She killed someone? good for her!:character and narrative analysis of women in the good for her horror subgenre films

Tamil , Thendral Annadurai (2025) She killed someone? good for her!:character and narrative analysis of women in the good for her horror subgenre films. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

This research analyses the depiction of women in modern horror movies under the "Good for Her" horror subgenre. This horror subgenre focuses on female protagonists asserting autonomy and agency in oppressive environments in morally ambiguous manners. This research conducts a qualitative content analysis of five films: Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria (2018), Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Ready or Not (2019), Ari Aster's Midsommar (2019), Robert Eggers' The VVitch (2015), and Jordan Peele's Nope (2022). Using Feminist Film Theory as the analytical framework, it utilises character and narrative coding to examine the depiction of female characters. This approach provides a detailed exploration of how these films portray female agency, autonomy, and empowerment. The Coding Sheet for Character and Narrative Analysis has five sections under Character Coding (Agency and Autonomy, Expression of Rage and Anger, Empowerment through Violence and Self Defence, Rejection of Male Control and Influence, and Character Complexity and Depth) and five sections under Narrative Coding (Subversion of Horror Genre Tropes, Theme of Female Rage and Liberation, Representation of Female Solidarity or Isolation, Use of Symbolism and Visual Representation, and Narrative Arc of Empowerment). The study addresses two key research questions: 1. How does the “Good for Her” horror subgenre depict female characters’ agency, autonomy, and expressions of rage through character behaviours and narrative structures? 2. How do female protagonists in this subgenre exemplify or defy the central tenets of Feminist Film Theory? This research aims to contribute to the discourse on feminist horror cinema by highlighting the importance of the "Good for Her" subgenre in redefining representations of women in horror. It aims to emphasise these films not only reflect shifting cultural attitudes towards gender but also serve as a powerful medium for feminist storytelling. This study finds that the “Good for Her” subgenre in modern horror reclaims female rage, autonomy, and power through violent or supernatural narrative arcs that challenge patriarchal structures and align with key tenets of feminist film theory. Keywords: Feminist Film Theory, Good for Her Horror, Horror Films, Female Agency, Modern Horror Cinema, Patriarchy, Autonomy, Female Rage Subject Area: PN1995.9.W6 – Women in Motion Pictures Subject Area: PN1995.9.H6 – Horror Films (Genre Studies) Subject Area: HM851 – Feminism / Feminist Theory Subject Area: HM831 – Social Change Subject Area: HM1001 – Social Psychology

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