Bechdel Test Movie List

two characters who both have names talk to each other olivia and mia. about mia wanting to go home. they also have other conversations. almost none are about a man. this movie has lots of strong woman characters.

Whilst the Bechdel test may be passed in this film (during my watching I did not think that it did). It's overarching use of rape-as-metaphor, willing bloodlust for the female characters and deep enjoyment of watching women be brutally tortured and maimed, I cannot describe it as containing "strong female characters"

Wil, you're disagreeing with Maurice over a comment outside of the test, not with the rating. He gave a concrete example of the film matching the criteria and you've given nothing to dispute the example.

Please refrain from disagreeing with ratings for unrelated reasons. This is an objective test.

Wil: we should be clear, there was bloodlust and brutal torture for all characters, male or female. It's equal-opportunity maiming, and you could just as easily state it has no strong male characters on the same basis.

@Wil It had very strong female characters. even the ones who died. the nurse was the only person to take charge of the situation. the girlfriend, she cut off her own arm to stave off possession, and mia. she fights the demon alone, and rips off her own hand in order to live, to kill the demon. as for "rape", the scene in this movie isnt rape exactly. its possession. it is possesion through her lady bits

@Maurice Rape includes any form of non-consensual penetration of the vagina or anus by any type of foreign body. Ramming a tree branch up a girl is rape, whether it's for the purpose of possession or not.

@becka you can rape someone through the mouth also, but if you were possessed from the mouth that wouldnt be rape. certain fish will swim up there too, are those fish raping a person? no. demonic possession and rape are totally different things.
p.s. in this movie it wasnt a tree branch. it was a phallic slime vine serpent thing.

@maurice- you yourself describe the serpent as phallic. so it was probably rape, not possession. also, is anyone else in the movie 'possessed' in a way that resembles rape? even through the mouth?

ok, y'all, definition of rape aside, do the women actually have conversations? I mean, beyond just one liners, do they really engage each other/serve a character role that has bearing to the plot, for example, how long to they talk to each other about wanting to go home? equal opportunity representation, good or bad, is the point of the test, not whether a movie is feminist or not.

@Trina B- this is a tough call, because there's not much substance to the women's roles as they're mainly there to be stalked by demons (so there's definitely objectification), but as I recall, the male characters are pretty one-sided too. And there's the rape scene involving the demon vine, but I believe she fights it off successfully.
I liked the film but I was surprised to see it included on this list. That said, it does pass the criteria of this test.

I dont believe that thier is any rape in this movie. it was a possesion. even though it was a phallic vine, and through genetalia. it was possesion, nothing more. the vine didnt have sex with her, niether did the demon. and yes thier was conversation. the nurse talks to mia and the rest of the group about her not being able to go home. which is the only reason the movie can move forward.

This movie 100% passes the test. Multiple female discuss things relating the main female character's health, if they may leave the cabin early and the fact that they are being picked off my monsters. There are actually less men in the cast than women, and it all takes place in a single location, so mechanically it would be difficult for it to fail.

There is a demon tree rape (just like in the original) but the final survivor who arm chainsaws the monster at the end is female.

…well, the scene with the…erm… “phallic slime vine serpent thing” is actually considered the infamous “tree rape” scene for both the original 1981 version and the remake. So… if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck… I’m just saying…

Anyway, I agree and disagree with the test results. Agree that it does cover the criteria of the test, but as ‘trina B’ said, it’s not much of a conversation.

I would strongly recommend that a review of the ‘test criteria’ be done to define what that “talk to each other” entails. That would help bring the test up-to-date.

Nowadays you could have two named characters, who are having a very brief conversation with each other on how great it is to buy expensive shoes (damn these stereotypes!!!). This would get a pass on the criteria alone, but in the ‘spirit’ of the test, should it really get a passing grade? Really???

The rating is right. Mia and her brother are the only characters that have some development - Mia having way more than him. None of the characters actually interact with each other much, mostly because it's useless to develop a character that will be killed off in the future.

As for the possession scene, even though it was possession, IT WAS rape. It could have entered through it's mouth, like it happens in The Possession, with the moths and the little girl, and it would at least looked like a snake entering a person's body. In this case, however, it entered through her vagina while she was being held tightly by the trees, against her will. It is possession, but made to really look like a rape/violation scene.

Also, there is this moment where the demon tells Mia's brother she is being raped in hell. We cannot forget that. And one more thing: since we are on the Bechdel Test site, we must ask ourselves if it was a male character and not a female, would it have entered the man like it did with Mia?

And don't you dare say anything about him having pants and all. It had the power to easily enter them anyway.

I agree with the rating. Strong female characters. Everyone is treated the same, I.e. horribly.
Although I don't believe it was a physical rape, because it was a possession, it is a kind of Soul rape. Though this may be taking the discussion too far. Thoughts?

Of course it passes the test. The rape has nothing to do with the test e.g. "Please keep in mind that a movie scoring a [Smiley] does not mean it is at all "good" or feminist friendly, just that it passes all tests."

It's simple people - if it has two named women, who talk to each other about something other than a man, it passes. Whether or not it's good from any other point of view is entirely irrelevant.

The woman are frequently in control in this movie. It is about a girl, Mia, being detoxed by her friends, led by a female nurse, Olivia, who is constantly the voice of reason and nursing Mia to health. Olivia is in control. The two male characters are just there to be nice. They aren't technically helping the detox. Later in the movie after Olivia's death we see David, Mia's brother is now looking after the group, but Natalie, David's girlfriend, is actively helping with tending wounds. This leaves the last character, Eric, who doesn't do much of anything besides complain and be a human shield being incompetent and constantly being injured. Meanwhile, Natalie is bit on the hand by Mia and is slowly being possessed, she doesn't call for help from the men, she doesn't try and get their help, she makes the decision for herself to amputate the arm showing independence and initiative. The climax of the film has Mia, a female, defeating the demon and stopping at nothing to assure her survival. She is the protagonist and she is the hero in all of this.

maurice, you terrify me (coming from a woman). i hope you have had a good 8 years to contemplate your disgusting behaviors, and have had the chance to better yourself.