Film

Bonnie's Kids

A 1973 exploitation thriller about two sisters who murder their stepfather and pivot to crime, finding themselves entangled with the mob over stolen money. It's sleazy, fast-paced, and utterly committed to its premise—a film that knows exactly what it is and never apologizes. For fans of '70s genre cinema who enjoy their heroines morally uncomplicated and their action unglamorous.

TMDb rating2.7

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The Getaway1972

Steve Reeves and Ali MacGraw are magnetic as criminals on the run with a suitcase of money. McQueen brings wounded charm to a man trying to survive; the film is a masterclass in tension and chemistry.

But It's slower and more romantic than Bonnie's Kids—if you want gritty desperation over style, this might feel too slick.

The Getaway poster

Thieves Like Us1974

Terrence Malick's poetic take on Depression-era bank robbers. Genuine tenderness between the leads contrasts beautifully with the violence and criminality surrounding them. Visually stunning.

But The pacing is meditative and the violence is sparse. If you want exploitation energy and constant momentum, this will feel deliberately slow.

Thieves Like Us poster

Bloody Mama1970

Shelley Winters as Ma Barker leading her dysfunctional sons on a crime spree. Raw, trashy, anarchic—it revels in family dysfunction and violence without sentimentalizing any of it.

But The family dynamics are claustrophobic and depressing. Winters' performance is unrelenting; there's no relief or wit to cut the misery.

Bloody Mama poster

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Johnny Handsome1989

Both are exploitation films about criminals remaking themselves, but Hill's film treats revenge as a trap rather than freedom—it's the moral dark mirror Bonnie's Kids refuses to be.

Walter Hill's revenge thriller about a man released from prison after reconstructive surgery, using his new face to infiltrate the criminals who wronged him. Nasty, stylish, and far more psychologically twisted than it first appears—a film about identity and violent reinvention.

But It's '80s pulp with dated action sequences and an all-male revenge structure that feels hollow compared to the sister dynamic in Bonnie's Kids.

Johnny Handsome poster
More like this (8)

Boxcar Bertha1972

Scorsese's early exploitation film about a Depression-era drifter and thief. Barbara Hershey is charismatic; the film moves fast and doesn't pretend its heroine is anything but self-interested.

But It's rougher and more obviously low-budget than you might want. The sexual violence is casual in a way that feels dated and uncomfortable.

Boxcar Bertha poster

Sisters1973

De Palma's psychological thriller about twin sisters, one possibly guilty of murder. Taut, voyeuristic, visually inventive—it captures the specific terror of not knowing if someone you love is dangerous.

But It's a slow-burn mystery rather than an action film. If you want plot movement over atmosphere and ambiguity, you'll find it frustrating.

Sisters poster

The Killing of Sister George1968

Beryl Reid is ferocious as a butch actress whose career and life are unraveling. Sexually explicit for its time, emotionally devastating, and deeply unsentimental about women and power.

But The lesbian content was controversial then and reads differently now. Some viewers find Reid's character's trajectory punishing rather than tragic.

The Killing of Sister George poster

Foxy Brown1974

Pam Grier is magnificent—a woman avenging her boyfriend's death by infiltrating the criminal underworld. Fast, funny, wildly entertaining, and Grier has the charisma to sell every ridiculous moment.

But It's unabashedly blaxploitation, and the plot is thin. If you want coherent narrative logic over attitude and style, look elsewhere.

Foxy Brown poster

Murmur of the Heart1971

Louis Malle's controversial coming-of-age film follows a teenage boy during one summer in Italy. Gorgeous, sensual, psychologically complex—it finds beauty and comedy in the mess of family and desire.

But The central taboo makes many viewers deeply uncomfortable. It's also introspective and slow where Bonnie's Kids is propulsive.

Murmur of the Heart poster

Duel1971

Spielberg's TV movie about a man terrorized by an unseen trucker. Economical, escalating tension, and a commentary on masculinity simmering beneath the surface. Incredible filmmaking with minimal resources.

But It's a minimalist cat-and-mouse game with no character development. If you want plot and dialogue, this is almost aggressively spare.

Duel poster

Maddalena1971

Both feature women who weaponize sexuality and crime as a path to freedom, but Maddalena approaches it as existential ennui rather than pulp—it's what Bonnie's Kids would be if it were made by Michelangelo Antonioni.

An Italian New Wave film about an aristocrat's daughter who seduces, manipulates, and destroys men for sport while searching for authentic connection. Alain Delon is mesmerizing; the film is stylish, detached, and morally ambiguous in ways that feel genuinely modern.

But It's glacially paced European cinema with no plot momentum. The heroine's cruelty is presented without judgment, which many find alienating rather than interesting.

Maddalena poster

The Ballad of Little Jo1993

Both films use genre to explore women stepping outside their designated roles, but Jo's freedom is about permanent exile and passing, while Bonnie's is about walking openly into criminality—different paths to the same refusal.

Maggie Greenwald's revisionist Western about a woman who disguises herself as a man to survive in the frontier. Quiet, intelligent, visually rich—it interrogates how we construct identity and what freedom actually means, using the Western's own vocabulary against it.

But It's a feminist reframing of genre rather than a genre film itself. The pace is deliberate, the violence sparse, and it asks you to think rather than react.

The Ballad of Little Jo poster

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