20 best badass women of horror movies
7. Florence Cathcart (The Awakening)
Okay, maybe all of this talk about serial killers and demonic beings isn’t doing it for you. Even the gothic horrors of Crimson Peak come tinged with director Guillermo del Toro’s love of seriously gross-looking phantoms.
So, if you’re looking for something with a few more chills than blood-curdling screams you may want to check out 2011’s The Awakening. Its plot, perhaps best described as mystery tale meets ghost story, is admittedly a little convoluted. But if you take joy in seeing female characters buck staid traditions, look no further.
The Awakening opens in 1921, with Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall). Florence, like nearly every other person in the film, has been traumatized by the death of a loved one in World War I. In this case, it’s her love. She’s since taken an interest in the supernatural but has also developed a healthy sense of skepticism. Florence now works with the police to reveal frauds and fight back against those who prey on other grieving people. She’s also gained a name thanks to her published books.
She’s quickly approached by Robert Mallory, a teacher at a remote boys’ boarding school who claims that a ghost is threatening the students there. Florence, skeptical as ever, agrees to visit.
Now, it wouldn’t be much of a horror movie if it turned out that ghosts weren’t real and everything was fine at the school. Florence is soon forced to roll back some of her opinions on the existence of ghosts, thanks to some terrifying encounters with a shotgun-wielding phantom. And, yeah, it does admittedly go off the rails after the main mystery is solved. Still, she remains bold and pushes forward to solve the mystery and save the day.