It has been over five decades since we first saw a film that portrayed the concept of rape-revenge on our screens, but has it only been in the last few years that we have seen an accurate representation of this monstrous act?

The late ’60s and early ’70s, coinciding with the second wave of feminism, introduced the concept of rape-revenge in cinema with films like The Last House on the left (1972) and I Spit on Your Grave (1978). While these films marked progression in taking rape seriously, has the representation of assault always been as accurate as we’d hope? 

Fast forward half a century, and the late 2010s welcomed in a fourth wave of feminism. Following the uprise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, the women in Hollywood were finally given a window of opportunity, and they ran with it. Since then, we have seen the release of several films that follow this theme, perhaps most prominent amongst them all being Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman (2020). 

All films in the rape-revenge subgenre follow the same structure—the crime is committed, and the revenge is sought out—so what needs to change? 

The focus.

Whose story are we watching and whose pain does it portray?

While previous films in this category often prioritise action and profit over portraying the reality of victimhood, as seen in popular blockbusters like Taken (2008), where the focus shifts away from the victim’s trauma to the action-packed exploits of a male hero seeking revenge. This stark difference underscores the importance of narratives that centre on the victim’s experience, which Fennell achieves in Promising Young Woman. 

Arguably the greatest feminist film of its time, Promising Young Woman perfectly encapsulates what it’s like for a woman to live in a society designed to benefit men. Just a few years before the film’s release, the #MeToo movement started to gain traction, encouraging women to speak up about their own experience with sexual violence. 

According to a 2018 study by Pew Research Center, from October 16, 2017—when actress Alyssa Milano first tweeted to encourage women to come forward—to September 30, 2018, the hashtag was used over nineteen million times. The goal of the study was to demonstrate the sheer magnitude of the problem of rape, and Fennell reflects this perfectly in Promising Young Woman.  

With elements of dark comedy and romance, the film features a cutesy pastel sheen to signify the innocence expected from women as they are forced to endure dark acts of violence from the men who hold these very expectations. The protagonist, Cassie, struggles to leave the past behind as she seeks revenge for her best friend Nina, who took her own life after enduring a gang rape in college. 

Fennell ensures high levels of accuracy in this narrative, with it being found that rape victims were thirteen times more likely to attempt suicide than those who hadn’t suffered a violent crime, according to a study conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina.  

Cassie seeks revenge by feigning intoxication in bars, luring in men who help, only to confront and teach them a lesson when they try to take advantage of her. In this portrayal, Fennell depicts the pervasive threat of sexual violence, even in unexpected places like the protagonist’s love interest, while emphasising the film’s departure from a glorified revenge plot to stress the importance of awareness about such realities. 

The one constant in rape-revenge films is the portrayal of distrust in the system. While such films often exaggerate for entertainment purposes, there is no denying that Promising Young Woman follows suit with a fantastical revenge mission.

However, Fennell takes it a step further by revisiting not only the perpetrators but also those who did not believe Cassie, those who chose to turn a blind eye. This mirrors the power of the #MeToo movement, emphasizing the significance of having a voice and the collective responsibility for change. It suggests that seeking justice through movements like #MeToo can yield more results than relying solely on the legal system, which far too often fails victims.  

While these films fall under horror, where blood and gore of revenge are expected, it would be unjust to let these action scenes overshadow the real horror: pain, grief, distrust, stigmatization, betrayal. That should be the core horror element in these films, as Promising Young Woman exemplifies. Just as the #MeToo movement empowered women to share their stories, these films should be here to remind us of the power of using our voices to confront and change systemic injustices.