“Good for Her” Movies You Might Have Missed Pt. 1

In honor of Women’s History Month, Erica and Charlotte have compiled a list of lesser-known movies in the “Good for Her” subgenre.

These stories go well beyond the features that solidified the “Good for Her” virality online. They explore more than female revenge and highlight many aspects of the feminine experience that add depth and diversity to the genre.

So pick a film and give the ladies of horror some extra love this month!

May

Charlotte Spark

An underrated horror, this was at the top of my favorite good-for-her movies. It’s a film that really doesn’t get the credit it deserves. May (Angela Bettis) is a socially awkward girl born with a lazy eye, and her only friend being her extremely off-putting doll. May develops a crush which encourages her to fix her eye and start avoiding the many advances from her co-worker. This is a truly insane love story which starts off with an innocent crush – young love really turns extremely weird. May gets heartbroken time after time, lashing out on herself and anything around her. May get’s her a new friend and payback on those who wronged her.

She Will

Erica Vilkus

She Will is an all too rare depiction of later womanhood. Veronica Ghent (Alice Krige), a famous actress recovering from cancer, reflects on her life while retribution-filled supernatural forces writhe around her. This beautiful, dark film hits on many uniquely femme experiences from the painful to joyful. It weaves elder and younger female experiences together seamlessly and the power created from that solemn camaraderie turns this into a tale of transformation and revenge. If the visual beauty of this film doesn’t hook you, the fresh plot, stunning acting, and hair-raising score will.

Revenge

Charlotte Spark

First catapulting its way onto Shudder, it really revitalised the rape revenge and French extremity genres. With rejection becoming an obsession with men thinking that they can get away with their assaults by trying to silence her with violence. With all men in this film complicit to the crime, they come up with the idea that if our protagonist (Matilda Lutz) goes away so do their problems. An incredibly thrilling film right till its final moments, Revenge will have you sat on the edge of your seat. As poetic justice is truly served with such dislikable misogynic men center to stage, it really parallels to I Spit On Your Grave. But with a difference of placing less focus on the assault and more on the act of revenge.

Huesera – The Bone Woman

Erica Vilkus

Huesera takes inspiration from the Mexican folklore figure of the same name and addresses women’s issues in a mix of ancient and modern horrors. The creepy imagery and sounds of “The Bone Woman” are almost as unsettling as the depths of postpartum depression Valeria (Natalia Solián) goes through. Among the deterioration of her own mind, she also struggles to come to terms with her sexuality, values and wants. The loss of self and desperate measures she takes to regain control result in a spellbinding climax that leads to an unexpected yet satisfying end.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Charlotte Spark

The Autopsy of Jane Doe has stellar performances, a slow, tense build up, and scares that stay with you at night. Our plot begins with a father-son coroner duo set in for an evening of horrors and revelations. As the mystery unravels, Jane Doe (Olwen Kelly) gets her ‘good for her’ moment after death. As her autopsy is performed it slowly becomes evident that she isn’t your average corpse. With twist after twist you won’t see coming, Jane Doe’s power goes beyond the afterlife, wanting to inflict the pain she feels upon others. In the end, you find yourself rooting for this reality-bending corpse as the injustice of the world towards Jane Doe makes this a tragic tale.

Watcher

Erica Vilkus

Watcher follows Julia (Maika Monroe) as she and her boyfriend, Francis (Karl Glusman), adapt to a new city. While Francis settles quickly, Julia is left isolated in an unfamiliar place as a threatening presence begins to follow her. Director Chloe Okuno nails the frustrating feeling of being told you’re a hysterical woman whose intuition and sense of safety don’t matter. As the suspense builds to a stomach-sinking climax it’s easy to cheer for Julia as her fears are finally validated but also scream because no one would believe her until something terrible happened. This is such a grounded situation, one that too many women have dealt with, that turns this into a somewhat cautionary tale. Not for women, but for those who won’t hear women’s concerns until an “I told you so” moment that comes all too late.

Stay tuned for part two of this list later this month, where Erica and Charlotte will bring you six more feminine rage-filled flicks to wrap up Women’s History Month!