As a Halloween lover, I get so excited to indulge in one of my favorite movie genres every October: horror movies. Ranging from the simply spooky to the totally terrifying, I try to watch as many as I can while they’re easily accessible on streaming services in October. While slashers gained the genre a bad reputation for dumbing down and oversexualizing their female characters, many takes on horror have interpreted the female experience in their own creepy or campy way. Here are five of my favorite female-centric horror movies for you to watch before Halloween!
- The Substance (2024), directed by Coralie Fargeat
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The Substance focuses on Elizabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who is fired from her job hosting an exercise show after turning 50. She turns to an experimental treatment to regain her youth for short periods of time, but it comes at a horrific cost.Â
With its over the top campy elements combined with the sometimes excessive body horror, The Substance is an excellent satirical take on the pressure women face not to age, especially in show business. The film juxtaposes the glamorous and the gross, including plenty of body horror that is not for the squeamish. If you can stomach it, I’d absolutely recommend putting it on your watchlist!
- Jennifer’s Body (2009), directed by Karyn Kusama
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After an indie band fails to sacrifice her to the Devil, small-town teen Jennifer Check is possessed by a spirit that feeds on her male classmates. Jennifer’s best friend desperately tries to find a way to stop her before it’s too late.Â
This 2009 film is an all-time classic for me, and I find myself coming back to it again and again. Jennifer’s Body finds groove walking the line between teen dramedy and horror, with a killer soundtrack to match. This one’s an all-time favorite of mine, so much so that I always save the rewatch for Halloween night itself.
- The Stepford Wives (1975), directed by Bryan Forbes
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Photographer Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) moves to quiet, suburban Stepford with her family. However, she seems to be the only person who realizes that all the women in town act strangely, and she desperately tries to get to the bottom of what’s happening in Stepford before it happens to her too.
This movie is a masterclass in psychological horror, although it’s often overshadowed by its horrible 2004 reboot. The original Stepford Wives confronts marital dynamics and bodily autonomy in a way that is markedly ahead of its time, and goes on to inspire another horror classic: Get Out (2017). For those who want to watch something creepy without the typical blood, guts, and jumpscares, this is for you.
- Pearl (2022), directed by Ti West
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Pearl (Mia Goth) waits for her husband to return from World War I as she tends to her sick father on an isolated midwestern farm. As she dreams of a more glamorous life that she will never lead, she begins to lose her grip on her sanity and turns violent.
If you’ve had TikTok for any period of time since this movie came out, you’ve definitely encountered some clips or lines from Pearl. It blew up for good reason, as director West’s work creates a vivid nightmare in an homage to Technicolor. This film finds a terrifying way to grapple with the way a lack of opportunity and a bad upbringing can absolutely destroy someone, and the story expands into an even more gruesome slasher trilogy. For those who can stomach more disturbing elements, this is a perfect October watch.
- Ginger Snaps (2001), directed by John Fawcett
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Two tween sisters with an obsession for the macabre are attacked by a strange animal in the night. Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) is bitten by the beast and finds herself slowly transforming into a werewolf with an uncontrollable thirst for blood. Her sister, Brigitte (Emily Perkins), does everything she can to find an antidote before she loses her sister forever.
This one really spoke to me and my friends during our edgy tween years, but now… not so much. It tackles the sheer terror that the abrupt changes of the middle school years bring to girls’ friendships, bodies, and overall lives in a way that spoke to me when I was going through it. During my recent rewatch, I found it nostalgic but definitely cringe, like a darker version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you’re looking for something super campy but still a little scary, I’d still recommend a watch.