2018 has already been an excellent year for films, and we’re not surprised, because as it turns out, there have been many films featuring a leading female cast. And a few of them are seriously being considered the best movies of the year. Take a look at the best female-led films of the year so far and see why the bar is set rather high for the rest of 2018.
Annihilation
Easily one of the best films of 2018, Alex Garland’s Annihilation finds an ensemble cast of Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson braving an alien force known as the Shimmer. After many have entered and few returned, it’s up to these four women with their skills in science and military to find out what is infecting the world. Placed in a dangerous area of vicious alien beasts and otherworldly forces, the foursome deciphers the weird affliction of refraction that threatens the human race, leading to one of the trippiest third acts of any sci-fi film.
Hereditary
In what may be one of the best performances of the year, Hereditary features Toni Collette in the performance of her career. She plays Annie, an artist of miniatures and mother of a family that may be cursed. Once Annie’s mother dies, stranger things start happening when her daughter Charlie starts killing birds and her son Peter causes an unfortunate death. It’s a terrifying film on its own but made all the more memorable with Collette’s flawless acting.
Insidious: The Last Key
Lin Shaye may be the most badass woman in all of horror, and she proved it once again by dominating the latest Insidious movie. She teams up with the amateur ghost hunters of Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell to tackle paranormal threats. While the boys struggle with their ghost-seeking tech, Shaye is the real deal of being both a ghost communicator and no-nonsense warrior in this world, approaching spooky spirits with a mighty shove and a don’t-mess-with-me attitude.
Life of the Party
Melissa McCarthy is an absolute joy in Life of the Party, perfectly playing the role of a newly-divorced mom trying to pick her life back up at college. Her genuinely warm nature and charming, humorous personality, always bedazzled in some politely tacky attire, help elevate this film past the old Back to School tropes. Also stellar in the film is Maya Rudolph in her boldest of roles that chew the scenery with every hilarious line. It’s a remarkably fun film given that McCarthy’s previous characters in the movies of Ben Falcone, her husband, have made less than likable. In Life of the Party, she’s irresistibly adorable.
A Quiet Place
While A Quiet Place may star and be directed by John Krasinski, it’s ultimately Emily Blunt who steals this film. As a pregnant mom trying to protect her family from monsters that attack based on the sounds you make, Blunt is brave enough to not only have a baby when silence is essential to survive but do so with a nail in her foot. And she’s more than able to pick up a shotgun when her children are under attack. She’s the ultimate mom of the post-apocalyptic and monster-infested world.
Unsane
Claire Foy delivers an unforgettable performance as the psychologically frightened protagonist of Unsane. She plays a woman that is seeking to escape from a stalker and volunteers herself to a mental institution. But when she thinks her stalker may be in the hospital, she freaks out and finds herself fearing for her life while being restrained and sedated.
Where is Kyra?
If her short appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp has you longing for some more Michelle Pfeiffer, then you’ve got to check out her fantastic performance in Where is Kyra? She plays a stressed-out woman who struggles to keep money coming her way by pretending to be her dead mother to cash her checks. What sounds like the recipe for a lousy comedy turns into a nail-biting drama of a woman with a downer life that spirals out of control quickly, refusing to seek help for her finances and mental health. She practically melts into this film for both the bulky attire of her mother and the deep shadows that occupy the expert cinematography.
