It is an election year, and as usual, politicians who failed basic science are trying to regulate the rights and bodies of people with ovaries. Because it is all too much to deal with most days, one of the shows I co-host, Blerdy Massacre, had one of our friends on to discuss how reproductive rights are handled in the genre. For those of you who do not know Chris Love, she is a horror fan who is also doing her part to ensure people can get safe and legal abortions in Arizona. So, you know she stays busy.
Chris also assembled an amazing list of scary movies that tackle the topic on her Letterboxd. Which is why I pulled a few titles for a streaming guide. Now, we can watch some good movies that understand abortion, pregnancy, birth, and after birth should be part of basic healthcare as we scream into the void.
Black Christmas (1974)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+, Peacock, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Shudder, Sling TV, and Tubi,
A stranger stalks a sorority house during Christmas break. Not only is this the best movie to bear the name Black Christmas, but it’s chilling and has a cool stance on abortion. When Jess (Olivia Hussey) finds out she’s pregnant, she makes a choice. Even when her boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea) throws a tantrum, she sticks to what she knows is right for her and her future. We love to see it, and I wish more media understood abortions save lives.
Good Manners
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A lonely nurse takes a job working for a wealthy pregnant woman that alters the course of her life. We all like to get caught up on the queer werewolf fairytale vibes in the amazing movie. However, it’s also very pro-choice as it explores different paths to motherhood. It also very clearly has two women decide what is best for them instead of having it decided for them by a government that seemingly hates them for existing.
Kindred (2020)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+
A pregnant woman suspects her deceased boyfriend’s family has sinister intentions for her and her unborn child. I stumbled upon this movie a few years ago, and I wish more people would hit play on it. What seems like typical gaslighting of a pregnant woman, with the added dynamics of her being Black in a predominantly white space, becomes so much more than that. This movie is stressful and a reminder that society will punish you even if you choose to be a mom. There is really no way to win in this world if you were born with ovaries.
Resurrection
Where You Can Watch: Hulu and Shudder
A woman’s world is upended when her abusive ex returns carrying the horrors of her past. I am not here to tell you how to interpret the ending of this wild movie. However, I lived when I saw Margaret (Rebecca Hall) was serious about ending this situation with David (Tim Roth) once and for all. We need more pregnant men in the genre who can be discarded once the fetus is mature enough to live without them. Perhaps that will get through to people the importance of reproductive rights because science, compassion, and common sense have yet to work.
Swallow
Where You Can Watch: AMC+
A newly pregnant housewife begins consuming dangerous objects, leading her husband’s family to tighten control over her life. This is another movie I don’t think gets enough attention. What Hunter (Haley Bennett) is going through makes Swallow an ideal movie to double feature with Huesera: The Bone Woman. Both films show that being pregnant is not for everyone. That is the only kind of reproductive rights representation I care to see in this subgenre while the Supreme Court is taking us back to 1924.
If you want more horror with a reproductive theme, check out Chris’ list on Letterboxd. While doing that, you can also support Arizona For Abortion Access by heading to the website.
