Chloe's Not Scared

I am obsessed with the show Yellowjackets. I’m a sucker for female-fronted ensemble stories, flashbacks, and the concept of getting lost in the woods. Produced by horror queen Karyn Kusama, Yellowjackets is a show based on Lord of the Flies. A plane carrying a high school girls’ soccer team crashes in the Canadian wilderness. The girls, along with their coaches, must learn to survive. The show jumps back and forth between the woods and the adult lives of four of the survivors. With insane images in flashback, like an antler queen and a girl in a pit, Yellowjackets is a masterclass in tension. The show also has an amazing ‘90s soundtrack and some excellent ‘90s/’00s stars including Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Tawny Cypress and Christina Ricci. We all know that folk horror is having a comeback, and you’ve probably already enjoyed Midsommar, Lost, and The Wilds if you’re able to stomach Yellowjackets. If you’re like me and you can’t wait for season 2, try one of these movies to celebrate Women in Horror Month. 

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Directed by Peter Weir (1975)

Stream it on HBO Max

Picnic at Hanging Rock, directed by Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society) helped catapult Australian New Wave cinema to international viewers. From the sweeping cinematography to the tense foreboding score, the film oozes with dread. Appleyard College for Girls is going on a field trip to Hanging Rock in Victoria on Valentine’s Day, 1900. Somehow, one of the teachers and three of the girls mysteriously go missing. What happens when people just vanish on a mountain without a trace? The answer: an unraveling of sanity. 

Heavenly Creatures

Directed by Peter Jackson (1994)

Stream it on Amazon

I first fell in love with Melanie Lynskey in Stephen King’s batshit mini series Rose Red, but I later came to love her even more in Heavenly Creatures. Directed by Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings fame, this movie follows two codependent teenage best friends in New Zealand as they plot to murder one of the girls’ mothers. The film is based on a true crime story that took place in New Zealand in the 1950’s. Along with young Lynskey, the film co-stars Kate Winslet as one of the girls. 

The Descent

Directed by Neil Marshall (2005)

Stream it on Peacock

The Descent is admittedly one of my favorite horror movies. Sarah, Juno, and Beth are three friends who love exploring nature together. After a year-long falling out, the three reconnect with some other friends on a spelunking expedition in North Carolina. They are supposedly the only people to ever explore this particular cave system… or so they think. If you like paranormal survival stories with a B-plot of friend-drama, you’ll love The Descent. 

Thoroughbreds

Directed by Cory Finley (2017)

Stream it on YouTube

Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cook play two rich girls, Lily and Amanda, who reconnect after having a falling out. Lily lives with her mother and stepfather, whom she hates. Because Amanda is unable to experience emotion, she suggests that she and Lily kill Lily’s stepfather. Thoroughbreds is a black comedy done right– while it doesn’t have the same horror or thriller feeling as the rest of the movies, it still captures a tense atmosphere with a backdrop of wealthy teens in the suburbs of Connecticut. 

What movies remind you most of Yellowjackets? Let me know in the comments!

Main image attribution: courtesy of Showtime