Olivia Rodrigo’s Music Videos Referencing Women-Led Horror Movies

In honor of AANHPI Heritage month, let’s celebrate Filipina-American pop star Olivia Rodrigo and her love of horror movies. Grammy-award singer Olivia Rodrigo not only sings about the angsty teenage experience, but she references women-led horror movies in her music videos that give us a glimpse of how brutal girlhood could really be. In no particular order, let’s see what horror movie references we can spot in Rodrigo’s music videos.

“good 4 u”

Olivia Rodrigo in "good 4 u" music video room on fire
Olivia Rodrigo as Asami in “good 4 u”

In the music video “good 4 u” Olivia Rodrigo famously wears black gloves throughout the video. After recently watching a classic J-horror film, I got déjà vu because one of the characters also is known for wearing black rubber gloves. If you haven’t guessed it before, Olivia Rodrigo’s gloves are inspired by the J-horror film Audition (1991). The female lead, Asami wears black rubber gloves when she reveals her cruel intentions toward a widower. FYI, Audition is about a woman seeking revenge on men that have done her wrong, and “good 4 u” has got that covered, alright.

“Brutal”

Olivia Rodrigo in ballet outfit, black pointe shoes, in ballet room we see ballerina's legs
Olivia Rodrigo referencing Black Swan in “Brutal”
In, “Brutal” Olivia Rodrigo shows us that life can be brutal for teenage girls or just women in general. This music video is all about hyper-feminity and how suffocating it is for girls to keep up with unrealistic images of themselves. We see scenes of ballet dancers and Rodrigo breaking a leg to keep up with the dancers; this definitely screams Black Swan (2010). She’s even wearing black pointe shoes!

“SOUR Prom”

Close-up of Olivia Rodrigo wearing a blue dress, in a populated school gym
Olivia Rodrigo referencing Carrie in “Sour Prom”

In Olivia Rodrigo’s visual album of SOUR “SOUR Prom” there’s a song sequence that pays tribute to one of the most iconic horror films. In the “jealousy, jealousy” sequence, we see the camera spinning out of control just as Rodrigo appears to be. She tilts her head at the camera like she’s about to snap somebody’s head off, and towards the end of the song; a mob of students looks like they’re about to rip her apart. I’m getting Carrie vibes from watching this sequence. Not only are we at a prom that’s set in a gym just like in Carrie (1976) the song shares the same tone of angst and resentment that Carrie felt towards her classmates. While Olivia Rodrigo wasn’t covered in blood; the lighting shifts from party lights to a grim red.


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