I welcome the copper leaves of autumn with great fervor. There’s something about this season—brick dormitories, drizzles of rain, the evening light dimming while the stack of books beside my bed grows taller—that makes me want to take everything a little more seriously. I start treating my reading list like an English 100 class—scribbling notes, following references, and building myself a faux syllabus. Naturally, this extends to films.
This list is a supernatural collection of sci-fi realities, Frankensteinian witchcraft, and the general complexities and chaos that come with being a woman in this crazy world we all live in. Think cerebral thrillers, unhinged behaviour, and mild horror (nothing too gruesome).
With acceptance of all freakiness—please enjoy my fave weird-girl films of fall.
Poor Things (2023)
Starting off with one of my absolute favourites. Bella Baxter is brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist and begins testing convention, desire, and the expectations of her time. Deliciously brilliant and weird—this is a six tiered cake of visual delight.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Simply put (and trust me, there is nothing simple about this movie), the story follows Evelyn Wang, a struggling laundromat owner who is suddenly thrust into a multiverse adventure. It’s utter chaos, humour, family drama, existential panic, and somehow still incredibly moving. I don’t fully know how this movie works, but it does. I end up in tears each time.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)
Sasha is a young vampire who relies on blood but can’t bring herself to kill humans. When her parents cut off her supply, she’s forced to find her own food—and then meets Paul, a lonely suicidal teen who seems like the perfect solution. Of course, emotions are messy and the desire for connection is strong, leaving them in a very peculiar predicament. A super cute and fun vampire spin! *French with subtitles.
Suspiria (2018)
A reimagining of the 1977 horror classic—this time a little more artsy and sensual, thanks to Luca Guadagnino. Dakota Johnson plays Susie Bannion, a young American dancer who joins a prestigious academy in 1970s Berlin and quickly realizes the school is much stranger than it first appears. A few scenes are a little too graphic for my taste, but the artistry is superb and the music is so incredibly good.
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play two women obsessed with youth who will do whatever it takes to get their hands on a supernatural potion. Their rivalry over eternal life quickly spirals into the absurd consequences of immortality. It’s ridiculous, campy, and directly points at beauty standards, jealousy, and our obsession with staying young. Heads will roll…but thankfully the graphics are bad enough to keep it from being scary.
Shirley (2020)
Elisabeth Moss plays writer Shirley Jackson, living in a gloomy New England house with her husband. A young couple comes to stay as she struggles with writer’s block. The arrangement quickly becomes tense and increasingly strange, with obsession, jealousy, and manipulation creeping into every corner.
Black Swan (2010)
Nina Sayers, a dedicated ballet dancer, lands the lead role in Swan Lake and becomes completely consumed by perfection. The pressure starts to mess with her sense of reality, and everything spirals into obsession, duality, and psychological confusion. Visually stunning!
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Set in the strict suburban household of the Lisbon family, the film follows five mysterious sisters coming of age in the 1970s while the neighbourhood boys become fascinated with them from afar. Without a doubt, devastatingly sad—but Sofia Coppola gives the whole thing a dreamy, melancholic haze that somehow also makes it hauntingly beautiful.
Gone Girl (2014)
Amy Dunne disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, setting off a media frenzy and intense scrutiny of her husband. It’s tense, stylish, wildly manipulative, and a great look at marriage, resentment, and the lengths people will go to maintain their facades.
The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)
Lisa Spinelli, a dedicated kindergarten teacher, finds herself dissatisfied with life and unfulfilled in her career. When she discovers one of her students has an unusual talent for poetry, she becomes increasingly obsessed with nurturing his gift. The fixation leads her to make morally questionable choices and left me feeling very uneasy.
Amélie (2001)
This film follows the whimsical and quirky life of Amélie Poulain, a shy young woman living in Paris. After discovering a hidden box of childhood treasures in her apartment, she sets out to return it to its former owner. Lonely but deeply observant, Amélie finds joy in small acts of kindness. The charming soundtrack, vibrant visuals, and wonderfully odd story romanticize the strange world we all live in. *French with subtitles.
More Weird-Girl Fall Films
Eileen (2023)
May December (2023)
The Best Offer (2013)
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
Black Bear (2020)
The Craft (1996)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
The Lost Daughter (2021)
Blink Twice (2024)
Thanks for reading! If you liked this list, you may also enjoy my other fall film lists:
Excellent film choices! I really enjoyed Suspiria even though it is unhinged and quite gross in some parts. I also really like Black Swan and have not watched that in ages. I dressed up as the Black Swan for Halloween when that was still a fairly new movie. Girl Interrupted is also great. I remember being so freaked out by Angelina Jolie's character when I first saw that movie. I have Portrait of a Lady on Fire in my queue so I will get to that! I have also never watched Death Becomes Her so I am adding that.
How did you like My Year of Rest and Relaxation? I really hated the main character and only finished because I was hoping she would somehow redeem herself. I finished but I did not like it because I found her so vile. I loved Beautyland, it was a great story about the entire human experience.
Have you watched Promising Young Woman? Slightly different vibe but still weird. I also tend to like weird and creepy or suspenseful tv shows and some of my favourites are Trapped and Katla, both Icelandic, and I just started watching Equinox, from Denmark.
Thanks for the long list recommendations!
The Craft is everything! I always open my October with a revisit of that Movie (and Hocus Pocus)