5 high school revenge movies to watch where hell is a teenage girl

They move slowly through the school hall, wearing perfect outfits and hair that is dripping from the draft. No one crosses them, because crossing them would mean certain death — or worse, death of social status. They are hated by everyone. They are the ideal person.

The Plastics and The Heathers all have movies about the mean high school girls. These girls have more to their films than comedies or nostalgic coming-of age movies. They are often out for blood through social sabotage and literal murder.

The subgenre is a great way to have fun with teenage girlhood’s conventions, particularly when it comes down to design. The movies share a common aesthetic and visual style that is reminiscent of the time period’s most popular films. The movies add a new dimension to many elements associated with tiny girlhood: bold lipstick, mini-skirts in pink, and red scrunchies.

The central theme of the movies is not just the visuals, but the relationships between the girls. They have the most dangerous and devastating relationships with their friends, and they are also their greatest strength and worst. And that thread stitches the more over-the-top elements with grounded relatability — demon-possesed best friends who eat boys These aren’t exactly common, but toxic best friends who put others down to climb over them are.

With its pastel-swathed costumes and conniving lead duo, Netflix’s Get RevengeIt is worthy of inclusion in this genre. In honor of these black comedies that aren’t afraid to show the dark side of high school popularity, we’ve selected some quintessential classics in the canon of ruthless teenage girls.

Heathers (1988).

Image by New World Pictures

It was actually the movie that set it all, and it went to box office success. However, the movie didn’t even make back half of its cost. HeathersIt became a classic. Daniel Waters wrote the film to mock the media’s sensationalization of teen suicides and be darker than the more saccharine portrayals of high school life during the 1980s. John Hughes, hello. And while that may’ve been controversial — Winona Ryder’s agent begged her not to take the role — it sparked for audiences at home.

Heathers follows Veronica Sawyer, Winona Ryder, the fourth member of a mean-girl clique that is known as The Heathers (since all three members are named Heather). She’s a reluctant follower, because she knows siding with the Heathers and helping them forge hall passes and excuse notes is better than being their target. She finds her self drawn to J.D., a rebellious student. Christian Slater) and when the leader of Heathers becomes hostile to Veronica, J.D. A plan is hatched. A harmless prank soon turns into a deadly murder. Soon, Veronica is covering up a number of dead bodies to disguise them as suicides. J.D.’s plans grow more sinister, the remaining two Heathers deal with a vacuum of power, and Veronica tries to fix everything that’s gone wrong.

While Heathers absolutely set the foundation for this type of movie, it’s also notable for being the sole example on our list that has a male character play a significant role in the clique’s downfall. Still, the focus comes back to Veronica, who claws her way out of the popular clique and then out of J.D.’s misanthropic influences, and eventually extends a hand to her former friend Martha and the more sympathetic Heather.

HeathersTubi allows you to stream it online Prime Video.

The Craft (1996)

Columbia Pictures

Technically, The Craft is a supernatural horror movie, not a dark comedy, and technically, it isn’t about popular girls, so much as it is about mean girls (don’t worry — we’ll get to For the mean girlsIt will be discussed in more detail. But it’s worth including on this list because of how literal the “hell is a teenage girl” bit comes into play, and because of how much focus is on the inner dynamics of the friend group in question. Also, it’s not particularly scary.

The Craft follows a group of teenage witches who unlock powerful magic in order to enact revenge on those who’ve wronged them and get what they want out of life. Their friend group eventually splits and becomes a fracturing and crumbling assemblage that eats itself alive. Like many of the other examples on this list, it’s a group of four girls — three who already know each other, and a new interloper who disrupts the already established dynamics

What about the distinctive and iconic visual palette? It’s Catholic school uniforms, mixed with some trad Goth elements. Since Heathers kicked off this genre by positing a counterculture alternative to popular 1980s teen movies, it’s good to have an entry that actually embraced counterculture aesthetics.

The CraftAvailable to stream online Paramount Plus.

Jawbreaker (1999).

Image: Sony Pictures

JawbreakerWhat would you do? HeathersIf the Queen Bee was accidentally killed, Heathers tried to hide it. After a prank gone horribly wrong, the popular girls of Reagan High scramble to hide their involvement in Liz Purr’s death. Rose McGowan plays cutthroat mean girl Courtney Shayne, a bad bitch who bribes dorky Fern (Judy Greer) into keeping her mouth shut about the manslaughter by giving her an extreme makeover — even changing her name to Vylette — and inducting her into the popular group. Julie Gayheart, the friendliest of their cliques, is thrown out of favor.

Its bright pops of color Y2K are a great addition to any outfit. Jawbreaker’s visual palette is bold and over-the-top, complementing the outlandish actions Courtney takes in order to maintain her status as the most popular girl in the school (and blame Liz’s death on someone else). Meanwhile, Julie hatches a plan to expose Courtney’s involvement to the whole school on prom night. (Big school dances are another recurring theme in these movies — a queen’s gotta have her official plastic crown, after all.)

JawbreakerIt is currently available for rent Prime VideoYouTube.

Mean Girls (2004)

Image: Paramount Pictures

None dies For the mean girls — but that doesn’t make it any less cutthroat. New girl Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) finds herself entangled with the most popular clique in school — The Plastics, ruled by Regina George (Rachel McAdams). Cady’s new friend Janis (Lizzy Caplan) sees this as an opportunity to take Regina down once and for all, and they hatch a scheme for Cady to infiltrate the group and destroy Regina. Cady begins to become a certifiable mean girls the more Cady spends time with Regina.

Even without any body count Mean Girls’The list contains a detailed revenge plot with a focus on social standing and vicious verbal injures (as well as Regina being hit by the bus). And the filmmakers definitely acknowledge the greats that came before, with nods like the plaid ’80s skirt that Regina disses (a style in vogue during the Heathers era) to the scene where she plants photocopied pages of the Burn Book around the school’s empty hallways (a similar scene plays out in Jawbreaker).

For the mean girlsNetflix has it available for streaming.

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Many of these movies flirted with sapphic subtext, be it Fern’s obsession with Liz Purr or Cady’s fixation on Regina George. But Jennifer’s Body embraces the inherent homoeroticism of being infatuated with the most popular and beautiful girl in school — or in this case, also having the hottest girl be infatuated with you.

The studious Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and popular Jennifer (Megan Fox) may not have much in common on the surface, but they’re the best of friends. One night, after sneaking into a local dive bar, a skeevy indie band kidnaps Jennifer and uses her as a sacrifice for a demonic ritual — but it doesn’t quite work, and Jennifer wakes up with a hunger for flesh.

As Jennifer goes around murdering and eating boys, her power grows — and the already toxic friendship between her and Needy begins to disintegrate. In this world, there’s no central clique. Jennifer’s Body, but the focus on Needy and Jennifer’s intense friendship is enough to sustain it. Jennifer doesn’t want to harm anyone except Needy, and Jennifer is unable to resist her desire to kill Needy.

Jennifer’s BodyYou can stream it on Prime Video.