Content Warning: Sexual Assault, Rape 

When watching many horror films, tensions rise as the lights dim, but what can often be the most terrifying is the social commentary the film gives. 

There seems to be a clear intersection between sexuality, often a woman’s, and terror. These tropes can subconsciously change our perspective of womanhood. 

When diving into film history, it is evident that women were not very involved in the creation of many movies. When they were featured in them, they were often portrayed as a stereotype and didn’t have much complexity to their characters. However, there has been one genre that has always had women at the forefront: horror. 

As early as “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925), women have often been portrayed as victims and damsels in need of saving. The first horror movies produced were early adaptations of “Frankenstein” (1910), “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1908), and “The Wolfman” (1941) which began the start of body horror. Body horror is a subgenre that intentionally shows grotesque and disturbing depictions of transformations of the human body. 

One of the most iconic body horror films that had a woman as the main character is “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968). This movie was a catalyst for body horrors to come, and that was due to the true horror of the movie- a depiction of sexual assault. 

Rosemary becomes pregnant after being raped by her husband, which in turn curses the baby. Many body horrors to come have held a similar premise, but when breaking it down, the horror is the nonconsensual actions that happen to women. These are sometimes referred to or categorized as “rape-revenge” films. 

In the past few years, there has been an increase of women behind the camera which has had an overall impact on the film industry. San Diego State’s very own, Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, does annual reports on the celluloid ceiling (amount of women working on the 250 highest-grossing films of the year). Though it varies year to year, in 2023 women made up only 22% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers.

This exploration of sexualization of women in horror is a prime example of why we need more women behind the scenes, especially in the horror genre. A film that is a testament to the art produced by women is “The Substance” (2024) written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. This was one of the most insane body horrors I have ever seen. Despite walking away shocked by the grotesqueness, something much deeper resonated with me. 

This film follows Demi Moore’s character, Elizabeth Sparkles, who, on her 50th birthday, loses her TV job. She gets recommended “The Substance”, an elixir that includes many injections, that will “change her life” and give her a ‘better’, younger version of herself. Without giving too much away (you have to go see this film, your jaw will be attached to the ground), the ending shows us a form of rapid aging that will make your skin crawl. 

By the end, the body horror of it all was not what I was expecting, but definitely accomplished a visual monstrosity.  This wasn’t my main takeaway, though. It was the main character who grapples with aging and how it affects her physically and mentally. 

Some might say the horror of the film is the reality of women aging, not the freakishness of it all. However, with the ending the audience sees, it reflects the battle Sparkles was having with her aging and how the real horror was the sacrifice she was willing to make for just a semblance of youth. 

“It’s not about what’s being done to us — it’s what we do to ourselves. It’s the violence we have against ourselves. The lack of love and self-acceptance, and that within the story, we have this male perspective of the idealized woman that I feel we as women have bought into,”  Moore said when she was interviewed about her role and what the issue being addressed in the film was.

This was the feeling I walked away with- how awful we are (especially women) to ourselves, just in hopes that hating ourselves so much will one day somehow turn into self love. Reality is, it never will. 

After finishing the film, “Carrie” was one of the first movies that popped into my head. How in “Carrie” there isn’t a monster or horrifying sight to see, she is the outcome of her environment, and the scariest thing about the movie is her going from girlhood to womanhood. What is the point of this pivot? She starts her period, a commonality in many of these body horror films. Some have coined this as girlhood to monsterhood, which highlights how we perceive women and aging, reinforcing this idea that women lose their innocence after they start menstruating. 

Horror films in the 1980’s had female deaths on screen last two times longer than that of male deaths. This being the peak of slasher films, reflected much of the portrayal of women in horror at the time. It also allowed for a precedent to be set for the genre that has not been challenged until more recent years. 

Why does this statistic exist? It leaves us more time to be scared for the character possibly. I think it might be something more cynical, that some enjoy watching the torture and distress of women. 

This spooky season, when  you are reaching for your next horror film, I implore you to look into some of these body horror films that center women and give nuance to what it means to be a woman in horror. Such as “Carrie”, “Jennifer’s Body, “Teeth”, “Raw”, “Ginger Snaps”, “It Follows”, “Promising Young Woman”, “The Babadook”, “Alien” (1979), TI West’s “X” trilogy. And obviously “The Substance”.

Films like “The Substance” give us nuanced, thoughtful body horrors that can help us draw powerful sentiments about society and ourselves as humans.

This is why there can be something so powerful about seeing strong female leads. More so when these leads are horrific monsters, there is almost a feeling of catharsis women can experience watching a female character lash out in a fit of rage. When we are constantly sold as the victims in horror, it can be empowering to be the terrifier. 

The overall genre must make a shift that doesn’t allow for a character to be sexualized until her last breath.