Any horror films that don't objectify women?

Question

I'm doing research into the objectification of women in horror films. Does anyone know of any movies that aren't just about T&A and naive girls; films that show complex characters and have less than your average amount of flesh?

Answer 1

The Haunting (original and remake)
I Walked With a Zombie
The Dark (2005)
A Nightmare on Elm Street~Including the first one, a number of women fight back with great skill.
Skeleton Key~Kate Hudson
The Innocents~Deborah Kerr
The Ninth Gate~Emmanuelle Seigner
Carnival of Souls (original)~Candace Hilligoss
The She-Creature (2001)~Rya Kihlstedt and Carla Gugino
Cursed (2005)
The Ring 1 & 2~Naomi Watts
The Grudge~Sarah Michelle Gellar's character does try to fight back in the first one, and her sister battles it in the sequel. Nowhere are women used as windowdressing, meaning that they remain clothed. The deaths are not played out at any length.
Stephen King's Sleepwalkers~Alice Krige
Ghost Story~Alice Krige
Fallen (1998)~Embeth Davidtz
Halloween 1, 2 & H20~Jamie Lee Curtis
Terror Train~Jamie Lee Curtis
Wes Craven's They~Laura Regan
Darkness Falls~Emma Caulfield
The Fog (original and remake)~a number of them
Silent Hill~Radha Mitchell
Pitch Black~Radha Mitchell (sometimes closer to horror than science fiction)
Curse of the Demon aka Night of the Demon~Peggy Cummins
Gothika~Halle Berry
Pulse (2006)~Kristen Bell
When a Stranger Calls (2006)~Kristen Bell
The Gorgon~Barbara Shelley
Van Helsing~Kate Beckinsale
Beetlejuice~Geena Davis and Winona Ryder
Poltergeist 1-3~numerous strong women, including the little girl who holds up under attack through three films
Candyman~Virginia Madsen
Child's Play~Catherine Hicks
Below~Olivia Williams
Route 666~Lori Petty~~There is another actress who has a strong role; both are policewomen.
Venom~Agnes Bruckner
The First Power~Tracy Griffith
Phantoms~sci fi/horror cross~~Joanna Going
Death Becomes Her~This is comedic horror in which three women have the most powerful roles, with all of the men subservient to them!
Stephen King's It~The girl/woman Barb is the person who is the true warrior during both fights with the creature.
Stay Alive~I don't recall any gratuitious nudity in this one.
What Lies Beneath
Wolfen
The Company of Wolves
Stephen King's Silver Bullet
Buffy the Vampire Slayer~Kristy Swanson
Bad Moon~Mariel Hemingway
Ginger Snaps 1-3~I think all three focus on strong female characters though I can't guarantee that there isn't some nudity. The girls definitely are not the usual victims but the ones who take charge~one as a werewolf, the other trying to set things right until she realizes that she, too, must become a werewolf.
Alien tetralogy~sci fi with monster-aliens~~Sigourney Weaver
Alien vs. Predator~sci fi with monster-aliens~~Sanaa Latham
Wolf~Michelle Pfeiffer
Dracula's Daughter~Gloria Holden
Daughter of Darkness (1971)~Delphine Seyrig
Underworld~Kate Beckinsale
Underworld: Evolution~Kate Beckinsale
Theater of Blood~Diana Rigg
She (1965)~fantasy with horror elements~~Ursula Andress
The Bone Snatcher
Mimic~sci fi with monster-bugs~~Mira Sorvino
Jeepers Creepers~Gina Phillips
Chronicle of the Raven~Gina Phillips and Faye Dunaway
The Mummy~Rachel Weisz
The Mummy Returns~Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez
The Abominable Dr. Phibes~Virginia North (Phibes' assistant)
Dr. Phibes Rises Again~Valli Kemp (Phibes' assistant)

I didn't get all of the actresses typed in for the film. Most of these are very strong women's roles, whether they are good or bad, whether they win or ultimately lose. There always have been great roles, even if people don't remember them. It's only the Saw/Hostel-type films that have been regularly exploiting women. Females remained clothed in a lot of horror films.

I'm certain I could find many more for you. As I think of them, I'll return to add them to the list. There are MANY women out there who don't fall into the "T&A and naive girls" category!

Answer 2

The Haunting (1963)
House On Haunted Hill (195?)
The Birds
The Exorcist
The Shining
The Omen
The Amityville Horror
Night of the Living Dead (1969)
JAWS

Gee, I cant think of any. There are probably more horror movies that do NOT objectify women than those that do. The blockbusters probably do today. But the genre is not about blockbusters. MANY horror movies have complex/strong women in them. If you are going to do this paper, you need to start thinking about what films do and do not fit the description. And, you probably should watch some movies to judge for yourself.

Answer 3

The first thing that pops to mind is last year's "The Descent." It had an all-female cast, they weren't stupid, and they kept their shirts on. The original version of "The Haunting" is also pretty interesting, as it had some pretty blatant lesbian allusions that were fairly scandalous for the time. Also, you should look at "The Last House on the Left." It had some pretty crazy gender politics going on as well. While you're at it, what about "The Exorcist" or "Halloween?" Very complex female characters in both of those. Oh, what about "The Craft?" All-female cast there. And you can't overlook "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - amazing women in that one. "Rosemary's Baby?" The woman isn't the hero, but *wow* what a character. Also look at "Silence of the Lambs" and the "Alien" series.

Answer 4

My favorite horror movie is pretty old, but it is my favorite. It's "Rosemary's Baby." I think Mia Farrow did an excellent job as the innocent wife who slowly becomes suspcious of her husband, neighbors and doctor. People like to call it the horror movie without any horror. But would could be worse than finally realizing you've given birth to the Antichrist. I thought her acting first-rate in this.

Answer 5

Secret Window

Answer 6

Check out Audition and May for complex female characters.....

The remakes of night of the living dead (1990) and Dawn of the dead (2004 ) have female characters as "the leaders"

Alien of course is famous for its bad *** female character, Sigourney Weaver

Answer 7

The PROBLEM with alot of horror films- is that they oftentimes DEPEND on the sexy women in them- to take people's minds off of how LOUSY the movie is!!! So if you want to see one that DOESN'T "objectify" the Opposite Sex, you may have to look for ones that doesn't have any significant female roles at all !!!

Answer 8

the exorcist when the girl is possessed the ring when the girl crawls out of the tv screen the blair witch in an abstract sense of a woman being a witch. paranormal activity when the woman is possessed by a demon and screams at the tv camera , alternate version when she' slits her throat.

Answer 9

'Silence of the Lamb' had a complex, strong female lead (Jodie Foster). 'Aliens' would be another, if you consider that to be a horror movie.

Answer 10

Disturbia is a good one.