Joyin Akinola
Women bring an understated level of complexity to the horror genre that directors are just now realizing. Over the pandemic, we have seen an increase in attention and love for true crime and horror media, specifically from women. However, women have always been involved in the genre. Karyn Kusama points this out as, “horror has always had kind of a feminist angle to it in a weird way and, at the same time, it’s kind of delightfully exploitative.” Early horror often had female characters placed as the “damsel in distress” or in a promiscuous way to serve as an example of the supposed consequences for their past actions. Either way, women have always had an essential role in the horror genre – taking into account how limited that role has been. However, as this large niche of horror-loving women becomes more vocal, a new era of psychological thrillers and crime media comes into play.
The “Good for Her” subgenre in horror and thriller movies and TV is relatively new but has created a large impact on how we see women in horror. The name was coined by Lucille Bluth on the show Arrested Development. In the episode, she is seen listening to the news station report for the trial of a stressed mother rolling her car into a lake with her children trapped inside. Lucille’s deadpan response of “Good for her” was met with a horrified expression from her son and laughter from the offscreen audience. This phrase was then adopted by the film world after a Twitter user posted a collage of iconic scenes from different movies with the caption “good for her.” These were scenes where the audience realizes that the female “protagonist” has won despite the odds. For example, the scene of Dani from Midsommar smiling as she is named the May Queen of an abusive cult.
This genre subverts the popular trope of the Final Girl who is saved last minute by a man or her own moral purity. Instead, this highlights women with autonomy over their survival and story, no matter what their journey was. In the end they go from being the victim in their personal life, to the one in complete power. This new subgenre, combined with brilliant screenwriting and casting, is why movies like Carrie, Gone Girl, and Knives Out have become cult classics. These movies contain complex and powerful female characters who women can sympathize with and respect.
Brian De Palma, director of the original horror film Carrie, did a great job of getting viewers to empathize with Carrie before the true horror begins. The movie follows Carrie White, a young girl in a small town who was relentlessly bullied by her entire town. On prom night, the torment reaches its peak and becomes unbearable, causing Carrie to unleash her newly found telekinetic powers on the bullies. Throughout the movie, the audience follows every horrible moment that Carrie is subjected to: both at school and home. At school, she is bullied because of her naivety and awkwardness by her peers, while the school staff does nothing despite being aware. Life at home is not any better, as her extremely religious mother has clearly isolated herself and Carrie. Her mother’s reasoning is that everyone – including Carrie – is a sinner. Carrie is subjected to physical, verbal, and mental abuse every second of the day. It is Carrie’s tragic backstory that makes her ending so satisfying and to some extent understandable, making her film fall into the genre of terror. The beginning of the movie paints her as the protagonist by showing the audience every horrible, traumatic moment of her life. However, the ending reveals that Carrie would technically be the antagonist as she does take revenge by brutally murdering the entire student body. But this twist of retaliation leaves many viewers asking the question, “Who is the true villain?” Was it the girl who was bullied for years and was manipulated into feeling accepted, only to be humiliated in front of the entire school? Or the community that saw this torment go on for years and did nothing? This question causes the viewers to root for Carrie despite her actions in the last act because she fought back against those who had wronged her. Carrie used her powers to receive “justice” and fight back. While it was in a quite gruesome way, it doesn’t stop viewers from being empathic when it comes to her character, thus earning this movie its place in the genre.
Ready or Not, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, is a gripping horror movie that came out this year. It’s a not-so-subtle, hilarious, and gory film that is filled with symbolism and embodies the Good For Her genre. Many love the main character Grace Le Domas because she fought tooth and nail for her survival against the traditional Le Domas family and what they symbolize. On her wedding night, she is ambushed by a diabolical tradition that the family holds, where to marry into the family you must first play a game with them. She expects a fun, friendly game of hide-and-seek, but is shocked when she finds that the punishment for being found is death. The audience is taken through Grace’s nightmare wedding night as she struggles to survive until sunrise. Audiences can’t help but to root for Grace because she is so obviously set up to lose and it seems it would take a miracle for her to win. Not only does what is supposed to be the best day of her life look like it might quickly turn into her last, but her backstory shows that she is fighting against more than just the Le Domas family. Since Grace was orphaned, it is implied that she has never gotten to experience having a family and that her marriage with Alex Le Domas would fulfill her. However, the expectation that a woman needs a family or partner to be complete is a damaging standard. During the movie, Grace realizes that she is an amazing, strong woman, and that she did not need Alex to survive in any way. Throughout this movie, the audience can actually see her shed these sexist expectations of herself. Specifically, her wedding dress becomes a way for the audience to see her come into her power. Her dress begins looking very old-fashioned and restrictive. As the movie progresses, the audience sees the dress turn into “a murder weapon, first aid kit, crashlanding pad, tracking device, and a burden for the film’s hero as she attempts to survive her wedding night.”(Matt Donnelly) While fighting off her attackers, she uses her sash to disarm them and bandages her wounds with extra fabric. By the end of the movie the dress is broken and bloody, standing as a symbol of her resilience. Grace was a strong, powerful woman who survived by utilizing her own strength, which is why many respect her journey.
These movies bring something new and exciting to the genre of horror. While being known for pushing the envelope, this genre has remained rather stagnant, forcing women to stay in stereotypical roles where they can only survive because of their moral purity or male counterparts. This introduction of complex women who take control of their destiny every step of the way has been appreciated by many viewers. Charlotte Gaffney says that, “the reason we love these women is simply that it’s highlighting and praising feminism and femininity in cinema. In a medium that still holds strong patriarchal power, it’s vindicating to have a subgenre devoted to uplifting women and feminism in cinema.” This new genre brings new elements to horror movies that have been long-awaited. Feminism and horror do not need to be seen as oxymorons. These movies demonstrate that directors and screenwriters can uplift women in media while still creating exceptional films.