B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping some feminist reimagined horror classics franchises into the ol’ VCR. 

I’ve been obsessed with the emergence of feminist horror reboots we’ve been seeing lately. From 2019’s Black Christmas to 2021’s Slumber Party Massacre, I love this trend. 

One big thing I find puzzling is the criticism. Sidney. Sally. Laurie. We’ve been rooting for final girls for ages, so why can’t we change the formula a bit? Why can’t we shift the perspective within horror?

When you have a sleepover as a trap to catch a deranged killer. ✨Just girly things. ✨

You’re Next and Jennifer’s Body are other prime examples. In You’re Next, Erin is a badass who essentially grew up in a survivalist cult, but she still hasn’t fully hit the mainstream. And don’t even get me started about all the shitty press junkets and promotional stunts they had Megan Fox do for Jennifer’s Body, when, at its core, Jennifer’s Body is a queer horror masterpiece. 

I think it all comes back to Barbie. Yes, Barbie. Think about the reaction to a film that shows how the patriarchy hurts EVERYONE. Cis, conservative, straight men are burning Barbies because of an empowering film. 

Granted, the horror community is more accepting, but I think the reason we’re seeing a Jennifer’s Body renaissance 14 years later is because of things like the invention of the Good for Her horror subgenre and more feminist horror reimaginings. 

A girl sings a song to her r*pist on stage about her SA. You can’t tell me that isn’t powerful. 

The catch is that we still have people screaming about traditional gender roles, how the LGBTQIA+ community is evil (the calls are coming from inside the house, sis), etc… So while we in the horror community, or, y’know, the decent human being community, applaud progressive storylines, Ben Shapiro is crying into his pillow at night because Barbie had a strong message. SAD. 

So yeah. I think that, at its core, that’s why we’re seeing these movies trickle in. Slumber Party Massacre completely shifts the perspective by showing men sensually showering and calling two characters Guys 1 and 2 to represent how expendable women have traditionally been in horror. The real monster in Black Christmas (2019) is the alpha male mentality. You get the picture. Hell, even movies like Promising Young Woman are striving to not only flip the script on the “boys will be boys” mentality, but are working to eradicate it completely. 

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*Takes a deep breath* 

I want to see more of these horror reimaginings, but I also want to see more movies like Barbie. 

We NEED movies that tear down the ideas people (the GOP) are throwing out. We NEED LGBTQIA+ representation. We NEED movies that tear down the patriarchy. If this is the way we’re going to dismantle the patriarchy and stop anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, then so be it! 

I’ll be in the front row.