Film

The Woman

Name: The Woman
Genre: Drama, Horror
Released: 2011
Cast: Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis, Lauren Ashley Carter, Zach Rand

Horror
Very dark

A lawyer traps a feral woman from a violent clan, convinced he can civilize her through brutal 'rehabilitation.' Instead, his entire family and worldview fracture. This is serious, deeply uncomfortable horror about control, masculinity and civilization—not a creature-feature, but a moral and physical descent into darkness. For viewers ready to be disturbed.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a bleak, unsparing horror where the cruelty comes from a respectable household, and you can sit with characters who think they are doing right.

Skip it if you need likable people to root for or a clear moral footing, since nearly everyone here is hard to warm to and the mood stays punishing.

What it asks of you: It runs a little under two hours and lets scenes of quiet domestic unpleasantness sit long before they turn violent, so bring patience and a strong stomach.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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Martyrs2008

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The Killing2011

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Woman

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

American Psycho2000

Both centre on attempts to 'civilize' or control the uncontrollable. Both argue that violence isn't aberrant but embedded in how we organize power and gender—the difference is *The Woman* never lets you laugh or distance yourself from that truth.

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Funny Games2008

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The Witch2016

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Goodnight Mommy2015

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Under the Skin2014

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The Babadook2014

Both films use the home as a pressure cooker where control collapses. Both ask what happens when someone tries to impose order on pain or wildness. Both centre female figures as the source of chaos that undoes masculine systems.

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Possession1981

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