Horror films are fighting the patriarchy too - pt.1

I've been watching a few horror films / thrillers here and there which I don't usually do cause, well... I'm a scaredy-cat and I just don't vibe with fear + having to sit through it. But anyways, I found myself enjoying some of these deeply uncomfortable experiences and I've been thinking of how more and more of these films are dealing with important stuff and particularly there is a sort of feminist-y wave of horrors that I'm sort of fascinated by. So... here's a few observations on them, I guess.

ATTENTION : this will most definitely contain spoilers ☆

I'm gonna start with an unexpected-ish pairing : Ex Machina (2014) written and directed by Alex Garland (yes, a man) and Fresh (2022) which is actually Mimi Cave's directorial debut so everyone clap.

Why these two together? Well, I had this thought because of a frame : the moment where Noa looks at the painting at her kidnapper's house reminded me of Ex Machina's Pollock painting scene. Something clicked and sometimes that's all it's needed to get my brain going, thinking, connecting, making parallels and finally writing this.

It's definitely a subtle - and maybe slightly forced - interpretation but I had this thought: Ex Machina and Fresh both show us men treating/using women as objects.

In the first case they're robots, men's own creations, there to please their MALE maker, with FEMALE attractive (conforming to the mainstream aesthetic expectations) bodies and I don't think that's random.

In the second case women are used for their literal flesh, they say it's because women are tastier but I think it's because they're actually misogynistic patriarchal pieces of shit.

I think it's important to notice how sex and gender both play a huge role in these movies.

Ava exploits her given body and the perception of others to get free, she is not a she, it is a robot, a literal machine, it has no gender, no sexual identity, and yet it knows that by becoming a she the men around her would consequently behave differently, hence it would be easier to manipulate them.

Noa too knows that her body is a weapon, but it works both ways : she ended up being caged by a psycho cannibal because of that same body that got her out of it. Moral of the story : it all depends on how you use it (?).

In both cases, these women use seduction to get free, they're still hanging to an ideal (a patriarchal founding belief) that a woman's only value is sex - as a wife, to give men children, or as a prostitute, to give men pleasure - but they're doing so in a sovversive way. These women are using their male-imposed shackles to free themselves. They're using the stereotype that oppresses them as a weapon against their same oppressors. And they succeed!

I think that's pretty badass if you ask me.

Another case of women using their bodies to fight back is Promising Young Woman (2020) written and directed by Emerald Fennell, but even better than that : Audition (1999), a Japanese horror film directed by Takashi Miike. Both of these films portray female assassins (some sort of punishers / vigilantes) getting back at awful men, the only difference is that one is vanilla and pg-13 and the other one is puke-inducing and terrifying.

If you're questioning if Aoyama (from Audition) is an "awful man" let me just remind you of the fact he literally tricked hopeful young actresses into dating him using auditions for a fake production as his personal Tinder. It is the definition of men using their privilege in the WRONG way, fuck him! Plus he's lowkey a stalker (I mean sure she's crazy disturbing and all but).

Basically what I'm saying is : he probably individually didn't deserve what he got, but as a symbolic representative of a whole system of values, yeah he did.

With Promising Young Woman the message is a little more direct : this girl find boys whom are willing to take advantage of her drunk and makes them regret to have ever left their house. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the film itself sucks, I mean the concept is okay but the amount of time dedicated to this part is way to short and the rest of the movie is just not interesting.

The idea behind these movies is pretty basic : revenge can solve a problem. But I think they turn a light on something important we don't talk about too often : women are tired of being scared, and sometimes we just want to be the ones to be feared. I have a clear image of Alexia/Adrien - from Titane (2021) written and directed by Julia Ducournau - walking down the alley after (at the time) her performance and being followed by this random dude who feels entitled not only to an autograph, but also a kiss on the cheek and a DATE, yes, you heard me, a date.

My point is : I'm tired of using keys as self-defense, hoping I won't find myself in the situation where keys are no longer of any use. I'm tired of constantly having to deal with a mostly-male population that thinks they're allowed to comment on what I wear. Sometimes I'd like to be feared too, sometimes revenge is all I want even though, sure, I know that change needs to happen in a different way and that this is not a solution.

Anyways... they die in the end, so I guess the patriarchy wasn't defeated this time...

...part two coming soon...

if you have submissions of films that might fit this series / suggestions of any kind please leave them in the comment or send me an email at : ibreathecinema@gmail.com ♡