What Makes A Good Feminist Horror Film?
By: Logan Ashley
Tags: Movies, Horror, Film Reviews, Film, Feminism

So, now that we know some of the more modern issues with horror films attempting to co-opt feminist ideology and terminology, that leaves the question: what are the good ones?

Obviously I can’t hope to compile every horror film that I consider successfully feminist, and your opinions will likely differ, but hopefully this small list can at least serve as someone’s starting point:

Bit (2020) dir. Brad Michael Elmore

An unfortunate example of how films who are upfront with their transgender characters and feminist aspirations are often review-bombed (check out the film’s IMdB page and see the insane ratio of one star reviews to everything else), Bit is a very recent film that’s managed to capture my affection.

Focused on a transgender girl as she falls in with a group of female vampires in Los Angeles, you’d be forgiven if you assumed this movie would fall into the trappings of the previously mentioned Black Christmas remake and other of its ilk. But, without spoiling too much of the specific events, the ending of the film does not state that all men are power-hungry animals that all women must rise up against, or else you’re a Bad Woman. Instead, it hits that rare sweet spot of acknowledging that cruelty can fester regardless of gender, and that that cruelty must be dealt with equally.

Though its flaws are mostly the result of its low budget, I’ve previously written about Bit in my piece about transgender horror, and how this film is “exactly what I want from transgender horror films”, and you can add “exactly what I want from feminist horror films” too. Is it a bit on the nose? Yes, and often. Unapologetically. And I acknowledge that that bluntness can be a turn-off. But I think that the movie’s strengths outweigh its shakier moments; it’s got great characters, a singularly unique score (with a needle drop that almost immediately solidified itself into my personal top five of all time), and a screenplay that is one of the first I’ve ever seen that intentionally acknowledges a trans person’s inherent ties with horror tropes.

Bit is a very recent B-movie that already deserves much more recognition than it’s gotten. So far, the only DVD release for it has been in the UK (though if you’re like me, you buy it anyway and subsequently invest in a region-free DVD player), but it’s also available for digital purchase on nearly every major platform, and I highly encourage at least renting it and giving it your monetary support. Brad Michael Elmore is a great director with his heart in the right place, and I’m overeager for his next picture.

Ginger Snaps (2000) dir. John Fawcett

The Canadian horror film Ginger Snaps has quickly shot up the ranks and become one of my favorite horror films of all time. One of the first (if not the first) werewolf films to center womanhood, the film follows sisters Ginger and Brigette as the former is bitten by a werewolf and begins to transform into one herself. The film is thus a ticking clock to try and find a cure, lest Ginger transform fully and continue to leave a pile of bodies in her wake.

There are maybe four male characters of any significance in Ginger Snaps, because the film belongs to its female characters. The heart of the film comes from the relationship between Ginger and Brigette, between these sisters and their mom, and their relationship with the girls around them. And their relationship is amazing, given true love by screenwriter Karen Walton. Ginger and Brigette feel real and lived-in, and that realism helps in creating the tension of whether or not both sisters will live through the film.

And even though it is minimal in its male characters, the film is not overt in its message, that “men don’t solve problems, they create them”, as stated in the making-of documentary on the DVD. Instead, the movie is strong enough on its own that it doesn’t have to turn to the camera and state its message. Puberty and life as a teenage girl sucks, it’s a tragedy.

Suspiria (2018) dir. Luca Guadagnino

This might be a bit of a hot take, but I vastly prefer this 2018 remake to its 1977 Italian original.

That’s not to say that the original is not a good film — while Argento is not my kind of filmmaker, nor is giallo my type of subgenre, Suspiria is a classic horror film for a reason. But this remake is what really elevates its concept: a young dance student, Susie Bannion, travels to a dance academy in Germany, which (spoilers, technically) is a front to a coven of witches. Body horror, trippy visuals, and a nearly all-female cast are staples of both original and remake.

This 2018 remake takes the style-over-substance approach of the original and completely discards it. Though perhaps lacking the bright colors and crazier shots of Argento’s filmmaking, it replaces it with an engaging story, terrifying body horror, and a twist on the original premise that has already solidified itself into a major feminist movie moment. Dakota Johnson plays Susie with a physicality and maturity that uniquely separates her from Jessica Harper’s portrayal. Especially with the twist at the end, which, again, I won’t spoil. But it’s great, I love it, Major Feminist Movie Moment as decided by the Internet.

I know a lot of people didn’t enjoy this one, citing the lack of visual flair and displeasure with the plot, but I disagree on both fronts. I enjoy how haunting the film feels, that it exists as its own unique thing while still harkening back to the original and paying respects to it. And because this movie was so polarizing, I truly don’t think there’s any way to get a grasp of it without watching it for yourself!

The Haunting (+ of Hill House) (1963 & 2018) dir. Robert Wise / Mike Flanagan

Yeah, I’m counting this one for two.

Excluding the 90’s film, both adaptations of the Shirley Jackson novel are focused on the women at the story’s center. In regards to the ’63 film, though the cast is pretty evenly split between men and women, the center of the story is about Eleanor and her internal turmoil. It’s famously a ghost story with no ghosts. And it’s a great one that focuses isolation, fear, and the desire for home and love, all through the distinctly female lens.

