Who doesn’t like a good scary movie during the Halloween season? The Scoop had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Ginney Norton, an assistant professor at Missouri State University, about some of her favorite female-led horror movies. As a self-identified enthusiast of feminist literary analysis, Dr. Norton had plenty to say on the role of women in these films, and in the genre as a whole.

1. The Others (dir. Alejandro Amenábar)

This 2001 psychological mystery/thriller set in World War II follows Grace (Nicole Kidman) as she navigates protecting her children, awaiting word from her absent husband, and dealing with a sudden onset of seemingly paranormal happenings.

Of the film, Dr. Norton says, “It’s a gothic horror. It deals a lot with paranoia, which can be a mainstay of horror that features women.” She draws parallels between the film’s use of a haunted house and the idea of being haunted by one’s own mother. “Having those sorts of mother issues can sometimes feel like you’re living with a ghost, being followed and watched by something ephemeral but no less harmful.”

2. I Know What You Did Last Summer (dir. Jim Gillespie)

This 1997 slasher classic follows a group of friends as they get stalked and picked off one-by-one by a witness to their year-old crime.

Dr. Norton lauds the film for its refreshing treatment of its female characters, a stark difference to the slasher subgenre’s usual antics: “I mean, it’s a slasher with women’s agency. [Julie] takes control of her own destiny, which you don’t really see in a slasher.” Norton notes how most so-called “final girls”—an archetype in slasher films that consists of the usually female, last standing victim—spend the entirely of their respective movies running from the present danger. But I Know What You Did Last Summer is different. “It’s the first time I’ve seen a woman face the horror.”

3. Rosemary’s Baby (dir. Roman Polanski)

This 1968 psychological drama follows Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) through a strange pregnancy in a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation. Once she gives birth, she begins to suspect that her child is not entirely hers.

Dr. Norton draws several parallels between the obvious horror present and the more subliminal horror of a seemingly normal life becoming terrifying. “It’s a sort of domestic horror, the thought that you could be living a normal life and still end up being haunted.” She also notes the horror inherent in pregnancy: “There’s this feeling of dread that comes with your body going through a physical transformation like that.”