donna Murphy’s rendition of Mother Knows Best is no exception.

GREG BUEHL

MICHAEL SHANNON, 8 MILE (2002)

Before holding the world to ransom as General Zod, Shannon was the abusive boyfriend of Stephanie Smith (Kim Basinger), frequently locking horns with her son, Jimmy (Eminem). The greasy lowlife delights in mocking Jimmy for his crappy car and menial job. ‘Me, him and you all went to the same school,’ aspiring rapper Jimmy freestyles to close pal Future (Mekhi Phifer), spitting bars to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama. ‘It’s not cool, I’m in a rage, he’s tapping my mom up and we’re almost the same age.’ Two years younger than Eminem, Shannon won the role over Gary Sinise, the studio’s original pick. The loser finally washes his hands of Stephanie and her kids after Jimmy punches him out in a fit of rage. Stay away from mom’s spaghetti, Greg.

BARONESS RODMILLA

ANJELICA HUSTON, EVER AFTER: A CINDERELLA STORY (1998)

The third of the classic wicked stepmothers – alongside Grimhilde and Gothel – Cinderella’s mother got her chilliest portrayal in this live-action version by Andy Tennant and 20th Century Fox. And who does chilly better than The Witches’ and The Addams Family’s Anjelica Huston - freezing her ice-cold persona inside a series of fabulous dresses. The core elements of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale are mostly there – including the prince and ‘ugly’ sisters. In addition to not allowing Cinders – sorry, Danielle (Drew Barrymore) – to the ball, Rodmilla’s cruelties include having her whipped between making rounds of tea. The furious prince would have had Rodmilla exiled for her treatment of Danielle, but the Baroness is punished with the ultimate insult – amenial job in the castle laundry room.

MEREDITH BLAKE

ELAINE HENDRIX, THE PARENT TRAP (1998)

‘She was weaponising her femininity,’ actor Elaine Hendrix said of her gold-digging would-be stepmother. ‘She knew she could use her youth and beauty to get what she wanted.’ However, to Hendrix, Meredith isn’t the villain of the film. Indeed, recent years have seen an audience reappraisal for Meredith, and specifically her treatment at the hands of mischievous twins Hallie and Annie (Lindsay Lohan). Meredith may be in it for the money, but does that warrant a lizard in the gob? Or being unceremoniously dragged out to the middle of a lake while asleep? Meredith’s true feelings emerge soon after that – announcing that she plans to ship the kids off to Switzerland as soon as she’s married. The wicked stepmother we love to hate.

THE DURSLEYS

RICHARD GRIFFITHS, FIONA SHAW, HARRY POTTER (2001–2010)

Stand-in carers Vernon and Petunia Dursley are less than thrilled when they inherit their nephew, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). Keeping the boy’s magical heritage a secret, they lock the youth away in a cupboard under the stairs. You would have thought, then, that they would be glad to be rid of Harry once Hogwarts comes calling. Not so, whisking the boy away to a rural island cottage in an attempt to hide him from the school’s persistent enrolment department. It’s not confirmed whether tampering with the mail is an offence outside of the muggle world, but Dumbledore and Hagrid got their man anyway. ‘I like playing Vernon Dursley, because that gives me a licence to be horrible to kids,’ the late Richard Griffiths said of the vile uncle.

EUN-JOO

YUM JUNG-AH, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (2003)

Originally the children’s mother’s nurse, Eun-joo’s composed behaviour takes a nastier turn after she marries into the family as Su-mi and Su-yeon’s stepmother. Her prim exterior only belies the cruel woman beneath, coming out of her shell to laugh at the mentally ill and one family member’s near drowning. Her meanest acts are reserved for her stepdaughters, one of whom she apparently beats and locks in a cupboard. Sure, these events are ultimately revealed to be a figment of Su-mi’s fragmented mind, but the reality is even worse – having left one daughter to die out of pettiness towards the other. ‘You’ll regret this moment,’ she sneers as Su-yeon lies dying. Killed by Su-yeon’s ghost, Eun-joo is loathed by the living and the dead alike.