Movies about Rape - Collection of Mental Health Movies

Our lives are so much more nuanced and emotive than any legal definition, or symptom checklist could ever portray.

While movies are not always accurate, they often present subtleties and explore complexities in enriching and thought-provoking ways.

This article series invites you to use film to explore mental-health-related themes, raise awareness, open dialogue and normalise experiences.

If we missed an essential film about sexual assault or rape, please let us know. We would love to include it.

Click to see the Ultimate List of Mental Health Movies index

What is Sexual Assualt?

Sexual assaults are serious and life-altering, violations of a person’s dignity. They include all unwanted sexual contact, be it physical, psychological, or emotional. The term points to a range of sexually related crimes including rape, child sexual abuse, groping, sexually tinged bullying or intimidation, and sexual torture.

“Rape” refers to sexual assaults that include unwanted penetration of the body. Depending on your geographical region, legal definitions may stipulate that the penetration need not be of the genitals (e.g. mouth) or by someone’s genitals (e.g. finger or bottle).

All forms of sexual assault, including those reluctantly endured, produce psychological harm.

Consensual sex involves an explicit YES, not the absence of a NO.

Consent may be revoked at any moment and is only possible between adults (not children) of sound mind (not incapacitated) and without intimidation.

The emotional, family and social effects of sexual assault are often devastating, enduring, and may even be lifelong.

The list of psychological symptoms experienced is long. Anger, anxiety, attention difficulties, denial, depression, fear, flashbacks, guilt, inability to trust, intimacy difficulties, learned helplessness, loneliness, mood swings, nightmares/terrors, numbness, promiscuity, rationalisation, self-blame, sexual difficulties, shame, and social anxiety are common responses.

Social effects and social factors such as gender dynamics play an enormous role in the prevalence of sexual assault.

Movies about Sexual Assault, Abuse, and Rape

Note: Movies may trigger painful memories and emotions. Please use your judgement and ensure support is available if need be.

Movie Title: Bombshell - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2019

Rated: 6.8

Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie

Storyline: A group of women at Fox News came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Roger Ailes.

Movie Title: Moxie

Release: 2021

Rated: 6.7

Cast: Hadley Robinson, Lauren Tsai, Alycia Pascual-Pena

Storyline: A teenager named Vivian sparks a feminist revolution in her high school, inspired by her mother's rebellious past, to combat the prevalent culture of sexual harassment and assault.

Movie Title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2019

Rated: 2.4

Cast: Camille Keaton, Jamie Bernadette, Maria Olsen

Storyline: Jennifer Hills seeks revenge against her assailants as she confronts the haunting memories of sexual harassment and rape from her past. Please note that the movie contains explicit and disturbing content.

Movie Title: Girl in the Basement - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2021

Rated: 6.3

Cast: Judd Nelson, Stefanie Scott, Joely Fisher

Storyline: A young woman endures years of sexual harassment and rape at the hands of her own father, as she fights for survival and struggles to escape the confines of the basement where she's imprisoned.

Movie Title: Women

Release: 2021

Rated: 4.3

Cast: Anna Marie Dobbins, Tara Warren, Anna Maiche

Storyline: A small town detective investigates into a Sociology professor when a mutilated body is found and women have gone missing from his class.

Movie Title: Lost Girls

Release: 2020

Rated: 6.1

Cast: Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie, Gabriel Byrne

Storyline: A mother's relentless pursuit for justice leads her down a dark path of uncovering a series of unsolved murders, revealing the shocking truth behind a web of sexual harassment and rape.

Movie Title: Silenced - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rated: 8.1

Cast: Yoo Gong, Yu-mi Jung, Hyeon-soo Kim

Storyline: The film is a true-to-life story of a school where young deaf students were sexually assaulted and raped by faculty members. A teacher seeks justice for his abused and raped students.

Movie Title: Irreversible - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Monica Belluci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel

Storyline: A controversial film where two men seek to avenge a raped girlfriend. The film forces viewers to think seriously about the sexual violence involved.

Movie Title: 22 Female Kottayam - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2012

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Vijay Babu, Rima Kallingal, Fahadh Faasil

Storyline: Set and filmed in Bangalore, the story is about a 22-year-old nurse who was raped. Her traumatic experience leads her to be scarred physically and mentally for life. She decides to take revenge on her tormentors.

Movie Title: Ms. 45 - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1981

Rated: 6.8

Cast: Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys

Storyline: A revenge story of a seamstress who lost her sanity after she was raped. Sexual assault and rape cause the victim to become a violent woman.

Movie Title: I Spit on Your Grave - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2010

Rated: 6.3

Cast: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard

Storyline: In an isolated cabin, a writer was raped and tortured by a gang of thugs. She seeks revenge on her attackers.

Additional Resources

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Rape Survivors
• Responding to Children and Adolescents Who Have Been Sexually Abused: WHO Clinical Guidelines
• Wikipedia Page about Rape
• World Report on Violence and Health

Acknowledgements

The above article was written under my close direction and supervision. However, much credit goes to Charlene Poliquit (my right-hand man) and Andri Eigenberger (my beloved aunt) for their huge efforts in bringing this task to life.

Vincenzo Sinisi

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash