The Big Picture
The Stepford Wives
holds up as a chilling feminist horror story with disturbing twists and turns.
The movie skillfully uses elements to tackle heavy themes, inspiring Jordan Peele’s masterpiece,
Get Out
.
The slow-paced horror film critiques conservative ideals and societal fears in a terrifyingly relevant way.
The term “Stepford Wife” is one currently embedded into pop culture and modern society. The archetype is usually perceived as a vapid, 1950s-esque housewife and stay-at-home mother with a cocktail dress and bouffant. While the title is regularly referenced, the actual literary and cinematic origins of it are less known. The Stepford Wives, published in September 1972, was written by Ira Levin of Rosemary’s Baby acclaim. And just like Rosemary’s Baby, the novel is a chilling feminist horror story with some disturbing twists and turns. There were two cinematic adaptions of the book, and unfortunately, most are only familiar with the 2004 film starring Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close, and Christopher Walken. While fun and kitschy, that adaption lacks the slow-building dread, nail-biting suspense, and satirical punch of the original 1975 version.
The Stepford Wives (1975)
Joanna Eberhart relocates to the idyllic community of Stepford, only to become suspicious of the unnaturally perfect and obedient wives in the town. Alongside her new friend Bobbie, she delves into the mystery, discovering a dark truth about the transformation of these women into compliant automatons, orchestrated by their controlling husbands.
Release Date February 12, 1975
Director Bryan Forbes
Cast Katharine Ross , Paula Prentiss , Peter Masterson , Nanette Newman , Tina Louise , Carol Eve Rossen , William Prince , Carole Mallory
Runtime 115 Minutes
Writers Ira Levin , William Goldman
What Is ‘The Stepford Wives’ About?
Directed by Bryan Forbes and written for the screen by William Goldman, 1975’s The Stepford Wives follows Levin’s story of up-and-coming photographer Joanna Eberhart (The Graduate’s Katharine Ross) as she moves with her husband and children from New York City to the suburban town of Stepford, Connecticut. Once there, Joanna finds trouble fitting in among the almost eerily complacent housewives and their mysterious husbands, who spend quite a bit of time at their “Men’s Association.” She finds herself wrapped in a conspiracy, trying to uncover shockingly dark secrets hidden underneath the idyllic suburban facade. It is a slow-burn, as most great thrillers are, and a fantastic satire of a society where men will go to horrifying lengths to make their wives fit their ideal, conservative family structure. With bills currently being pushed by Republican lawmakers to try and restrict abortion access, birth control, and women’s rights, The Stepford Wives is unfortunately more terrifyingly relevant than ever as a critique of the male fantasy.
Image via Paramount Pictures
Major spoiler warnings are probably in order here. Perhaps the most important thing to discuss when looking at the satire of The Stepford Wives is the titular wives themselves, along with their eerie nature. They are portrayed from the beginning as conformists who all dress the same in light-pastel dresses and sun hats. Cooking, cleaning, and shopping all seem hardwired into the very fabric of their being. As it is revealed towards the end of the movie, the women are actually robotic duplicates of themselves built by the town’s Men’s Association (AKA their husbands). The real wives are murdered and disposed of by the robotic replications of themselves. This speaks perfectly to the satire of the film. Men in this community do not want the intelligence, talents, individuality, or personalities of their wives. They murder these original selves all in order to live out their cookie-cutter vision of the toxic male fantasy of “domestic bliss.” It is absolutely Hellish, a clear satire on the robotic, docile version of women a traditional, conservative society strives for.
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Come for the thrills; stay for the layered writing.
In one of the scariest moments of the film, protagonist Joanna confronts her friend Bobbie (Paula Prentiss), who has, unbeknownst to her, been replaced by a robotic clone. Their confrontation culminates in Joanna stabbing the fake Bobbie, who short-circuits. Bobbie begins pacing the kitchen, opening drawers, and repeating pre-created phrases about cleaning, cooking, and recipes. This scene finds such horror in its simplicity. When glitching, these clones show their true colors as uncanny-valley-esque summations of a conservative society’s idea of a perfect woman. The movie skillfully uses these Twilight Zone-esque elements to tackle its heavy themes and is a clear inspiration for Jordan Peele’s social horror masterpiece, Get Out.
‘The Stepford Wives’ Leans Harder into Horror Than the Nicole Kidman Remake
The Stepford Wives is able to achieve its deeper metaphorical goals through the fact that it is a horror movie. Horror is almost always the most reliable genre when it comes to social commentary, as these films can reflect the mass fears of a society. In this case, all society is portrayed through a seemingly idyllic suburbia. Through slow-building dread and a genuinely frightening conclusion, The Stepford Wives confidently works as a horror film in its own right as well as a scathing critique of conservative ideals.
The movie’s pacing is one of the key ingredients in the overall dread. Despite the idea of robotic housewives potentially sounding just a little ridiculous, the movie is able to keep this concept grounded and believable through its slow pacing. There are no brutal death scenes, jump scares, or any outwardly serious acts of violence throughout the movie. It is paced more like a mystery than anything else, which allows the viewer to slowly reach the edge of their seats rather than falling off it too quickly. As Joanna desperately attempts to uncover the secrets of the husbands’ conspiracy, the film grows more stressful with every clue. Throughout the film, there is an unnerving sense that she is running out of time to solve the mystery of Stepford. A slow burn is more effective in creating a sense of terror, and it works well here to help build up to the conclusion.
Towards the end of the film, Joanna discovers her yet-to-be-completed robotic replacement with creepy black eyes in the headquarters of the Men’s Association. The robotic clone stands and slowly paces over to Joanna, fully killing her offscreen. The entire movie is a build-up to this scene, a truly shocking death with uncanny imagery that feels years ahead of its time. This scene is also enhanced by its futuristic, surreal score and its sudden cut to black. What is perhaps even scarier is the aftermath of her death, which sees Joanna’s replacement at a grocery store, fitting in perfectly with all the other automated wives. Joanna is a phenomenal main character. She is funny, loving, strong, and a talented artist. It makes this ending all the more terrifying and loops back to the commentary at hand.
America is terrifyingly close to becoming its own wide-scale version of Stepford in the modern-day political realm. With a consistent Conservative push to revert to the days of enforced traditional values, as well as the overturning of Roe V. Wade, plus bills looking to restrict abortion access, birth control, and overall female health care, Republican lawmakers feel a bit too much like the husbands of Stepford. It is awful to say, but The Stepford Wives holds up in the modern world as social commentary because there are still many who want to see this society become a reality. It is a more important film than ever and one that should not go overlooked on the watchlist of any feminist cinephile.
The Stepford Wives is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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