10 Most Messed Up Horror Movie Families

7. The Cleek Family - The Woman

The Woman Movie
Salient Media

A sequel to 2009's Offspring - itself based on Jack Ketchum's novel of the same name - The Woman's titular character is a feral female (Pollyanna McIntosh) who is the last surviving member of a tribe of cannibals.

While out hunting, Sean Bridgers' well-to-do lawyer Chris Cleek stumbles upon the Woman and decides she'd make the perfect "project" for he, his wife, his two daughters and son to work on as a family.

Returning with a net, Chris captures the Woman and locks her up in a cellar, with the intention of the Cleeks civilizing this untamed beast. If this in itself wasn't bad enough, the audience soon realises that the Cleeks are one totally screwed up family unit - particularly the men.

The Cleek family patriarch is shown to enjoy tormenting and causing pain to others, and both he and his teenage son end up raping the locked-up Woman. Bridgers' character also takes great pleasure in bathing his captive in scolding hot water - and it's later revealed that the family has an eyeless third daughter named Socket, who they lock up with their rabid dogs.

By the time the Woman gets free and gets some semblance of revenge - killing Chris, his wife Belle and their twisted son Brian - it's almost heart-warming to see her walk off into the sunset with the three Cleek daughters under her wing.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.