Girls and horror films make for unusual bedfellows — but additionally concurrently one of the crucial fruitful marriages in all of movie.
For a very long time, horror throughout all mediums was very exclusionary, each by way of gender and race. It most frequently nonetheless is, although many marginalized individuals gravitate towards horror as a result of the style permits us to course of trauma from the secure distance of fiction.
More and more, horror movies are proving themselves to be an ideal style for social commentary, to know the Different relatively than demonize them.
Till we enable a fuller spectrum of girls to be each the creators and topics of horror movies, we can not actually say that feminism has reclaimed the style from all its gatekeepers.
So within the spirit of Halloween, we have compiled an exhaustive (although undoubtedly incomplete) information to the perfect feminist and women-centric horror movies of all time. However our complete checklist comes with one million caveats.
Particularly, giving these titles the moniker of “feminist” is imperfect at finest when so lots of them proceed to marginalize queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and different girls of coloration’s experiences — together with propagating ageist, fatphobic, racist, and ableist tropes.
Not solely is the filmography of feminist horror dominated by straight, white, skinny, cis able-bodied feminism, however a lot of the films are nonetheless written and/or directed by males. To the style’s credit score, although, it does typically give extra girls and marginalized filmmakers alternatives than, say, extra “revered” genres. Additionally, a whole lot of feminist horror, particularly these directed by girls, had been held again by the Hollywood machine, generally leading to extra muddled messaging than creators supposed.
That mentioned, feminist movies wouldn’t have to be good to do nice issues (nor ought to we count on them to be). Holding them to larger requirements doesn’t suggest we will not respect what progress they do make, both. However till we enable a fuller spectrum of girls to be each the creators and topics of horror movies, we can not actually say that feminism has reclaimed the style from all its gatekeepers.
1. Prevenge (2017)
This cheeky UK indie masterpiece is actually the mom of all horror-comedies. Ruth, a really pregnant and grieving single mother, commits violent murders on the behest of her killer fetus. With salient commentary on motherhood and society’s misogynistic expectations of pregnant girls, Prevenge has all of it. Oh, and did we point out that writer-director Alice Lowe additionally starred in it when she was in her third trimester. Learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: Prevenge is streaming on Shudder.
2. Us (2019)
As a seminal director of the fashionable renaissance in socially-conscious horror, Jordan Peele’s Us merely needed to make it onto our checklist. Whereas much less explicitly about feminist themes, experiences of womanhood are embedded in its protagonist’s journey, with Lupita Nyong’o bringing infinite layers of complexity to the character of Adelaide/Pink. Learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: Us is now streaming on Prime Video and Hulu, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
3. Ginger Snaps (2001)
Whereas this beloved basic reveals its age greater than others on this checklist, it might be a sin to exclude it. For a lot of Gen Xers and millennials, Ginger Snaps was our awakening to what lady-driven horror might do. The werewolf-as-puberty metaphor is a well-mined one, however the iconic goth sisters of this movie seize one thing undeniably relatable in utilizing it particularly to discover experiences of girlhood.
The place to observe: Ginger Snaps is now streaming on Peacock, Shudder, AMC+, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
4. Uncooked (2016)
A woman’s gotta eat, however Uncooked takes the time period “man-eater” to a complete new stage. This placing artwork home coming-of-age horror from writer-director Julia Ducournau explores the advanced relationships girls have with sexuality, meals, consumption, and one another. It is not for the faint of abdomen, nevertheless it’s extra visually arresting than needlessly gore-y for those who ask us. (Aspect notice: When you’re already beginning to discover a operating theme of cannibalism on this checklist, buckle up.)
The place to observe: Uncooked is now streaming on Shudder, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
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5. The Stepford Wives (1975)
The quintessential horror-as-feminist-theory allegory, the unique Stepford Wives was a seminal affect on socially aware horror, with Jordan Peele naming it as a significant inspiration for Get Out. The extra shlocky Nicole Kidman reboot comes with its personal enjoyable, however you may lose a whole lot of what made the Seventies one such a end result of the second-wave feminist motion.
The place to observe: The Stepford Wives is now streaming on Tubi totally free with advertisements.
6. Eve’s Bayou (1997)
A groundbreaking, beautiful southern gothic, the ever-present loom of sexism and racism hang-out the ladies protagonists of Eve’s Bayou — although they discover a strategy to embody Black woman magic anyway. Legendary writer-director Kasi Lemmons (who earlier received an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs) grounds the movie in Black girls’s experiences, significantly via the younger (now Emmy award—successful) Jurnee Smollett as she wrestles with reminiscences and traumas, each private and communal.
