There is nothing quite like the euphoria of justifiable female rage. Rage when channeled into constructive outlets can empower us and help us to set boundaries — and find our voice. Women have been told for centuries that their anger makes them hysterical and emotional, while men are often afforded the luxury of expressing their anger freely. Perhaps that is why movies about female rage are all the rage these days, even though the toxic people that rage is targeted towards can certainly be of any gender. Such movies give women permission to honor their emotions in a way they haven’t been able to do before, especially in cases of injustice or when dealing with a manipulator. While we shouldn’t look at female rage movies as how-to manuals, they can certainly be cathartic outlets to validate our experiences and motivate us to fight back constructively against those who try to exploit us. Once you see these movies, you’re less likely to spend time ruminating over your toxic ex and more likely to level up and start kicking some serious butt in all facets of your life.

Birds of Prey

There are many things you can do after a break-up. Cut your hair, drink and dance a little, begin doing roller derby, adopt a hyena, blow up an entire chemical plant (don’t actually do this please), and team up with some badass women to take on a gang of mobsters. While such antics should be enjoyed from the screen, there’s nothing like seeing female rage embodied in a physical explosion and becoming a vigilante bounty hunter to jumpstart your healing from your toxic ex. This is the story of the emancipation of Harley Quinn with her infamous quote, “Behind every successful man is a badass broad,” and it will surely inspire you. Margot Robbie plays the iconic Harley in Birds of Prey, a former psychiatrist turned criminal who sacrifices everything to be with the patient and madman she fell in love with, the Joker, only to face a break-up that initially leaves her feeling directionless. But as she empowers herself and the vigilante women around her using her strengths, she rediscovers her true power and skill set. This is one cinematic female rage action movie you won’t want to miss.

Waiting to Exhale

This classic drama featuring the gorgeous and unbeatable Angela Bassett is famous for a lot of reasons, but two scenes in particular hit the hardest when it comes to witnessing another beautiful explosion (quite literally) of justifiable female rage. When Bernadine “Bernie” Harris discovers that her husband John is leaving her for another woman after she sacrificed her own dreams and career to help build his business, she rages in an eloquent speech about what she gave up to support him and the wickedness of John’s character as she burns his clothes and his car, and powerfully walks away from the burning car in an epic scene that has been memeified into cinematic immortality. While we do not advise doing any of this in real life, it is certainly cathartic and fun to watch her exorcise this toxic man out of her existence.

Kill Bill

If you want a movie that gives you the adrenaline rush to get over those break-up blues, Kill Bill is the perfect “comfort” revenge movie. Just channel all your emotions and gain some cathartic healing as you watch Uma Thurman hunt down her assassin ex Bill and his fellow assassin group and kick everyone’s ass with the mighty force and speed of a trained warrior for daring to mess with her unborn baby.

The Craft

A cult classic movie about a ferocious coven of women coming into their own magical abilities and power, The Craft is a delight to watch when you’re in the mood for some good old female rage — the magical kind that has the ability to actually transform the lives of others, that is. As shy teenager Sarah befriends a trio of witches in a new town, she taps into her own supernatural abilities and the coven grows stronger as they dish out casual revenge to people who’ve crossed them. When an obsession love spell goes wrong, causing Sarah’s crush to try to assault her, Nancy offers a whirlpool of vengeance to the offender in an all-encompassing and mighty display of powerful righteous female rage.

Promising Young Woman

This female rage movie is best enjoyed without the ending (seriously, the ending will break you). A tongue-in-cheek take on what happens when a woman gets tired of a culture that normalizes rape and violence against women, Carey Mulligan plays the strategic and clever Cassie Thomas in A Promising Young Woman. Cassie switches the roles of prey and predator by pretending to be drunk and luring in men who want to take advantage of her — only to scare them shitless with accountability when they discover she’s been sober all along. The movie depicts a more contained depiction of female rage since Cassie strategically harnesses her rage and grief over her best friend committing suicide due to her rape into hunting down the men responsible. However (spoiler alert) she discovers that even the trusted men in her own life are not that innocent.

Hard Candy

Hard Candy, much like an even gorier vigilante female rage film I Spit On Your Grave, is only for the hardcore vigilante lovers and not for the faint-hearted. The film is more about predatory relationships as presumed teenager Hayley (played by Elliot Page) lures in child predator Jeff from the internet — only to punish him for his crimes in ways he could never anticipate. Hard Candy is a female rage thriller that will leave you breathless.

Carrie

No list about female rage movies is truly complete without mentioning Stephen King’s formidable movie adaptation of the book Carrie — all of its film adaptations are spectacular, though the original with Sissy Spacek is naturally a classic. Although Carrie is not about romantic relationships apart from Carrie’s crush asking her out to prom, her rage finally coming out through her telekinetic powers at her high school bullies leaves quite the satisfying watch for anyone who has ever been wronged. Again, these movies are hardly instruction manuals nor should they be tried at home. But they certainly will move you and make you feel more motivated during times you may otherwise feel hopeless and powerless, helping you take your power back.