30 Woman-Friendly Horror Movies for the Thrill-Seeking Feminist
By Emily Scott
Oculus
Oculus, Image via Blumhouse Productions/Relativity Media/etc.
Sub-Genre: Supernatural
What it’s about: As children, Tim and his sister Kaylie witnessed the evil mirror in their house possess and torment their parents, eventually killing them. As a result, Tim, who was believed to have killed them, was sent to a psychiatric institution. Eleven years later the siblings reunite as adults, Kaylie hoping to fulfill their pact to destroy the mirror. But the time Tim spent in the hospital convinced him that his sanity was compromised and that the mirror did not do anything. Kaylie must convince Tim that the mirror really did cause their parents’ death,. Then they must overcome the disorienting and hallucinatory effects of the mirror to finally hopefully destroy it, once and for all.
What makes it feminist: Oculus gives us a pretty pure gender role reversal between the two central characters. After the tragedy of their youth, Tim was blamed and placed in a mental institution for years. He has internalized what he has been told – that it was his fault, and the mirror was always just a mirror. This has the effect of making him timid and vulnerable, and wanting to put it behind him.
Kaylie, on the other hand, has maintained a single-minded focus on destroying the mirror. She concocts an elaborate plan to prove its supernatural power and exonerate her brother. She gathers the equipment and research needed to do so. She even builds her life around the plot, becoming an antique dealer so that she can find and gain access to the mirror. She is meticulous, headstrong, and calculated in her plan to convince Tim and the world of what the mirror really is.
A traditional horror movie would see these roles reversed. The man would be the hyper-competent one with the master plan, unable to let go of the past. His sister would be the one who meekly defers to what she has been told. This reversal does not, however have the effect of making Kaylie emotionless and Tim incompetent. Kaylie’s interactions with her brother and her fiancé indicated a fully developed, though heavily traumatized individual.