It’s the Snow White story where you actually root for the stepmother—if only to see what terrifying thing Weaver will do next.
So, the next time you hear “Sigourney Weaver” and “Snow White” in the same sentence, don’t picture the actress in a peasant dress singing to birds. Picture her in black velvet, staring into a mirror of nightmares, whispering, “I will have her heart.”
While Disney’s animated Snow White remains the definitive version for children, Sigourney Weaver’s A Tale of Terror holds the title for the most frightening live-action take on the material. In a recent interview, Weaver reflected on the role, saying she enjoyed playing a woman whose vanity literally consumes her humanity.
Before Kristen Stewart’s archery or Rachel Zegler’s high notes, there was a version of Snow White that could have been a gritty, gothic thriller—starring none other than Sigourney Weaver as the Evil Queen.
Opposite Weaver is Monica Keena as Lillian (Snow White), a more resilient and less naive heroine than the Disney version. She isn’t awakened by a kiss; the film’s climax is a brutal, physical showdown between stepmother and stepdaughter in a collapsing castle. This was Snow White for the post- Thelma & Louise and Basic Instinct era—where the female rivalry was bloody and primal.
In 1997, Weaver took on the role of the wicked stepmother in Snow White: A Tale of Terror , a dark fantasy horror film produced by Universal Pictures. Directed by Michael Cohn, the film reimagined the classic fairy tale through the lens of a psychological horror story, heavily inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s original, darker narrative.
