The Nightmare World of Feminist Film

Recap

This long, abrasive video essay argues that 12 films use feminist themes in ways the narrator considers heavy-handed, incoherent, or hostile to men. Reviewing the films in reverse chronological order, he mixes plot summaries with close readings, box-office commentary, historical arguments, and a running barrage of jokes and insults.

• The Bride receives the most extended opening takedown. The narrator mocks its anachronistic dialogue, self-important art-house style, and long, shouty monologues, arguing that it turns Mary Shelley into a prop for a modern feminist story. He also ridicules the film’s coincidences and alleged plot holes, repeatedly detouring into a tangent about Vanilla Sky and Penélope Cruz. A recurring comic voice, Mr. Reflection, fills in for the absent “Karen iPhone.” The narrator’s verdict is that the movie is tedious—and that its disastrous box office makes its teased sequel especially funny.

• Send Help is described as a survival story that becomes a “male humiliation ritual.” Linda, a survival enthusiast, outlasts her entitled boss Bradley after they are stranded together, then turns on him and ultimately kills him. The narrator objects to the story’s moral logic and raises questions about rescue efforts, signals, and the island’s geography. He contrasts the film’s gender dynamic with a survival reality show, using clips of stranded women struggling to find water and make fire as a comic comparison.

• If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is presented as an unrelenting misery drama about a mother caring for her ill daughter. The narrator interprets recurring images—especially animal deaths and abortion references—as evidence that the film treats children as burdens and motherhood as a nightmare. He also complains that the daughter is barely seen, leaving the film focused almost entirely on the mother’s distress. His bluntest joke is that the movie is so dreary he’d walk out of it “if [he] had legs.”

• Don’t Worry Darling gets a plot recap: Florence Pugh’s character discovers that her seemingly perfect 1950s life is a virtual prison created by her husband. The narrator calls the premise a muddled version of The Matrix, then offers a sarcastic reading of its symbolism, turning eggs, houses, domestic chores, and the “patriarchy” into targets for mock analysis. He does credit Harry Styles’s angry villain monologue for being genuinely affecting, arguing that it nearly raises an interesting question before the film abandons it.

• The Woman King is attacked both as a film and as a distortion of history. The narrator disputes its heroic portrayal of the Dahomey warriors, arguing that the movie sanitizes their connection to slavery and human sacrifice. He also mocks the slow pacing, exposition-heavy opening, implausible fight choreography, and repeated dance sequences. His recurring gag is that the movie’s girl-boss warriors can defeat any man through sheer cinematic convenience.

• Chaos Walking is called a chaotic, expensive sci-fi misfire. Its central premise is that men’s thoughts are visible and audible while women’s are not. The narrator says the film offers little explanation for this and lets its feminist and anti-Christian caricatures overwhelm the world-building. He also jokes about Mads Mikkelsen’s cowboy outfit, the lack of aliens in an alien-world story, and the many logistical questions the plot leaves unanswered.

• Promising Young Woman is criticized as a revenge story that, in the narrator’s view, treats allegations as proof and frames male characters as irredeemable. He summarizes Cassie’s attempts to confront men connected to her friend’s assault, then calls the ending—where Cassie is killed but has arranged for evidence to surface—contrived. The section also includes an extended argument about campus sexual-assault statistics and false accusations, plus a dig at the male lead’s fidgety, self-deprecating “millennial” speech pattern.

• Birds of Prey is so grating that the narrator says he couldn’t finish it. He describes it as loud, chaotic, and overedited, with a confusing diamond-chase plot, relentless narration, and fight scenes he considers implausible. He mocks its soundtrack, “yap-yap” dialogue, and self-conscious jokes. His comparison: Harley Quinn works in small doses, but the movie is “a giant plate of mustard.”

• Mulan (2020) is criticized for giving Mulan mystical “chi” powers, which the narrator says drains the original story of its emphasis on courage and ingenuity. He runs through familiar girl-boss tropes—awakening to hidden power, humiliating men, rejecting romance, and receiving social acclaim—and also condemns the film’s production ties to Chinese authorities.

• Charlie’s Angels (2019) is framed as a sexless, smug update of the earlier films. The narrator complains that its heroines share the same personality and skills, face little real risk, and casually harm or kill men while the movie treats them as righteous. He also mocks the fashion, fight choreography, and the film’s attempt to make the “Bosley” role a rank rather than a person.

• Black Christmas (2019) is described as a campus-horror story in which a sinister fraternity embodies toxic masculinity. The narrator finds the supernatural premise absurd and argues that the film’s heroines punish men who are portrayed as possessed or manipulated, even after the spell is broken. He also revisits the real-life Rolling Stone “A Rape on Campus” story as context for his broader objections to campus-rape narratives.

• The Incredibles 2 closes the movie reviews. The narrator calls it a gender-swapped remake of the first film, with Elastigirl taking the lead while Mr. Incredible is left doing domestic work. He criticizes the new superheroes’ designs, the villain’s plan, and what he sees as the film’s conspicuous ideological dialogue. He argues that the sequel copies the original’s major plot beats while making its family dynamics less satisfying.

The video ends with a sweeping condemnation of the films’ shared worldview, which the narrator portrays as one of female self-interest, male humiliation, and historical revisionism. Its final punchline is the deliberately provocative claim that the “worst mistake in human history” was the adoption of the 19th Amendment.

Personalities Featured or Discussed

• Despot of Antrim — the narrator and host
• Mr. Reflection — the recurring comic voice; “Karen iPhone” is mentioned as absent
• Filmmakers — Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sam Raimi, Mary Bronstein, Olivia Wilde, and Elizabeth Banks
• Performers — Jesse Buckley, Christian Bale, Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Viola Davis, Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, and Margot Robbie