20 best badass women of horror movies
3. Carrie White (Carrie)
Carrie White may seem like a strange pick for this list. After all, she often described as one of the ultimate victims of the horror genre. Poor Carrie has to deal with trouble from all sides. Her ultra-religious single mother, Margaret White, abuses her at all turns. Margaret also purposefully isolates her high school-aged daughter from the outside world. This, in turn, makes Carrie the target of vicious bullying from her fellow teens. Isolated, awkward and profoundly naive, she seemingly stands no chance.
Indeed, the movie opens with a traumatic scene where the sixteen-year-old Carrie has her first period in the girls’ locker room. Having absolutely zero sex education, Carrie thinks she’s bleeding to death. The other girls quickly come to her aid and — oh, wait, of course not. They make fun of her and pelt Carrie with tampons and sanitary pads, screaming “plug it up”.
One girl who participated in the incident actually does experience a crisis of conscience. She embarks on an effort to befriend Carrie and even helps her go to the high school’s prom. This could be insulting — a popular girl reaches down from the heavens to bless the resident weirdo — but it starts something of a renaissance for Carrie. She becomes more and more confident and begins to make inroads with her fellow students.
Margaret isn’t cool with any of this naturally. She’s also frightened by her daughter’s burgeoning psychic powers, calling them the product of devilry. Other teens have also set their sights on Carrie. One girl, who was banned from the prom for her part in the locker room incident, has some especially devious revenge in mind.
Yet, with all of this facing her, Carrie persists. That’s what truly makes her a badass. She’s working against spectacular odds and with some truly strange and frightening powers, to boot. Her badassery is the quiet sort, but it’s no less remarkable.