The place to observe: Eve’s Bayou is now streaming on Peacock and Prime Video, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
7. Revenge (2018)
The directorial debut of Coralie Fargeat, Revenge doesn’t shrink back from depicting the true horrors of rape and its aftermath. The horror style is, if something, the originator of the rape revenge fantasy, via titles like I Spit on Your Grave. However Revenge subverts the worst of its exploitative previous. Learn our interview with the director on what makes it an evolution in Hollywood depictions of rape right here.
The place to observe: Revenge is now streaming on Shudder, AMC+, MUBI, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
8. A Woman Walks House Alone at Night time (2014)
Author/director’s Ana Lily Amirpour’s feature-length debut that she additionally stars in is described as, “the primary Iranian Vampire Western ever made.” However that does not start to seize the center of this distinctive, subversive, arresting masterpiece, which turns each style trope it is in dialog with on its head. On high of every little thing, the vampiric protagonist gave us among the finest skater woman icons of our technology.
The place to observe: A Woman Walks House Alone at Night time is now streaming on Shudder, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
9. We Are What We Are (2013)
One of many extra unknown titles on our checklist, We Are What We Are is an American adaptation of the 2010 Mexican unique (which we, sadly, couldn’t get entry to). Buying and selling in biblical allegory, it tells the story of sisters Iris and Rose surviving the actually horrific abuses of their cultish, overbearing patriarch.
The place to observe: We Are What We Are is streaming on The Roku Channel and on Tubi, each totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video.
10. Goodnight Mommy (2015)
The breakout movie of Austrian author/administrators Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala walks a tightwire of rigidity, paranoia, and Freudian mommy points. Whereas the dual boys are technically the protagonists, it is their “monstrous” mom attempting to recuperate in peace from reconstructive surgical procedure that really earns the empathy of moviegoers.
The place to observe: Goodnight Mommy is now streaming on Prime Video, Kanopy, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
11. Below the Pores and skin (2014)
Regardless of Scarlette Johansson’s extremely suspect gender politics, we felt compelled to incorporate Below the Pores and skin as an oft-underrated piece of experimental cinematic horror, evolving the monstrous female trope with riveting subversion.
The place to observe: Below the Pores and skin is streaming on Shudder, Kanopy, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
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12. The Post-mortem of Jane Doe (2016)
Seemingly a extra conventional coroner’s workplace horror, this thriller flips the script on the attractive feminine sufferer narrative in essentially the most scrumptious approach attainable. We debated the place to incorporate a movie the place the lady with essentially the most time on display is useless the entire time. Finally, although, it is a cathartic and pleasurable expertise that also wrestles with girls’s trauma — to not point out that the Jane Doe in query deserves an Oscar for Most Emotive Corpse Ever.
The place to observe: The Post-mortem of Jane Doe is now streaming on Showtime by way of Peacock, AMC+, Shudder, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
13. Audition (1999)
This Japanese masterpiece is a mainstay of most GOAT horror lists, and we can’t spoil any of the expertise by saying an excessive amount of on why. All it is advisable to know is that it follows the journey of a person who auditions a bunch of girls to seek out the right subservient spouse — and he will get way more than he bargained for.
The place to observe: Audition is now streaming on Shudder and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
14. Horror Noire: A Historical past of Black Horror (2019)
Spotlighting precisely what’s so missing within the common conception and understanding of horror, this important documentary based mostly on Robin R. Means Coleman’s e-book lays out the centuries-long intersection between Blackness and horror. From the Black-made horror movies which have been all however erased from public entry to re-framing Beginning of a Nation as a part of the style, it reveals how Black individuals (particularly girls) are a a lot greater a part of horror’s greatness than the white mainstream offers them credit score for.
The place to observe: Horror Noire: A Historical past of Black Horror is now streaming on Shudder and AMC+, and is obtainable for buy on Apple TV.
15. The Love Witch (2017)
The “nicely, truly” horror followers will seemingly wish to problem characterizing Love Witch as a horror film. However that may be as a result of author/director Anna Biller bucks any type of conventionality, presenting a luxurious imaginative and prescient of the lady’s gaze not often allowed to flourish in movie, horror, or in any other case. An homage as a lot as a subversion, The Love Witch can be a extra delicate instance of comedic horror than others on this checklist. Learn our interview with Biller on the movie’s feminist lens right here.
