10 MORE Horror Movies That Broke All The Rules
Well, they were made to be broken, after all.
As Scream quite happily laid out to us back in 1996, the horror genre has rules. Every movie is made with a strict code of conduct in mind, one that's been established and reinforced by countless trope-laden titles ever since the dawn of horror in film. As Randy rightfully tells us - don't have sex, don't drink or do drugs, and don't disappear off on your own or bleat stupid questions into the darkness. Asking "Who's there" can only end badly, as more often than not its the sharp end of an axe that'll be answering you.
Whilst it might seem that horror movies are as certain as gory deaths and movie taxes for the most part however, there's always going to be titles that attempt to shake up your expectations and offer up something entirely new. Scream itself is the perfect example of that with it's meta movie goodness, proving experimental titles are usually the ones that end up defining the genre for years to come.
Looking at the best examples of rebellious horror movies then, from self referential funny business, to subversive scares, to empowering all things sexy - it's true that rules really were made to be broken...
10. Flipping The Male Gaze - Revenge
Revenge movies are pretty one-note for the most part. They follow a pattern that sees a woman attacked, abused, and left for dead before escaping and enacting brutal revenge on the men that wronged her - empowered by violence to transform into an avenging angel of death. The concept has been executed with varying success over the years, with some directors leaning far too heavily on sexual aggression and revelling in hurting their female protagonists with little afforded to their retribution. And then Revenge came along.
What makes this feel so fresh is likely due to the movie having a female director, a woman that recognises the male gaze and retools it into something new. Instead of focussing on Jen's rape, Coralie Fargeat squashes it to as small as it can be narrative-wise, instead flipping what would be an exploitative moment into a film were men are the ones naked and vulnerable. Whilst many have been labelled as 'feminist' pieces before, it's Jen's subtle eye that actually makes that statement true for Revenge.
It broke all the rules that rape-revenge movies were male dominated vignettes of what empowerment should be, and put the reigns back into a woman's hands.