223. 31 Days of Halloween 2025 - Day 17.5: Mary Beth McAndrews Discusses the Female Gaze of Rape-Revenge Cinema in BYSTANDERS and REVENGE

When writing the watchlist for this year's 31 Days of Halloween, I put on Coralie Fargeat's REVENGE because I adore THE SUBSTANCE and wanted to see more of her work. I listed BYSTANDERS because I'd been following director Mary Beth McAndrews, then editor of Dread Central, for years and wanted to see what her debut would have to offer.But it wasn't until I began to research BYSTANDERS that I realized what serendipity had casually placed in front of me: REVENGE was not only a massive influence on McAndrews for her movie but also her entire Master's thesis on women-helmed rape-revenge cinema. It's one of her all-time favorite movies, a film she has represented under her skin with a - fucking stellar - tattoo.And while I find both movies to approach the rape-revenge subgenre in wildly different manners (I liken REVENGE to a sledgehammer whereas BYSTANDERS comes across like the slightly rusted aluminum bat lying in the corner of the room that you don't even register until it's swung upside your temple), both films register as entries in a new school of the subgenre, one informed and represented by the female gaze. Less exploitation, more examination.So today's installment deviates from the beaten path to talk to McAndrews about the impact REVENGE has had on her life and rape-revenge cinema, including its influence on BYSTANDERS. We talk patriarchy. We talk about ugly frat sweaters. We talk about the intricacies of killing peopl- I mean, boys, on film. It's a wild fuckin' ride and Mary Beth is a total mensch.Both BYSTANDERS and REVENGE are currently available to stream on Tubi.Follow Mary Beth McAndrews on Instagram and her website---Follow The Movies on Instagram & LetterboxdThrow a couple dollars in the tip jar!