The place to observe: The Love Witch is streaming on Peacock and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Mashable Development Report
16. Below the Shadow (2016)
Blended in with magical surrealism however set within the actuality of post-revolution Tehran, Below the Shadow tells the story of a health care provider who’s all of the sudden forbidden from working towards below the brand new regime. Because the world turns into increasingly unrecognizable, she fights to guard her daughter from the fixed risk of bombings in addition to a extra ephemeral monster hellbent on capturing her baby.
The place to observe: Below the Shadow is now streaming on Netflix, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
17. Drag Me To Hell (2009)
An early horror-comedy from the famend Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell begins off with a Lean In office scenario gone awry (lol). It is as a lot a pleasant experience as it’s scary, with hidden layers of which means — together with hints of battling an consuming dysfunction — that make this supernatural creeper nicely value your time.
The place to observe: Drag Me to Hell is now streaming on HBO Max, Peacock, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
18. Suspiria (2018)
Choosing the Amazon Authentic reboot relatively than the unique will most likely be thought-about a sin by most cinephiles. In all honesty, I have not seen the unique, however felt captivated sufficient by Luca Guadagnino’s latest remake starring Tilda Swinton to incorporate it as a beautiful ballet of the grotesque, stunning, and female.
The place to observe: Suspiria is now streaming on Prime Video, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
19. Swallow (2020)
The psychosexual undercurrent of this film is plain, with an oral fixation as nice as its protagonist. Betty Friedan’s seminal Female Mystique e-book completely drips off the display, virtually to the purpose the place references are a bit overdone. However in the end Swallow is saved by a spectacular efficiency from Haley Bennett, a unbelievable sense of cinematic rigidity, and an abundance of visible sumptuousness.
The place to observe: Swallow is now streaming on Hulu, MUBI, AMC+, and Shudder, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
20. Starry Eyes (2014)
2014’s Starry Eyes isn’t revolutionary so far as horror tropes go. But it surely’s actually forward of its time as a movie in regards to the systemic sexual abuse of girls in Hollywood launched years earlier than the bombshell allegations in opposition to Harvey Weinstein introduced mainstream consideration to the #MeToo motion.
The place to observe: Starry Eyes is streaming on Shudder, AMC+, Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
21. I Am the Fairly Factor That Lives within the Home (2016)
This gothic arthouse ghost story is a masterpiece of uncanny disquiet. A live-in nurse arrives at a home haunted by the rot of female magnificence. Visually gorgeous and tensely atmospheric, it is a gradual burn straight to the center. To cite our evaluation, I Am the Fairly Factor That Lives within the Home is “one among Netflix’s most daring experiments, and one of the crucial evocative atmospheric horror movies exploring the feminine psyche since Polanksi’s Repulsion... The movie’s dream-like narrative emerges via the disparate but intertwined lives (and deaths) of three girls, all colliding below the identical roof.” You may learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: I Am the Fairly Factor That Lives within the Home is streaming on Netflix.
22. Tooth (2007)
One in all many examples of early feminist horror that was at first maligned, solely to later develop into appreciated as a cult basic, Tooth is taken into account seminal to the subgenre. Reworking the psychosexual Freudian ideas of penis envy and vagina dentata into rape revenge energy fantasies, we truthfully simply like to see it.
The place to observe: Tooth is streaming on Prime Video and Tubi totally free with advertisements.
23. The Perfection (2018)
Let stars Allison Williams and Logan Browning take you on one wild, wild experience — and spoil your self as little as attainable with The Perfection. All it is advisable to know is that this campy journey is all about two girls looking for inventive excellence. They’re additionally pitted in opposition to one another via the predatory programs that gatekeep mentioned excellence.
The place to observe: The Perfection is streaming on Netflix.
24. The Witch (2015)
Like most of the entries on this checklist, The Witch complicates the everyday, trope-y feminist empowerment horror narrative. The extra highly effective feminist studying of it (in this author’s opinion) isn’t as a story of empowerment, however surviving full disempowerment, immersing viewers within the oppressive religiosity that’s the origins of America.
The place to observe: The Witch is streaming on HBO Max and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
25. At all times Shine (2016)
One other exploration of the struggles of being a girl in Hollywood, author/director Sophia Takal focuses on how the trade creates an environment that makes feminine camaraderie almost unattainable. Once more, some would possibly argue it falls extra below the “thriller” than “horror” class, however we do not actually acknowledge these hair-splitting distinctions.
