[Editorial] 5 Female Revenge Movies to Watch

For decades women have been the subject of victimisation, offscreen and onscreen.

They have been subject to the perverted male gaze, finding themselves only granted screen time for their bodies rather than their abilities or minds. They have been constantly stalked and terrorised by on screen murderers and madmen, usually releasing their mummy issues on an unsuspecting woman. But more and more filmmakers are moving away from this constant victimisation (don’t we get enough of this in real life anyway?) and providing a cathartic outlet for women and men to see these females be the heroines of their own stories by dishing cold revenge.

Admittedly there is always some form of victimisation that leads to revenge, but when a film culminates in a satisfying onslaught of revenge, it’s hard not to cheer from behind the popcorn. 

These women do not take shit from anyone, and especially not the people in their lives who victimise them. Here are five fierce women in horror films that serve a brutal helping of revenge. 

A Good Woman Is Hard To Find

In the estates of Northern Ireland, a widowed mother Sarah (played by Sarah Bolger) finds herself going to extreme lengths in order to protect her children from danger. Sarah becomes mixed up in a game of cat and mouse when a lowlife scumbag, Tito (played by Andrew Simpson) steals cocaine from the local drug lord and forces Sarah into letting him stash it in her house. After Tito tries to rape Sarah one evening, she inflicts the revenge he deserves and decides it’s time to seek vengeance against those who murdered her husband. Bolger delivers an outstanding performance in Abner Pastoll’s A Good Woman Is Hard To Find, and presents some serious mum goals. This one requires a strong stomach for violence and graphic gore, but every slice is as gratifying as the next. 

I Spit On Your Grave

Perhaps considered as one of the most exploitative and extreme rape revenge movies to exist is Meir Zarchi’s 1978 film I Spit On Your Grave. Jennifer Hills (played by Camille Keaton) escapes to a remote cabin in the woods beside a beautiful lake in order to focus on her writing. Whilst there she is brutally gang raped by a group of locals who viciously brutalise her and leave her for dead. Jennifer takes measures into her own hands and ensures that every monster involved sees a nasty, painful and very violent end. I Spit On Your Grave isn’t your traditional feel good movie, but watching Jennifer horrifically torture and castrate the repulsive men is certainly an empowering feeling for many viewers. 

Ms. 45

Director Abel Ferrera is known for bringing many iconic films to genre fans including The Driller Killer and Bad Lieutenant, but it’s his revenge film Ms. 45 that really steals the show. Thana (played by Zoë Tamerlis) is a mute woman who works as a seamstress in New York, surrounded by fake friends and a sleazy boss who makes it clear he wants nothing from her but sex. On her way home she is held at gunpoint and raped in an alleyway, after which she goes home only to discover a burglar who rapes her in her home. These two devastating rapes change the course of Thana’s life and lead her to become patron saint of revenge killings for women who have been wronged. Even though Ms. 45 spirals towards the end into a chaotic energy of anarchy, the sentiment behind Ms.45 is powerful and with Thana only speaking one line throughout the entirety of the film, her silence speaks volumes. 

American Mary

Katherine Isabelle stars as leading lady Mary in American Mary which is female created by The Soska Sisters. Mary Mason is a medical student trying to keep up with rent payments and make headway in a world full of men that seem to take pleasure in slicing and dicing bodies. For extra cash she begins performing surgeries and body modifications in the underground scene, doing so out of a grimy basement underneath a club. Mary is invited to a party, and whilst there she is drugged and raped by her former teacher Dr. Grant (played by David Lovgren). It is after this that Mary quits medical school, and decides to go full-time with her surgical modifications. Fortunately for Mary she needs someone to practice on and Dr. Grant becomes the perfect lab rat for her to inflict practice surgeries on. American Mary not only celebrates the world of body modifications but also provides an eye-opening and shocking form of revenge that is certain to make anyone feel accomplished. 

Carrie

Not your conventional revenge movie, but a powerful one that deserves more attention as a revenge movie rather than just horror. Stephen King’s book Carrie was adapted for the screen back in 1976 by Brian De Palma to show the audience the power of the schoolgirl. Carrie (played by Sissy Spacek) finds herself becoming more and more isolated from everyone around her; she is bullied at school by both the girls and boys, and at home her mother forces her psychotic religious beliefs on her, punishing her for just existing. During prom night Carrie is subject to a horrific and humiliating prank which unleashes her true potential and allows her to deliver a fiery revenge on everyone around her. This classic horror film really does show how powerful revenge can be and allows the audience to revel in seeing the bad guys struck down. 

Although revenge might not always be the right path to take, it certainly is when it comes to the horror genre and can allow the viewer some form of comfort to see revenge taken.

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