Making Waves • Story Sharing • Violence Against Women in Horror Movies

Violence Against Women in Horror Movies

July 1, 2025

Illeana Epps

Our Wave Volunteer

The Popularity of Horror Movies and Their Cultural Influence

Love em’ or hate em’, horror movies are a time of chills and thrills that hold a substantial amount of support from the public audience. They are considered to be one of the most influential concepts in pop culture and have continued to hold a stable interest in society since their beginning in the 1930s, largely due to the success of films like "Dracula" and "Frankenstein.”

In a 2024 study, it was found that 49% of the population in Mexico, 41% of Spain, 40% of the United States, 36% of the United Kingdom, and 19% of China watch horror movies (Fleck, 2024). It can clearly be argued that horror movies are an extremely popular genre of media.

Their popularity influences trends such as fashion, makeup, catchphrases, terminology, and can even encourage social commentary and challenge social norms. We’ve seen the iconic Ghost-face mask and Freddy Krueger costume used for decades with no implication that their use will slow down anytime soon. These points have been made with the goal of emphasizing the established and continuous hold and influence that horror movies have on society.

Common Themes in Horror Films and the Normalization of Violence

It can be widely acknowledged that there are a variety of recurring themes and plot devices used in horror movies. These can include jump scares, abandoned buildings, creepy children (bonus points if they’re twins), basements, night time or foggy weather, a clumsy dash for safety, a car that won’t start, the “final girl” archetype, and many more.

All of these concepts are used throughout the movie to create a specific atmosphere that builds suspense and elicits fear in the audience. While overused, they continue to accomplish their goal and are thus continuously used and even widely liked and encouraged by watchers for the “classic” feel of them.

However, the directors of many horror movies feel like there needs to be something more. Something darker, but more realistic, because if it's common enough in the real world then it’s easily understandable to the audience. This concept is the violence shown against women.

Slasher Films and the Gendered Depiction of Violence

Horror movies, especially the genre of slasher films, are known for their depiction of graphic violence against women. The opening scene in one of the most popular films, Scream (1996), shows actress Drew Barrymore being stalked and then violently murdered by a cloaked killer. These scenes are meant to tap into primal fears related to vulnerability, loss of control, and the violation of the body.

Women are the easy target due to their supposed ‘inherent vulnerability’ to violence and the reality that thousands of women are harmed, in one way or another, every day. It has been determined that around one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (United Nation Women, 2024). This is the very real fear that is being used throughout many horror films.

While it can be argued that sometimes violence against women in movies is important to reveal and explore vital aspects of societal perspectives on gender, power, and sexuality, the harm caused by these scenes cannot be pushed to the side. Especially when it’s done unnecessarily and with misogynistic undertones. These scenes can include stalking, intimidation, abuse, rape, and murder. By portraying women as the primary target for graphic and often eroticized violence, this trope can perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women and encourage their objectification.

In a study of slasher films, 71% of the slashers were male, while 29% were female. This trend is often attributed to the association of masculine traits like aggression and violence with the horror genre's monstrous figures (Cowan & O’Brien, 1990). The overwhelming portrayal of men as the primary killers reinforces the cultural link between masculinity and dominance through violence.

And these male killers are not just threats—they are constructed as powerful, unstoppable forces, embodying a form of masculinity that asserts control through terror and physical strength. This dominance of male killers in horror narratives is often mirrored by the consistent depiction of women as their victims. Concepts of stalking, intimidation, abuse, rape, and murder are all possible or existing realities for women everywhere, and their inclusion in movies can reinforce the idea of male dominance over women.

Additionally, horror movies often position scenes to create a perspective that reduces women to passive objects who are the common and accepted ‘easy target’ of violence. Women are portrayed as being weak compared to the killer (normally male) who quickly dominates the scene. A dramatic but clumsy chase or a screaming fit in a room are popular displays when women are faced with a violent attacker, providing a spectacle for the audience. This potentially reinforces the idea that women exist as powerless targets for violence, contributing to a sense of male power and control.

Sexual Behavior as a Death Sentence: The 'Final Girl' Narrative

Horror movies also perpetuate the harmful idea that women who engage in sexual activities are somehow lesser than those who do not, and are somehow deserving of punishment because of their sexual behavior. Female characters who engage in sexual behavior are often the first to be killed.

Their scene is first set up to reveal their sexual behavior, displaying them going off into an isolated bedroom or other location to engage in sexual activities, predominantly with a male character. It is either in that location or soon after that the female character perishes.

This can be seen in films such as Friday the 13th (2009) where one of the female leads is portrayed as very sexual and dies soon after a scene where she has sex with her boyfriend. Meanwhile the character portrayed as more reserved or is acknowledged to be a virgin often survives the killer.

This trope is often referred to as the “virgin survives” or “final girl” narrative. It reinforces the idea that sexual purity is equated with virtue and survival whereas sexual expression, especially among women, is equated with moral failing and punishment.

This trope reflects and strengthens the societal viewpoint that female sexuality needs to be policed and that there are consequences for sexual behavior. These portrayals reflect patriarchal values and create an idea of which female behaviors are “acceptable” and which are punishable. In doing so, horror movies reinforce a harmful narrative that upholds regressive beliefs about gender, power, and sexuality.

Prolonged Torture and Sexualized Violence Against Women in Horror

While yes, it is true that male characters are as likely to die as female characters in slasher films, content analyses revealed that the scenes of women being torture are often extended for the pleasure of men (Lukowski, 2022). Women are often subjected to more prolonged and graphic torture, including sexual violence, longer chases with increased fear levels, more up-close shots, and a greater focus on the physical and emotional trauma caused by the experiences.

This can be seen in films such as Terrifier (2016), where the women have the longer, more torturous scenes compared to the violent but quick deaths of the men. Another common feature of scenes like this is that many times the women will be in some state of undress. In the Terrifier scene, the victim is completely naked when she is killed.

The sexualization of their suffering presents it as a form of entertainment for the gratification of the audience, especially male viewers. By sexualizing and objectifying the women in these movies, it reduces them to passive objects of desire and victimization. The portrayal of women as objects can reinforce the idea that they exist primarily for male pleasure or as targets for violence, contributing to a sense of male power and control in society.

Real-World Impact: How Horror Films Desensitize Viewers to Violence Against Women

The true results of horror movies depictions of violence against women can be seen from various research studies. These studies have found desensitization with "carry-over attitude effects" towards victims of violence. These studies have shown, that after viewing slasher films, college male students have less sympathy for rape victims, see them as less injured, and are more likely to endorse the myth that women enjoy rape (Cowan & O’Brien, 1990).

There was also research done to understand the effects of mass media exposure on the acceptance of violence against women. This experiment was conducted by Neil Malamuth and James Check (1981) using 271 male and female students who served as subjects in an experiment looking to understand the effects of exposure to films that portray sexual violence. The researchers determined it to have positive consequences as “the results indicated that exposure to the films portraying violent sexuality increased male subjects' acceptance of interpersonal violence against women.”

These findings collectively display the disturbing influence that scenes of violence against women in horror movies have on audiences, normalizing aggression toward women and shaping harmful attitudes that perpetuate misogyny and victim-blaming. It’s important for filmmakers to understand the effects that such scenes have, and to determine whether their inclusion in media is truly necessary for the advancement of the plot and characters… or is it just another method of using women’s suffering as a spectacle to grab the attention of the viewers?

Ultimately, it's important to also be aware of the type of media you're watching to ensure you are not becoming desensitized to the gruesome scenes of violence against women right before your eyes.