The place to observe: At all times Shine is streaming on Shudder, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
26. Jennifer’s Physique (2009)
One other largely panned film after its unique launch in 2009, Jennifer’s Physique loved a latest revival as an missed feminist horror basic. Via ahead-of-its time subversion of the male gaze, exploration of girls’s wishes, a queer kiss, or metaphors for consuming issues, individuals have discovered quite a bit to like about author/director Karyn Kusama’s movie. Nonetheless, it is necessary to notice that star Megan Fox has a difficult relationship to it as an exemplar of all of the movies that hypersexualized her from this time.
The place to observe: Jennifer’s Physique is streaming on Hulu, Disney+, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable to lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
27. Carrie (1976)
Consider us once we beg you to observe the unique Carrie over its 2013 remake. Whereas Kimberly Peirce’s reboot tries to imbue extra overt feminist messaging into it, the result’s a lack of a lot of what made Brian De Palma’s 1976 model a reigning masterpiece of women-centric horror energy fantasies.
The place to observe: Carrie is streaming on AMC+ and MGM+, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
28. Cam (2018)
From leisure reporter Alison Foreman’s full evaluation: “Set within the cyber area of digital intercourse work, CAM chronicles the nightmarish ordeal of Alice, an web mannequin or ‘cam woman,’ who sooner or later logs on to find she has been changed by a mysterious doppelgänger. As her many followers obsess over the menacing substitute, Alice fights to regain management of her picture, freedom, and bodily security… Greater than a disturbingly horny Unfriended, CAM makes use of its grownup setting to not directly tackle feminist themes and motifs in a approach that isn’t solely nuanced, but in addition extremely efficient.”
The place to observe: CAM is streaming on Netflix.
29. The Craft (1996)
When you had been younger when The Craft got here out, you both desperately wished to begin your individual coven or haven’t any enterprise studying this checklist. Whereas a modern-day watch brings a few of its therapy of socioeconomic variations into query, it was surprisingly progressive for its time due to the enduring position of Rochelle. Whereas being one of many only a few feminist horror films to trouble together with a Black girl’s expertise, although, that achievement is severely undermined by the IRL racist therapy of actress Rachel True, who has been repeatedly not noted and erased from its legacy.
The place to observe: The Craft is streaming on Paramount+, Prime Video, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
30. Prepared or Not (2019)
Prepared or Not is not successful any “elevated horror” awards, nevertheless it does not have to. It is well-written, cathartic enjoyable with not solely a feminist but in addition socioeconomic bent. Additionally, who can beat that torn-up wedding ceremony costume with an old-timey gun holster and black excessive tops look?
The place to observe: Prepared or Not is streaming on Hulu, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
31. Midsommar (2019)
As a lot a cathartic break-up film as it’s a scary one, as joyful as it’s terrifying, Midsommar is a beautiful grotesquerie that thrives via contradiction. Like many on this checklist, it complicates the trope-y feminine empowerment horror movie narrative by not portray it via rose-tinted glasses, and is relatable to any girl who’s suffered via grief and courting a shitty dude. Learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: Midsommar is streaming on HBO Max, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
32. The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook has develop into a staple of not solely feminist however basic finest horror film lists for a purpose. The directorial debut of Jennifer Kent, it is not solely brutally sincere in regards to the battle of single motherhood, however produced one among our technology’s biggest homosexual horror icons.
The place to observe: The Babadook is streaming on Hulu, AMC+, MUBI, Shudder, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
‘The Babadook’ filmmaker Jennifer Kent on how her character turned an LGBTQ+ icon, and why we are going to by no means see a sequel
33. Alien (1979)
The place will we even start? Alien is feminist horror 101, resulting in a long time of scholarly evaluation into its psychosexual undertones. All we’ll say is that it basically entails about two hours of Sigourney Weaver surviving like a boss whereas preventing to avoid wasting her pussy (defend Jonesy in any respect prices). Other than being revolutionary for its time, few different classics from the style have aged fairly as gracefully, making it as gripping and evocative now because it was within the Seventies.
The place to observe: Alien is streaming on Hulu, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
34. You are Subsequent (2011)
Much like Prepared or Not, You are Subsequent is a superb (if not the GOAT) horror film that provides class commentary to the extra typical feminine empowerment horror film narrative. We dare you to observe it and never give out a guttural “FUCK YEAH!” at the least as soon as due to Sharni Vinson’s stellar efficiency.
