[Editorial] 9 Essential Hagspolitation Horror Films and Where to Stream Them

Horror has a long, sordid history when it comes to the treatment of women in genre films. While critics and filmmakers have had an awakening about marginalized people in horror, the work is far from over. And nowhere is this more evident than in the genre’s treatment of women of a certain age. Ask any former 80’s final girl still working today, and they will confirm that meaningful roles for women above a certain age are few and far between. 

For better or worse, there is one subgenre of horror that specializes in aging women: the hagsploitation or psycho biddy film. As entertaining as it is problematic, hag horror films still follow a tried and true formula. Traditionally, the “hag” is portrayed by an aging woman, usually around 40-years-old or more. She was once celebrated for her success and/or beauty. The hag is traditionally overdramatic at best and murderous at worst. While she may not always be unattractive, the audience is asked to view her as "monstrous" because of her age and stage of life. Her behaviour evokes disgust and is always corrupted by the madness that seems almost inherent to her age. She is almost always the villain of the story, and she always physically decays throughout the story as she unravels or is foiled by youthful protagonists. The hag almost always leaves in her wake a trail of violence and mayhem, the campier the better. If not killed to stop her menace, she will then be cast aside and forgotten, a burden to society. For the audience, the horror of hag films almost always lies in her appearance, motives, and, well, existence.

Hag horror originated in the early 1960’s and enjoyed its heyday during this time. Golden Era Hollywood actresses such as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis suddenly found themselves struggling to win roles over the younger, rising starlets of the time. So, in an ironic moment of art imitating life imitating art, these women turned to psychological horror films centered on unstable and dangerous older women. And a new character archetype was born. 

Since the 60s, we have not been able to shake this oft-misogynistic film trope. In fact, many of the biggest films of the past five years dip into this nearly forgotten subgenre. These films seem intent on proving that little has changed in society’s treatment of aging women. If horror reminds us that the feminine is a scary monster, then the old woman is the final boss of fear. Forgotten, repulsive, and unhinged, psychotic old women are more popular than ever. As popular as it is problematic, hagsploitation seems here to stay. 

To help you figure out just how you feel about this much-debated, often misogynistic trope, we present The Ghouls Guide to Essential Hag Horror Films and where you can stream them all in the UK.

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane (1962)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is often cited as the seminal hagsploitation film of the 1960s. It stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis as aging siblings Jane and Blanche. Jane is a washed-up former child star. Blanche had a successful acting career before a suspicious accident left her in a wheelchair. As heart wrenching as it is horrifying, the film highlights the strain of stardom and competition on the psyche. Famously feuding on and off set, Crawford and Davis both give unsettlingly exaggerated performances in this study of codependency, mental illness, and the very real fear of being forgotten.

Available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Barbarian (2022)

Director Zach Cregger seems hellbent on bringing hags back into fashion. And so far, he is hitting the mark. The first of two Cregger films on this list is Barbarian. This hag, known only as The Mother, is a literal monster. She is physically repulsive and murderous. She kidnaps people and tries to mother them, right down to breastfeeding. So not only is she a hag proper, but she is clearly grappling with some serious mothering issues. Misogynist stereotype double-whammy or ironic statement on the maiden, mother, crone theory? Either way you choose to interpret the film, its financial and critical success is undeniable. 

Available to stream on Netflix.

Mommie Dearest (1981)

More than just a cautionary tale about the perils of wire hangars, Mommie Dearest is a seethingly campy look at the aforementioned Hollywood darling, Joan Crawford. The film started as a controversial tell-all book from Crawford’s adopted daughter, Christina. The accuracy and fairness of this depiction are up for debate. What is not up for debate is that Faye Dunaway’s iconic turn as Crawford is simultaneously unhinged and heartbreaking. The film perfectly portrays a woman in sharp mental and physical decline. The audience is implored to judge Crawford as harshly as the characters around her. Over the top, heartbreaking, and somehow also hilarious, the film is a poignant statement on how women of a certain age really do lose their value to Hollywood. Dunaway’s depiction really does paint Crawford as physically and emotionally haggard, and mostly for the delight and disgust of the audience. Sadly, though debatably not entirely unmerited,  this and Baby Jane are probably all that is left of Crawford’s legacy in Hollywood. In the case of the psycho biddie, sometimes art really does imitate life.

Available to rent on Apple TV.

