The Cool Girl Guide to Movies About Unhinged Women
By Kiara Sangronis
Still from The Substance (2024)
So, you saw The Substance, and instead of flinching at the body horror, you walked out... enlightened? Babe, you're not demented, you just get it.
Did this film spark something in you, like a personal revolution you can’t quite put your finger on? Given the headlines on women these days, let's dive into a list that leans right into these thoughts, unapologetically.
These films will have flawed female leads because nothing is moving or liberating about a perfect picture character. It’s time to put our focus on women who are just as flawed as their male counterparts.
These films? They're about women and spoiler alert: they’re unabashedly about themselves.
Titane (2021)
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Titane is, without a doubt, a movie every woman should experience, especially if they were intrigued by The Substance. Julia Ducournau’s film is a wild, blood-soaked ride, electrified by a deeply visceral exploration of femininity, identity, and the female body. This isn’t just about the literal car sex in the film or the surreal, gender-bending journey; it’s about the extremes women must navigate, the strange terrains of self-discovery, and how physical transformation can mirror the inner chaos of personal evolution.
Ducournau, along with her partner in grime, cinematographer Ruben Impens, choreographs each scene with such a dark, lawless delicacy. The violence is unnervingly gruesome, with this haunting undertone beneath each act of brutality that keeps you enthralled. The story itself unfolds as a nightmare, combining body horror with genuine moments of tenderness, forcing you to feel both disgusted and seduced by its perverse beauty.
Titane embodies a raw, unfiltered dive into the uncanny, touching on themes of agency, transformation, and the price of survival. It’s a film that goes beyond the traditional horror genre, taking a darkly surreal yet oddly relatable plunge into what it means to shape—or maybe unshape—yourself.
Trigger Warning: SA
2. Suspiria (2018)
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Suspiria (2018) Dir. Luca Guadagnino isn't just a remake of the 1977 Italian classic—it's a blood-drenched reinvention that is demented and raw. We’re thrown into a world of anarchy beyond the academy, while a matriarchy holds sway within. This hold on power becomes twisted, and exploited throughout the film. At the center is Susie, an innocent girl turned Berlin-bound dancer played by Daktoka Johnson, desperate to be part of the infamous Markos Dance Company. The move feels like the beginning of her liberation.
If only it were that simple.
But what’s so deliciously disturbing about Suspiria is that this so-called ‘empowerment’ is still a far cry from liberation—it’s self-empowerment through witchcraft, that makes the dance of rebellion look and feel like a ritual. These women don’t just want power—they want to own it completely, even if it means sacrificing their bodies, minds, and souls to do so.
In this world, the line between feminist revolt and body horror blurs. The self-empowerment they seek is monstrous in its beauty and brutality. Their bodies, bent in dance and dark magic, become the ultimate site of control, where they perform not just for their own glory, but to shift the balance of power forever.
3. Starry Eyes (2014)
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Starry Eyes is a cinematic dissection of the price women must pay for fame and recognition in Hollywood, veiled under the guise of a gripping thriller with a potent horror narrative, with plenty of body horror at the end. At its core, the film is a feminist critique of an industry that demands women to strip away their authenticity to become what it desires—an image crafted from the male gaze. Sarah, portrayed by Alex Essoe, embodies the terrifying transformation that ensues when a woman sacrifices her body and soul to climb the ruthless ladder of success. The film amplifies the grotesque reality of how far Hollywood's machine will push women, turning them into animalistic versions of themselves to fulfill an insatiable need for commodification. Sound familiar?
Despite its graphic and unsettling portrayal, Starry Eyes is a necessary film. It’s a reminder of the toxic demands placed on women in the entertainment industry, similar to what we see in The Substance, where the cost of ambition is often not just your self-respect, but your very humanity. Critics who dismiss it as surreal or excessive miss the point—this is a deliberate, hard-hitting exploration of the patriarchy at the heart of Hollywood. This film is not just to be watched—it’s a statement.
TW: SA
4. Death Becomes Her (1992)
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Death Becomes Her dir. Robert Zemeckis is the OG “Hag-Horror” classic. This film explores similar themes in a campier sense, using humor and glamour to get its message across. At its core, Death Becomes Her is about women reclaiming the narrative of their own lives, or rather, their deaths. Here’s where it gets interesting: it’s not just about the men who get to have their cake and eat it too—it’s about the women, with double the frosting and triple the blood. Madeline (Meryl Streep) and Helen (Goldie Hawn) want the power to look eternally young, not for anyone else but for themselves. As beauty has always been, for us. The men they fight over are just an afterthought. What matters here is their need to control their own destiny, even if that means wearing eternal beauty like a shield. These women don't need saving. They're too busy sharpening their nails.
In a delightfully dark comedy, the movie indulges in a critique of Hollywood’s obsession with youth, reminding us that even when we die trying to look young, the joke’s on the world that forces us into that obsession. This isn't just a comedy—it’s a mockery of the ways women’s bodies are commodified, adored, and feared, all at once. This is a world where women control their own endings. Let the men wither and break. But these women? They stay fabulous, even in the afterlife.
5. May (2002)
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May (2002) is one of those films that feels like a fever dream with a twist of tragedy—a modern-day Frankenstein reimagined through the lens of a woman’s messy, uncomfortable, and ultimately powerful desire for connection. Directed by Lucky McKee, the film seems innocent at first, like a quirky tale about a lonely girl named May (Angela Bettis) with a love of sewing, but beneath its surface is a dark, feminist reworking of the Frankenstein myth.
Where Frankenstein’s monster is a product of male ambition, May’s creation is an act of necessity, one that is fueled by the deep wounds of rejection. In some ways, she embodies a feminist take on the misunderstood “monster” trope—her violence isn’t an act of mindless rage, but rather a response to the way society ignores or punishes her for her differences. May doesn’t need to create a man to love her—she’s creating herself, and she’s doing it on her own terms, no matter how messy or disturbing that might be.
Oh, and then there’s the queerness. Anna Faris’ character, Polly, is this bold, campy whirlwind that swirls into May’s already chaotic life, creating sparks of both confusion and clarity. In 2002, this was a moment of cinematic brilliance, exploring the raw, complicated dance of female-female relationships, something so rarely portrayed with this much messy honesty. She’s a character who challenges May’s sense of self and desire, a catalyst in the unraveling of May’s already fractured psyche.
(Catherine Breillat on her film Fat Girl, from an interview in 2001)
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In a world where we’re constantly fed stories of weak women who must fit into neat cookie-cutter little boxes of perfection, these films remind us that we are allowed to be messy, unhinged, and unapologetically ourselves. They challenge the sanitized, digestible versions of femininity that mainstream cinema so often feeds us to this day. These women—each one a reflection of chaos, survival, and rebellion—show us that embracing the monstrous side of ourselves is sometimes the most human thing we can do. So, the next time you find yourself uncomfortable in the theater, remember: you’re not just watching a movie, you’re witnessing a revolution in real-time.
Embrace the absurdity.
