A Horrible Woman

A Horrible Woman

Year: 2017

Runtime: 86 mins

Language: Danish

Drama

Rasmus believes he’s found his soulmate when he meets Marie. However, his hopes are shattered as he discovers she is a manipulative and controlling presence in his life. Marie cunningly exploits and emotionally dismantles him, revealing a dark and destructive side that threatens to consume him.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – A Horrible Woman (2017)

Explore the full timeline and setting of A Horrible Woman (2017). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present-day

The film unfolds in contemporary times, focusing on modern urban life and everyday routines. It includes a future-oriented plan for a year-long trip to Argentina, signaling shifts in the couple's dynamic. The narrative moves through moments at home and social events, illustrating how time tests relationships.

Location

apartment, museum, art exhibition, Argentina

The primary setting is the couple's apartment, which becomes the arena for Marie's controlling behavior and Rasmus's reactions. Interludes occur in a museum and at an art exhibition, grounding the drama in a modern urban cultural scene. A future trip to Argentina hints at change and escape, contrasting domestic confinement with the idea of exploration.

🏠 Apartment 🏛️ Museum 🖼️ Art Exhibition 🇦🇷 Argentina

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:44

Main Characters – A Horrible Woman (2017)

Meet the key characters of A Horrible Woman (2017), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Rasmus (Anders Juul)

A reserved, increasingly restless man whose life is gradually reshaped by Marie's control. He vacillates between compliance and bursts of anger, signaling a desire for authenticity and autonomy. His vulnerability and reactions drive the relationship's conflict and expose the limits of submission.

🧭 Boundaries 💔 Toxicity 🫂 Vulnerability

Marie (Amanda Collin)

A sophisticated, calculating partner who wields manipulation to shape Rasmus's life. She gaslights him to maintain dominance and uses social settings to deepen emotional leverage. Her occasional meta-awareness and fourth-wall moments add a unsettling edge to her charm.

🪞 Manipulation 🎯 Control 🔥 Toxicity

Silas (Mads Tafdrup)

The baby in the couple's life, symbolizing the consequences and new responsibilities that complicate the power dynamics. Though not always on screen, Silas anchors the later baby shower and grounds the narrative in the tangible stakes of family life.

🍼 Baby 👶 Future 🧸 Innocence

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:44

Major Themes – A Horrible Woman (2017)

Explore the central themes of A Horrible Woman (2017), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🪞 Manipulation

Marie reshapes Rasmus's life by reorganizing his space, selling his CDs, and scripting his calendar. When he resists, she gaslights him to maintain control. The dynamic shows how emotional leverage can replace overt force in a relationship. The audience witnesses how trying to please a partner can erode personal autonomy.

🎭 Fourth Wall

There are moments when Marie looks directly at the camera and grins, pulling the audience into the couple's drama. This metanarrative device challenges viewer sympathy and invites scrutiny of who is performing and who is real. It blurs the line between fiction and spectator, heightening the tension in their dynamic.

🗝️ Independence

Rasmus's plan to travel to Argentina embodies a longing for autonomy and growth. The pregnancy and baby shower anchor new dependencies, testing whether independence can coexist with commitment. The film contrasts control with escape, exploring how time can unlock new identities within a toxic relationship.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:44

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Slow burn psychological drama like A Horrible Woman

Stories where quiet manipulation and emotional control slowly suffocate a character.If you liked the quiet, unnerving tension of A Horrible Woman, explore more movies like it. These films feature slow pacing, heavy emotional weight, and dark tones, focusing on characters being psychologically dismantled in toxic relationships. They share a similar feel of observational dread and emotional abuse narratives.

slow burnclaustrophobicunnervingpsychologicaloppressiveunsettlinganxious

Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread typically follow a linear but deeply psychological decline. A character, often initially hopeful, becomes trapped in a relationship where control is exerted not through overt violence but through subtle manipulation, gaslighting, and emotional coercion. The story unfolds with a sense of inevitable decay, emphasizing the fragility of identity under sustained pressure.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here because they share a specific combination of a slow, deliberate pace, a dark and unsettling tone, and a central focus on the dynamics of psychological manipulation. They create a similar viewing experience of building dread and emotional heaviness, prioritizing character study over plot twists.

Unsettling domestic dramas similar to A Horrible Woman

Intimate stories where everyday settings become landscapes of psychological tension.For viewers who appreciated the realistic and claustrophobic portrayal of a toxic relationship in A Horrible Woman, this list highlights similar movies. These films use quiet, observational storytelling in everyday settings to explore dark themes like control, identity loss, and emotional abuse, creating a deeply unsettling atmosphere.

observationalclaustrophobicunsettlingquietdomesticanxiouspsychological

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a close examination of a relationship dynamic within a seemingly normal context. The conflict arises from interpersonal control and psychological games rather than external events. The story is driven by nuanced performances and a steady accumulation of small, damaging interactions, leading to an ambiguous or bleak resolution that feels true to the complex nature of such relationships.

Why These Movies?

These movies are connected by their use of a realistic, domestic setting to amplify psychological tension. They share a quiet, observational style, a moderate complexity that focuses on character depth, and a mood that is consistently anxious and claustrophobic. The similarity lies in the feeling of relatable environments turned sinister.

Unlock the Full Story of A Horrible Woman

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A Horrible Woman Summary

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A Horrible Woman Summary

A Horrible Woman Timeline

Track the full timeline of A Horrible Woman with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

A Horrible Woman Timeline

A Horrible Woman Spoiler-Free Summary

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A Horrible Woman Spoiler-Free Summary

More About A Horrible Woman

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