10 Horror Movies Where Women Get To Be The Problem
As a horror girl, I love when films make room for women to be the problem. I knew Pamela Voorhees had killed before because she wore a white cable-knit to a bloodbath without a second thought. I’m still sick that I will never know what Bryan Fuller and company had cooked up for their version of CRYSTAL LAKE because I know in my bones they understood the assignment. As much as we love CHILD’S PLAY, we all have to agree it got even better with Tiffany Valentine. Although, to be fair, adding Jennifer Tilly to anything makes it better. As a kid who grew up on THE CRAFT, GINGER SNAPS, and MISERY, I love seeing women be the problem. However, I love it even more when I cannot help but root for them in their devious endeavors.
That’s why I have compiled this list of 10 movies where women get to be the problem, and we’re welcome. After all, final girls are so yesterday. Everyone knows the real fun is reserved for wicked women who don’t let anyone get in their way.
[spoilers ahead for some killer reveals]
THE CALL (2020)
Two young women find themselves living in the same house in different times when a phone call connects them. This Korean banger has the misfortune of being one of too many movies sharing the exact same title. However, this is the best one, and that’s in huge part because of the acting. Specifically, Oh Young-sook’s (Jeon Jong-seo) heel turn. She’s off the rails, menacing, terrifying, and relentless. This performance is mesmerizing because this actor (and character) is so uninhibited that you cannot look away.
REVENGE OF THE PONTIANAK (2019)
A woman returns from the dead to terrorize a village harboring her murderers. This movie is set in 1965 Malaysia and hits harder than it should. Not only is Mina (Nur Fazura) justified in this quest for revenge, but she gets extra points for her creativity. If there were awards for haunting men, Mina would take home the gold. Which works out because we get glimpses of this iconic wardrobe when she’s killing the people who tried her. I cannot stop thinking about what she would wear to pick up a statue or a medal.
SCREAM 4 (2011)
Sidney Prescott has healed, written a book, and returned home to Woodsboro 10 years after the original massacre. Sadly, new trauma awaits her. SCREAM 4 was my favorite SCREAM sequel for years. Part of that's because Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) is the most unhinged Ghostface we have ever seen. Not only does she kill her own friends while tormenting her cousin, but she even takes her own mom out. She also has one of the best motives for being the problem because she was so ahead of her time. In a perfect world, those hospital shenanigans never happen, and we get to see Jill’s spite tour.
SISSY (2022)
A woman bumps into her former best friend and gets invited to her bachelorette party. Her high school bully is also at the function, and hard feelings rise to the surface. Cecilia/Sissy (Aisha Dee) might start off as a reluctant killer, but once she gets going, it’s pretty fantastic. Not only do you want her to stab everyone at this party, but getting stabbed is literally the least some of these fools can do after the way they treat her. Sissy became the problem she needed in the world, and I find that inspiring.
SOUND OF VIOLENCE (2021)
A young woman goes to deadly lengths to hear the sounds of suffering.
Alexis Reeves (Jasmin Savoy Brown) is a brilliant Black woman afraid she’ll lose her hearing again. So, while her methods are a tad extreme, you get why she does what she does. More importantly, I don’t believe in interrupting queer Black women slashers because we don’t have nearly enough working in these genre streets. So many of the kills scream giallo influences, and the final one specifically is so over the top and messed up that all you can do is clap.
SUGAR HILL (1974)
Some mobsters make a huge mistake when they kill a man for his nightclub. His girlfriend Diana “Sugar” Hill (Marki Bey) makes a deal with Baron Samedi and uses zombies (and a strong backhand) to settle the score. Sugar Hill doesn’t just serve looks while throwing hands and getting zombies in formation. She also takes over the business because she knows you can grieve while multitasking. The fact that this Blaxploitation movie was hidden from me my whole childhood is upsetting. Watching SUGAR HILL at an early age would have changed my entire trajectory.
TRAGEDY GIRLS (2017)
Two teen girls in a sleepy town decide to create the chaos they want to see on the local news. Sadie Cunningham (Brianna Hildebrand) and McKayla Hooper (Alexandra Shipp) are young slashers after my heart. This movie is cute, funny, and charming because this duo has chemistry and these characters are weirdly relatable. While most of us aren’t killers, we do know what it’s like to chase our dreams at all costs. While McKayla is my favorite (in part because she never loses sight of the mission), I’m happy both of these young ladies decided to be the problem together. I’m still sad we’ll never know what they got up to in college too.
US (2019)
A family’s dream vacation turns into a nightmare when deadly doppelgängers show up. In what is my favorite Jordan Peele film, Lupita Nyong'o gets to be the problem not once, but twice. Adelaide and Red are two sides of the same coin. Their quest not only for survival but to get what they feel they deserve leads to an epic showdown. Lupita should’ve gotten an Oscar for these two performances. However, the best I can do is salute her for crafting two women “villains” so solid that it’s hard to pick sides.
WEAPONS (2025)
A community is torn apart after all but one child from a classroom vanishes from their homes. Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) is a whole new category of women being the problem, and I love to see it. Not only is Gladys past her thirties, so young girls have something to aspire to, but she’s the life of the party. Name me one other witch who is this fun while holding a group of kids under a spell in a dank basement. While I wanted her to get away with everything, I enjoyed watching Madigan leave no crumbs in her final scene. Well played, Auntie; well played.
WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)
A new park ranger shows up for his new assignment in a small town that might just have a werewolf. Because this is one of my favorite werewolf movies of this millennium, I talk about it a ton. However, Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub) deserves so many more flowers. Not only does she play an insidious game with the townsfolk and the new ranger, but she does it while hiding in plain sight. When she drops the act and explains her plan, it’s hard not to want her to get away with it. As a woman who loves food and does a lot of thankless jobs, I get it, and I’m kind of on her side. Sorry to all the townies she killed along the way!
Well, there you have it. 10 movies where women get to be the problem. We love to see it, and I hope all the filmbros start backing more movies like them. From slashers to vengeful spirits to werewolves to just women with unusual extracurriculars...all these movies are a great time. I hope you add some of these devilish divas to your watchlist and seek out more.
