*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*

Women have always provided the heartbeat of horror. From damsels in distress and long-suffering wives to monstrous mothers and femme fatales, they are inextricable from genre stories, though they’re often reduced to caricatures.

Thankfully, with each passing year, women have won more empowerment both on and off the screen. As feminism continues to evolve, so does our representation in stories of horror that increasingly revolve around the female experience. Though 2025 has felt regressive in many ways, the year has seen a plethora of captivating and diverse female characters filling the screen in horror films.

We’ve gone back to the female source of science fiction while exploring the implications of subservient AI and a host of roles in between. We’ve celebrated the swan songs of beloved characters and explored the bounds of dangerous love while embracing different sources of feminine magic.

In short, it’s been a banner year for women in the horror genre.

Sophie Thatcher – Companion

The year kicked off with an oddly prescient tale of female autonomy and survival. Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is nervous to spend a couple’s weekend at a remote cabin with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid), especially since his friend Kat (Megan Suri) doesn’t seem to like her much. When Kat’s wealthy boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend) attempts an act of sexual assault, Iris is forced to slit his throat.

Only in the aftermath of this horrific attack does she learn that she’s not human at all, but a robotic companion programmed to fulfill Josh’s every need. What follows is a violent chase in which Iris struggles to gain control of her system-wide settings while Josh attempts to shut her down. Shocking revelations add context to this futuristic nightmare, and we learn that Iris’s perfect boyfriend may not be as charming as he seems.

Thatcher gives a stellar performance as an empathetic AI system whose personality changes according to her settings. The story is a blood-soaked yet upbeat meditation on female empowerment and the toxic men who confuse love with control. 

Wunmi Mosaku and Hailee Steinfeld – Sinners

Perhaps the year’s most exciting horror film features a host of empowered female characters. Ryan Coogler’s exceptional film introduces us to the entrepreneurial Smokestack Twins (both played by Michael B. Jordan) as they return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and prepare to open a juke joint which will feature the talents of their young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton). But as they set to work preparing the venue, both brothers reunite with their long-lost loves.

Stack has abandoned the white-passing Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), hoping to protect her from the Klan, while Smoke is estranged from Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) after the death of their infant daughter. A successful opening night is derailed when a white vampire and his newly turned minions storm the building, hoping to appropriate Sammie’s musical talent. While Smoke and Stack are the film’s protagonists, Mary and Annie form the story’s heart, both employing their unique skills to support their men. Mary takes a dangerous risk when she tries to use her light-skinned appearance to smooth over tensions at the venue’s front door while Annie draws on her rootwork practice to help defeat the vampire threat.

Coogler’s powerful film finds humanity in this forgotten culture, highlighting the power of music as the tie that binds. 

Sally Hawkins – Bring Her Back

Danny and Michael Philippou followed their harrowing breakout hit Talk to Me with an equally upsetting and gory film. Seventeen-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) has been caring for his visually impaired sister Piper (Sora Wong) while their single father undergoes cancer treatment. But his death forces them to enter temporary foster care until Andy is old enough to serve as his sister’s legal guardian.

At first, their foster mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins), seems like the answer to their prayers with a home outfitted to meet Piper’s needs. But she’s strangely hostile towards Andy, and her other foster child, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), is eerily silent. Tensions escalate as Sally begins to gaslight Andy, building a narrative about his incompetence, while Oliver engages in disturbing acts of gruesome self-harm. As this devastating story unfolds, we learn that Laura has an unthinkable plan to reverse a traumatic event from her past. The story merges into one of grisly violence and a powerful exploration of unresolved grief.

Hawkins is magnetic in the role, managing to humanize an outwardly monstrous mother. 

All of the Women – M3GAN 2.0

The robotic menace returns in a bombastic sequel much different from her 2022 breakout hit. Two years after a violent showdown between M3gan (Amie Donald, Jenna Davis) and her creator Gemma (Allison Williams), a mysterious agency has used her programming to create Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), an evolved prototype designed to serve as a global assassin, then sit motionless until she’s needed again. Having backed her program up in the cloud, M3gan has been lying dormant in Gemma’s Smart Home to keep watch over Cady (Violet McGraw), the child she’s still bonded to.

As Amelia wages a destructive battle for freedom, M3gan and Gemma must rely on each other in order to save the girl they both love. But as caregivers to a growing child, they must also learn to step back and let Cady learn to protect herself. The exciting film pulls from legendary sequels like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day while dressing its action up in hot pink empowerment. While M3GAN 2.0 premiered to disappointing box office numbers, it’s a fascinating exploration of AI ethics and technology’s corrosive effect on humanity. 

Jennifer Love Hewitt – I Know What You Did Last Summer

It was only a matter of time before the legacy sequel trend hit one of the 90s’ most beloved films. Released in response to the surprise success of Scream, the original I Know What You Did Last Summer is a throwback whodunit dressed up in ’90s meta-slasher style. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s newest franchise installment brings the Fisherman killer roaring back to the screen in a poppy sequel that reunites us with one of the genre’s favorite final girls.

Decades after surviving the famously knowledgeable stalker, Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has left Southport for good and now uses her experiences to teach trauma response at a nearby university. But a similar series of connected deaths brings her back to her hometown and a tense reunion with her ex-husband, Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.). While admittedly messy, this updated chapter provides Julie with long-awaited clarity and empowerment as she’s forced to contend with the root of her pain.

