10 Horror Movies That Are Pro-Feminism

5. The Descent

If there’s one horror film that sends the Bechdel Test meter a dinging it’s Neil Marshall’s claustrophobic, female-fronted nightmare The Descent in which a group of friends go on a spelunking adventure in the North Carolina wilds and find that a cave-in isn’t the absolute worst thing that can happen when you’re stuck miles beneath the surface of the earth.

Bar a few extras, practically no men appear in the film and neither is its all-woman cast some gung-ho sisterhood interpretation of feminism: they’re complex people capable of both honourable and dishonourable actions who both panic and fight back when faced with super pale, cave-dwelling flesh munchers. While their friendship is by no means perfect – anti-hero Juno, for example, is allowed her moments of courage but is also shown as a flawed character willing to betray her friends – it’s a more realistic portrayal of female friendship than, say, the sugar-coated likes of Steel Magnolias.

Heads-up: check out the original British version’s ending, rather than the Hollywood edit, if you like your finales dark rather than predictable.