The place to observe: You are Subsequent is streaming on The Roku Channel and Tubi, each totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
35. The Descent (2013)
All-female casts are all the time a terrific begin, however throw in a cave-vagina metaphor (full with heaps and many blood) and you have got your self a bonafide feminist horror film must-watch. Even with out the allegory, although, The Descent is superior horror due to the way it offers these girls characters and their relationships full personhood, which is rarer on this style than you’d suppose!
The place to observe: The Descent is streaming on Kanopy, The Criterion Channel and Prime Video, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
36. The Lure (2015)
One thing about The Little Mermaid continues to enthrall our collective unconscious century after century, and it has quite a bit to do with its gender politics (for higher and for worse). This Polish horror-musical genre-bender is nearer to the darker unique Hans Christian Anderson folktale than the Disney model. Depicting two mermaid sisters as carnivorous sirens relatively than fantasies of the male gaze, director Agnieszka Smoczyńskait’s impressed imaginative and prescient nails the monster sympathy movie.
The place to observe: The Lure is streaming on The Criterion Assortment and HBO Max, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
37. The Woman with All of the Presents (2017)
One of many few horror movies in historical past to ever function a younger Black woman because the hero, The Woman With All of the Presents is a British zombie film that bucks most of the subgenre’s tropes. Whereas the lead character was not written with any race specified, the fascinating Sennia Nanua provides groundbreaking layers of social commentary. In any case, it’s the story of an Different who’s seen as a monstrous risk, and thus caged, abused, and made to adapt to a social system constructed solely to serve the extra dominant inhabitants. Like a whole lot of nascent feminist horror movie representations on this checklist, not each side of its Black feminist studying lands. However the movie’s uncooked energy is inarguably elevated by the illustration of a gifted younger Black woman’s want to belong and battle to outlive an apocalyptic world hellbent on destroying her.
The place to observe: he Woman With All of the Presents is streaming on Kanopy and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
38. Halloween (2018)
To cite our deep dive into the gender politics of the latest reboot, “With 2018’s Halloween and the return of essentially the most prototypical last woman, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode has ushered in a brand new sort of slasher flick for the horrors uncovered by #MeToo… The timeliness of the brand new Halloween lies in the way it speaks to a real-world second of girls coming collectively for the same reckoning. As survivors in every single place search to finish a long time of victimization, Laurie lastly confronts her personal predator, drawing power from the solidarity and shared expertise of trauma with different girls in her life.” You may learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: Halloween is streaming on Hulu and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
39. Hush (2016)
Folks with disabilities typically get a extremely uncooked fucking deal in horror films, showing largely via tropes that flip them into inhuman evil grotesqueries. Whereas protagonist Maddie doesn’t have a visual incapacity, she is deaf, and set as much as seem as the right helpless sufferer for a predator. However as we and her assailant rapidly study, she actually fucking isn’t.
The place to observe: Hush is streaming on Peacock, Prime Video, AMC+, Shudder, and Tubi totally free with advertisements, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
40. Relic (2020)
On its floor, Relic appears to deal within the misogynistic horror trope of older girls’s our bodies as inherently grotesque, disgusting, or evil ( you, The Witch and extra egregiously, The Shining). However first-time author/director Natalie Erika James’ debut movie brings a beforehand unseen tenderness that subverts it, exploring the true horror of getting older as having little to do with a girl’s physique. With among the finest last scenes in any horror film, we extremely suggest checking it out.
The place to observe: Relic is streaming on Shudder, AMC+, and Prime Video, and is obtainable for lease or buy on Apple TV.
Honorable Point out: Lovecraft Nation (2020)
We all know, we all know. Lovecraft Nation is a present, not a film. That technicality is the one purpose it does not qualify for our official checklist. However as one of many uncommon horror something’s to not solely be spearheaded by a Black girl however that additionally centralizes Black girls’s views throughout many ages and social circumstances, Misha Inexperienced’s Lovecraft Nation is an extended overdue, important leap ahead within the feminist reclaiming of the horror style we have to see way more of. Learn our full evaluation right here.
The place to observe: Lovecraft Nation is streaming on HBO Max.
UPDATE: Oct. 23, 2025, 12:25 p.m. This checklist was first revealed on Oct. 16, 2020. It has been up to date to replicate streaming choices.
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