There is no one quite as uniquely qualified as the King of Horror to crown the greatest villain, so whenStephen Kinggives a character that title, we listen, no matter how ludicrous it may initially seem. In aninterview with Entertainment Weekly, King proclaimed a certain character as the"greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter.“Between being praised by King and being compared to the infamous, brilliant, and cannibalistic Hannibal, this character must be truly twisted and wicked — we can only imagine the kind of monster he is referring to. What we don’t imagine is the prim and proper, clad in ghastly pink and constantly spurious Defense Against the Dark Arts teacherDolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton)fromHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Despite this instinctive shock,the more we think about Umbridge, the more our stomach curdles, making us realize maybe King does know what he is talking about.
Stephen King Puts Dolores Umbridge Among the Greats
King collaborated with EW to review the fifth installment of theHarry Potterfranchisein 2003, and upon reading the novel,he easily named Umbridge as the best part of the book. At first glance, it doesn’t seem as if the “gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers” would reach the status of “greatest make-believe villain.” This is especially sinceshe shares a franchise with “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"who is already the overarching, powerful antagonist that leers over the dark events of each story. But as King describes, Voldemort feels “too far out in the supernatural ozone to qualify,” whereas what makes Umbridge so effective is how grounded her character is.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is deeply terrifyingbecause of how relatable she is — unfortunately.She is a play on the “Really Scary Teacher” from when we were children; the one that made our stomachs heave with dread when we went to school; the one we couldn’t bear to make eye contact with. It exploits our childhood memories and nostalgia to craft a cunning and pitiless caricature of how we perceive our most feared teacher. “We turn the pages partly in fervent hopes that she will get her comeuppance… but also in growing fear of what she will get up to next.” says King. “For surely a teacher capable of banning Harry Potter from playing Quidditch is capable of anything.”
Dolores Umbridge Marks a Dark Shift in the ‘Harry Potter’ Franchise
Staunton’s unforgettable performance,paired withDavid Yates’direction, makes Umbridge’s reign of villainy over Hogwarts just as spine-tingling on the screen as it was in the books. The jarring contrast between her appearance and her attitudes contributes to the terror she cultivates. She uses theinnocent, playful and even comforting connotations of the color pink and twists them into sight we are sickened to seealongside the Hogwarts students. Feathers, ruffles, and sparkles all become sinister when Umbridge struts into a room wearing them on her crisp and clean petticoats and pencil skirts. They become malevolent not only because they are associated with Umbridge, but because they are everywhere. By adding a pink hue to everything, the petite villain has a larger-than-life grip on the school, ensuring every single corridor and crevice is tainted.
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Umbridge’s twisted form of punishment of scalding “I will not lie” intoHarry’s (Daniel Radcliffe)hand or firing professors on a whim, are all acts that are made more ominous due to the expressions on her face.Staunton allows a look of serenity to befall her face every time Umbridge does something atrocious,coaxing us into the malice of her smirk. Her high-pitched voice is awfully measured and precise, but can turn into a banshee shriek that sends goosebumps across our skin. And the color pink is not the only way she announces her dreaded arrival — the stern and purposeful clickity-clack of her heels on cobblestones signals to everyone to give a wide berth to the approaching peril.
Since the students live at Hogwarts and cannot find reprieve at home, her presence at the school is a 24/7 walking nightmare. Because of this, Umbridge is actually amajor turning point for theHarry Potterfranchiseand for the Hogwarts students. Before this, the dangers recounted in the stories were restricted to certain aspects of the school. As a regular Hogwarts student, you would read about Harry’s exploits with Professor Quirrel, the girl’s bathroom, the Whomping Willow, or the Triwizard’s Tournament in the Daily Prophet. This time,the magical danger eclipses the school, becoming an intrinsic part of its structure as Umbridge changes rulesand routines. She represents a dark shift for the franchise, and it could not be ushered in by a more fitting character.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
With their warning about Lord Voldemort’s return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.