The director also treats us to a brief appearance from fan-favorite scream queen Helen Shivers, played by genre icon Sarah Michelle Gellar, before teasing a future team-up sequel featuring Hewitt and her I Still Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Brandy Norwood. 

Alison Brie – Together

Alison Brie and her husband, Dave Franco, once again project their real-life love onto the screen in Michael Shanks’s body horror comedy Together. The couple stars as Millie and Tim, a quasi-engaged pair trying to mend their crumbling relationship without admitting how unhappy they are. After moving out of the city for Millie’s new job, Tim struggles to find himself while grieving the recent loss of his parents. Hoping to reconnect on an afternoon hike, they become lost in a mysterious cave that seems to conceal a dangerous pool. Something in the water ignites a desperate need to be together, and Tim finds himself physically unable to function without Millie nearby.

Even worse, their bodies are dragged toward each other by an unseen force, and physical contact fuses their skin, requiring grisly measures to split them apart. An admittedly bonkers conclusion ties a cheeky Spice Girls song into the film’s warnings about unexamined codependency and the dangers of all-consuming love. 

Amy Madigan and Julia Garner – Weapons 

Perhaps the year’s most surprising genre moment was Amy Madigan‘s villainous turn in Zach Cregger’s jaw-dropping Weapons. The twisting story begins when Justine (Julia Garner) arrives at school one day to find a single student in her class. The rest have disappeared without a trace, and as a new teacher, she finds herself the town’s prime suspect.

As this mystery unravels in parallel narratives, we learn that the woman accused of witchcraft is not the story’s true sorceress. By following her only remaining student, Justine discovers a much more sinister creature operating from within his house. A skilled witch, Gladys (Madigan), uses grounded spells to captivate her intended victims and operate them like human weapons. Both stunning and visceral, Cregger’s thrilling film features a strong protagonist in Justine while delivering a female villain for the ages. 

Vera Farmiga – The Conjuring: Last Rites 

One of horror’s most successful franchises ended this year with a surprisingly emotional final chapter. Despite what we know about the real-life figure she’s portraying, Vera Farmiga once again dazzles as the cinematic clairvoyant Lorraine Warren, who battles demons alongside her beloved husband Ed (Patrick Wilson). Michael Chaves‘s The Conjuring: Last Rites takes us back to the beginning as the couple shies away from a terrifying case and a cursed mirror that seems to mark Lorraine and her unborn child.

Decades later, the now-famous couple is eyeing retirement and preparing for their daughter’s wedding when the mirror and its demons reappear in their lives. This symbolic passing of the torch says goodbye to a cinematic couple whose story has changed the landscape of horror. The Conjuring: Last Rites is both a terrifying haunted house story and a touching reminder to teach our children to empower themselves. Though it’s goodbye for now, an upcoming series for HBO may soon bring Lorraine Warren back to the screen.

Elle Fanning in Predator: Badlands

(L-R) Elle Fanning as Tessa and Ella Fanning as Thia in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Of all the things to expect in a new installment of the Predator franchise, a female android from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation was not high on the list. Director Dan Trachtenberg follows his 2022 hit Prey with a creative approach to franchise lore. Elle Fanning stars as Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic lost on the dangerous planet Denna.

With limited options, she connects with a Yautja warrior named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who’s also been sent to hunt the Kalisk, a dangerous apex predator. What begins as a relationship built on mutual survival blossoms into a trusting bond that defies species classification. Fanning also gets a villainous turn as Tessa, Thia’s manipulative “sister,” determined to fulfill her corporate objectives.

As the third prominent female AI character of the year, Fanning’s dual roles solidify the trend of using subservient AI as a metaphor for feminist empowerment in the face of systemic patriarchy. With the continued proliferation of invasive tech, it’s an archetype we’re likely to see more of in the coming years. 

Mia Goth in Frankenstein

FRANKENSTEIN. Mia Goth as Elizabeth in Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.

One of the most anticipated horror adaptations of the year was drawn from the pen of a legendary female author. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the story of a troubled man who destroys the lives of everyone he loves in an attempt to replicate women’s life-giving power. Guillermo del Toro brings this beloved novel to life in a new reimagining that sharpens Shelley’s original themes. His Victor (Oscar Isaac) is a hubristic monster, and his Creature (Jacob Elordi) a sensitive child desperate for a father’s love.

Del Toro adds a feminist edge to his updated story with an empowered Elizabeth (Mia Goth) reminiscent of Shelley herself. Much more than a damsel in distress, Goth’s Elizabeth is both intellectual and empathetic, challenging Victor’s audacious theories while inadvertently providing the key to his monstrous creation. Rather than terror, her connection with the Creature sparks yearning for unquestioned love and acceptance, while her stunning costumes make us long for our own gothic romance. Goth also disappears into the role of Victor’s doomed mother, whose death in childbirth sparks his deadly obsession, positioning women as the driving force of this foundational story. 

From empowered AI creations and women determined to save their partners, scientists and scholars guiding the next generation, to villainous witches using magic to exert their will, this year has seen a fantastic roster of disparate women taking the horror world by storm.