This article contains discussion of graphic violence and graphic images
Plenty of siblings in horror are the best of friends and best of teams, as seen most recently in movies like Nope and The Black Phone. They love each other dearly and would do anything to protect one another. These are not those siblings.
There’s endless horror to be mined from the hatred and resentment between family. Whether these brothers and sisters are just intensely competitive or are straight up fighting each other to the death, their dysfunction is bound to end in blood.
Djuna Vs. Mimi – Kiss Of The Damned (2012)
The feud between vampires that refuse to feed on humans and vampires that drink them with impunity is centuries old. The formerly reclusive Djuna tentatively begins a relationship with the human Paolo, fearful of her vampiric nature hurting him. But it’s not Djuna’s nature they have to worry about: it’s her sister.
When Mimi rolls into town, she not only freely snacks on the humans in Djuna’s neighborhood but tries to steal Paolo from her. Though Mimi’s own recklessness does her in, not her sister, their clashing vampiric lifestyles cause chaos and destruction.
Sidney Prescott Vs. Roman Bridger – Scream 3 (2000)
In some of the best action sequences in the Scream franchise, Sidney Prescott defends herself against several brutal serial killers with a grudge against her personally. This time around, the Ghostface killer is tormenting her and trying to frame her for his crimes, all for being the sibling their mother acknowledged and raised.
Ghostface reveals himself to be Roman, Sidney’s half-brother born after their mother Maureen was assaulted in Hollywood. Their rivalry lacks fire due to Sidney not even knowing Roman existed until now, but Roman’s deep-seated resentment for his sister and mother and his machinations against them stretching back to before the first movie do earn it some points, however unforeshadowed it all was.
Vincent & Ida Vs. Bruce Smith – Motel Hell (1980)
Farmer Vincent and his sister Ida are proud to make an honest living selling their homemade fritters, secretly smoked from the crop of kidnapped victims in their back field. Their brother Bruce is the town sheriff, but since he left home as a child, he has no idea that his siblings are behind the disappearances he’s investigating.
Since Bruce is much younger than and not terribly close to his siblings, their relationship lacks the drama of most movie rivalries. Still, how many of those can boast two feuding brothers having an all-out duel with chainsaws in the middle of a slaughterhouse, with the life of the woman they both love at stake? Because by the end of this movie, Vincent and Bruce certainly can!
Ruby Vs. Her Brothers – The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Papa Jupiter and his children are a frightening, vicious cannibal clan. There’s Mercury, Mars, Pluto, and…Ruby? As viewers can tell from her name alone, Ruby is the odd one out in her family, and is often bullied by them. She is the only one on okay terms with Grandpa Fred, and the only one not on board with eating hapless passers-by.
Ruby turns on her family to stop them from killing and butchering the Carters, rescuing their baby and personally helping Doug kill her most dangerous brother, Mars. She also fights her surviving brother Pluto in Part II, but not only does she not beat him, she dies embarrassingly in the attempt. Honestly, the less said about Part II, the better.
Adam Vs. Fenton Meiks – Frailty (2001)
Sibling rivalry goes back to Biblical times, as seen with the story of Cain and Abel. Adam and Fenton’s father receives an apparent divine revelation and begins to murder people he believes are demons, recruiting his boys to help him. Adam is all for it, while a disbelieving Fenton is horrified that they are becoming murderers, driving a rift between them.
The story is told by an adult Fenton, confessing his little brother’s crimes as the God’s Hand Killer to the FBI. But the ending reveals that “Fenton” is really Adam, who continued his father’s mission and murdered the real Fenton, who grew up into another serial killer and “demon.” Despite knowing what Fenton was capable of, Adam bided his time until finally receiving the divine command to kill his brother.
Brigitte Vs. Ginger Fitzgerald – Ginger Snaps (2000)
The best sibling rivalries are born of a relationship that was once painfully close. Ginger and Brigitte, whose actresses went on to play Disney Channel sisters too, are death-obsessed teens who care only for each other, determined to either escape their small town together or die young together. Their plans are changed when one night Ginger is mauled by a werewolf.
Ginger changes drastically as a person after the bite, not only leaving her sister behind, but turning murderously violent and sexually aggressive. Though at first Ginger relies on Brigitte for help as she looks for a cure, she eventually turns on her, killing the boy Brigitte loves and trying to kill her horrified sister for disloyalty as well.
The Largo Siblings – Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Rotti Largo, GeneCo’s CEO, became world-rulingly successful by knowing how to put on a good public face and keeping his dirtier deeds under wraps. Now if only his gaggle of failchildren could do the same. Luigi, Pavi, and Amber are constantly getting into public scandals and fighting among each other. Their standout song in one of the darkest movie musicals, “Mark It Up,” is an argument over who will inherit the company.
After Rotti dies, Amber in a sober moment summons some of Rotti’s business acumen and brings her brothers to heel under her as CEO. They have replaced her bodyguards: Luigi threatening to kill anyone who doesn’t applaud her and Pavi proudly wearing the lost face that Amber donated to charity (long story). But only time will tell whether such a mercurial trio can actually keep GeneCo running.
Jane Vs. Blanche Hudson – Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)
In one of the best so-called “psycho biddy” horror movies, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis star as elderly sisters who have been bitter rivals for years on end. While they are both habitually cruel to one another, what’s interesting about their relationship is that their power dynamic and public images are constantly shifting.
Jane was once a beloved child star while Blanche was neglected. As adults, Blanche’s budding acting career was tanked by Jane’s bombing films being tied to hers. Now as old women, Jane is stuck fantasizing about her glory days and taking care of Blanche, who she paralyzed after drunkenly hitting her with a car. But even at their worst, these sisters still aren’t what they seem.
Maddie Mitchell Vs. Gabriel May – Malignant (2021)
When your sibling is driving you crazy, all you want to do is get away from them, right? For Maddie and Gabriel, it’s not so simple. They are conjoined twins, and although doctors attempted to seperate Gabriel when he grew too powerful, part of him still survives inside Maddie’s head.
Gabriel both hates his twin and is violently possessive of her and the body they share, with a particular hatred for her adoptive sister who replaced him. Maddie equally detests him for trying to destroy her life. Though twin telepathy is typically used to show closeness between siblings, these two only ever use their ability to mess with each other’s minds to manipulate and hurt the other.
Michael Myers Vs. Laurie Strode – Halloween (1978)
Michael Myers and Laurie Strode’s rivalry has been legendarily long. Michael murdered their other sister Judith as a child. Ever since returning to Haddonfield to kill again, he’s been fixated on killing his remaining sister, Laurie. Laurie despises Michael for killing her friends and destroying her peace of mind, and must fight her implacable brother over and over to protect the life she tries to rebuild.
Though the plot point that they are siblings was invented on the fly for the original Halloween II and tossed out by David Gordon Green’s newest trilogy, it has still defined Michael and Laurie’s relationship and constant struggles for survival for decades. Fans are eager to find out in Halloween Ends which one (if either!) makes it out of their final fight alive.