13 Horror Movie Heroines That Kick Butt

Meg Penny (Shawnee Smith) in The Blob (Image via TriStar Pictures)

11.) Meg Penny (The Blob, 1988)

You may notice that a couple of the movies mentioned here are remakes. While the current plague of reboots and do-overs might make you involuntarily roll your eyes, stay with me for a moment. Some movies really do need a makeover.

Take The Blob, for instance. The original 1958 film (which includes the debut role of one Steve McQueen) focuses more on the exploits of its male stars, rather than its ancillary female characters.The hero’s girlfriend, Jane, does little more beyond assisting other or simply existing in a continuous state of peril.

Fast forward thirty years, and you might have found yourself wondering why on Earth anyone would bother to remake The Blob, of all things. Well, for one: Meg Penny.

Her character (played by Shawnee Smith) starts off as your standard movie teenager. She then metamorphosizes into a very active hero. She survives thanks in large part to her own tremendous effort and quick thinking. Meg even wields a ridiculous looking rifle at one point, a 1980s action/sci-fi/horror trope if there ever was one.

You can thank the advancement of feminism for Meg Penny. Before, writers and directors simply wouldn’t have thought to put a woman in a central, active role. How could you think of sedate, imperiled Jane, in her plain dresses and downward glances, defeating an inhuman monster?

Now, at least, creators are less likely to shy away from the concept. There’s still quite a bit of work to be done, naturally, but compare the 1958 version of The Blob to its 1988 descendant, and you’ll see that at least we’ve made progress.