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore was one of the hottest stars of the 1980s and early 90s. As she aged, roles became scarce. Then she came back with a vengeance with 2024’s The Substance. In the film, Moore plays an aging Hollywood actress who decides to save herself from fading into obscurity by creating a younger version of herself. As Moore herself puts it, “We (aging women) don’t fade, we evolve.” Only in the case of her Substance character, evolution comes in the form of a battle with her younger self that culminates in a hideous monstrosity that is a hybrid of her young and old selves. As on the nose as it is grotesque, this film asks how far aging women are willing to go to keep their beauty, youth, and relevance in a society that is quick to cast them aside. 

Available to stream on Paramount Plus.

Lady in a Cage (1964)

Following the success of Baby Jane two years prior, studios began churning out hagsploitation horror films faster than you can say “Would you like the senior citizen discount?” A mixed bag, these films were often nothing more than exploitation trash. There were a few exceptions, like Lady in a Cage, starring yet another aging Golden Hollywood Era starlet, Olivia de Havilland. This film is a claustrophobic and terrifying look at the very real fears that come with living alone as one ages. The film focuses on wealthy widow Mrs. Hilyard, who gets stuck in a home elevator while home alone. Throughout her time locked in her cage, she is visited by all sorts of visitors (she should consider locking her doors), including thieves, prostitutes, and juvenile delinquents. The visitors become increasingly sadistic in their treatment of Mrs. Hilyard, and we, as the audience, are forced to contend with society’s very real apathy and disgust towards the elderly. 

Available to rent on Apple TV.

X (2022)

Ti West and Mia Goth became household names thanks in large part to the X Trilogy, which began with X. The film follows an adult film crew in the 1970s as they attempt to make a film at a dilapidated farm owned by an elderly couple. Goth tackles dual roles as she plays the young titular star of the film as well as the elderly woman named Pearl. There’s no denying Pearl’s complexity and madness. Her attempts at sexual encounters with various characters are fascinating, albeit uncomfortable. What is most telling, though, is that audiences are so much more horrified by Pearl’s sexuality than by her gruesome acts of murder.

Available to stream on Shudder.

Misery (1990)

Stephen King is no stranger to writing about women of all ages. This film adaptation of his novel of the same name does a great job of evoking sympathy for the film’s hag, Annie Wilkes, played by the iconic Kathy Bates. Bates herself has been quoted as saying that she saw Annie as a tragic, lonely woman who is driven to madness by a cold world. However, Annie’s track record and treatment of the author Paul Sheldon, whom she captures and tortures, earns her a place on the list. Annie is a murderous maniac who enjoys torture and murder as much as she hates foul language. The film’s treatment of her psychosis is surprisingly sympathetic, and reminds us that sometimes there is true evil hiding under a seemingly sweet-middle aged veneer.

Available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Weapons (2025)

Zack Cregger followed up Barbarian with this critical hit film about a witch named Gladys who kidnaps children to use their youth to cure her illness (old age?) and keep her alive. Cregger breathes new light into an age-old cautionary tale. But he leans into the notion that aging women are a danger, as they covet youth and beauty. Amy Madigan delivers an incredibly powerful performance as Gladys. She is not afraid to utilize society’s dismissal of elderly women as a powerful weapon, playing innocuous, sweet, and oblivious almost as well as she plays evil, terrifying, and powerful. Cregger plans to follow up this film with a prequel about Gladys. Hopefully, he can add some depth and nuance to a tired trope about the perceived female obsession with coveting youth and attractiveness. 

Available to rent on Apple TV.

Bring Her back (2025)

Bring Her Back was another well-regarded horror film from last year. It is the Philippou brothers’ sophomore effort and follow-up to Talk to Me. The film tackles heavy themes of grief and loss with a hefty dose of violence and gore. The big bad of this film is a middle-aged woman named Laura, a former counselor and foster mom who takes in two kids grieving the loss of their parents. On the surface, Laura is kind, if not a touch eccentric. However, we quickly learn that Laura is the movie’s big bad. Oscar-nominee Sally Hawkins delivers a powerful and nuanced performance as Laura. It is almost impossible not to sympathize with her grief, even at her most heinous moments. The viewer watches her unravelling through the eyes of the innocent foster children. Her slow yet very visceral deterioration into the film's villain is led by her determination to bring back her dead daughter, who drowned in a pool accident. She’s undeniably unhinged and willing to go to extremes of terror to resurrect her daughter. But somehow she never loses her humanity. The audience cannot help but feel sympathetic, as a humanity that is often lost in other hag films remains on display in Bring Her Back. Perhaps there is some hope for this subgenre after all.

Available to rent on Apple TV.

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