Cut to 2018, and Mike Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House series expands upon those themes profoundly. Here, we have four primary female characters, each distinct and with a unique arc that they go through throughout the 10 episode run. Olivia Crain has perhaps the least interesting conflict (though her descent into madness is good, it’s a journey we know the end of from the beginning), while Shirley, Theo, and Nell each represent a different kind of grief and selfishness also found in the ’63 Eleanor. All three women are greatly flawed and greatly human.

Both versions offer unique takes on the same basic idea of grief and general angst, and both are great are delivering on that concept for their time and their medium. They both get my highest recommendations (and, hell, Bly Manor does too).

Revenge (2017) dir. Coralie Fargeat

Already mentioned in this article, but the less I say about Revenge, the better.

I won’t say much, because going into this movie blind is the best way you can do it, as I did it; but also because so much of the movie has a double reading to it, and I feel like I could weigh down this piece by talking about just this movie alone. Simply know that it’s a rape-revenge movie written and directed by a woman, and that shows in all of its important details. It’s a rape-revenge movie that does not bask in an overlong, graphic rape scene. It’s a rape-revenge movie that dresses down its male characters more than it ever does its lone female star. It’s also got amazing gore, great production value, and astonishing acting from everybody involved.

If you’re looking for a feel-good movie, this one ain’t exactly it. But if you’re looking for a movie that systematically deconstructs how rape victims are violated, discarded, and then must forge their own bloody freedom from the ashes, I have a great recommendation for you.

Black Christmas (1974) dir. Bob Clark

In spite of its most recent remake, the original Black Christmas remains intact as a timeless slasher classic.

Though Bob Clark denied that this was an intentional political message, the fact that the film tackles abortion barely one year after Roe v. Wade was decided remains an incredibly bold and topical choice. There’s an alarming number of pro-life horror films saturating the market, and it’s good to go back and find one that is pro-choice almost entirely on accident.

Add that each character is unique and identifiable from each other, and you’ve got yourself a memorable early slasher that just also happens to be feminist. Again, it doesn’t loudly proclaim its goals and intentions, it simply does its own thing and lets you, the audience, tag along for its bloody ride. We’ve got loud women, quiet women, drunk women, happily pro-choice women. And when it comes down to it, the women have each other. They protect each other and themselves when the (male) cops fail them at every turn.

Black Christmas is the mother of modern slasher films and modern horror as we know it, so if you somehow haven’t gotten around to watching this one yet, please do. Especially before you think about checking out its remakes.

The Craft: Legacy (2020) dir. Zoe Lister-Jones

I’m going to let you guys in on a secret: I did not love The Craft.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine, it’s got iconic moments to spare, but for as much hype as it gets, I found myself underwhelmed watching it for the first time. It’s definitely a movie About Girls, Written By Men, and I remember thinking about how much I would’ve rather had a movie about the women being friends and working through their trauma together, rather than turning on each other.

Well, The Craft: Legacy does have a few moments of girl versus girl, but for the most part, this is the movie I wanted from the original. I believed in the chemistry between all the girls (I did not with the original), I enjoyed the way they used their magic (questionable effects not withstanding), and I didn’t mind the way things were updated for the teens of today. Hardly a perfect film, but far better than I expected when I saw its terrible critical and audience scores.

It’s rare that feminist horror acknowledges transgender people (looking at you, The Love Witch and your director), but between Bit and this film, it finally feels like some minor momentum has started up. And while some of the dialogue in Legacy is a touch on-the-nose, it works better for me because you do actually see how everyone is effected by the current system in place, including men who do not fit into the system. Seriously, Timmy is great. Watch this movie for him. #JusticeForTimmy

Legacy leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and that’s undeniably frustrating. It feels like something went down in the editing room to leave a lot of important scenes on the floor, and we’ll have to wait to find out if a director’s cut is coming. But that notwithstanding, it’s just nice to get a movie about the power of female friendships in the face of patriarchal cruelty. Unlike Black Christmas (2019), this is a reimagining that you can ignore the critical consensus on and watch to form your own opinion.

Freaky (2020) dir. Christopher Landon

And to end the list on another recent one, we have the body swap horror comedy Freaky.

This movie is actually agreed upon by me and my friends as pretty heavily trans-coded, but it’s also a very good movie about a teenage girl finding comfort in her own body. Much of the comedy of the film comes from figuring out the different ways men and women operate in social situations, and how that can be manipulated or changed. It’s also the first movie by Chris Landon that worked for me more often than it didn’t, though I can still nitpick and admit I wish certain aspects of the concept were more utilized than they were.

Still, nitpicks aside, Freaky is fun and it is gory. It’s also got two non binary actors in supporting roles, and both Misha Osherovich and Celeste O’Connor both act their hearts out in every scene they have. Kathryn Newton also excels in her dual performance and is a beautifully sympathetic teen girl at the same time she is a menacing serial killer. Everything about this movie is unashamedly queer, in concept and in execution, and it makes watching it an incredibly enjoyable time in spite of its flaws. Come for the hard-R rating, stay for the oddly-touching bisexual love story.

That’s two movies on this list, by the way, with male characters who surprisingly turn out to be bisexual (you can argue with me about the validity of that statement in regards to Freaky, but, don’t. I’m right). And while Legacy bungles it a bit, it’s also still awesome to see bisexuality getting more acknowledgement in films! It’s awesome to see trans people being able to simply exist.