Dangerous. Damaged. Aging. Unhinged. Psycho-biddy films, sometimes referred to as “hagsploitation,” “granny slashers” and "grand dame guignol," are a subgenre of horror/thriller movies that feature an older (often wealthy) woman who is in a state of violent psychological distress. A younger female relative or caretaker may trigger memories of their haunted past, driving them to the brink of insanity.

Madness, paranoia, and control, are common themes, with the elder female protagonists portrayed as haggard, demented, and unattractive.

As Hollywood shifted from the old era to the new in the 1960s, the actresses that dazzled in the Golden Age of Hollywood as romantic leads and heroines became too old for producers to know how to market them. A new trend took over in which aging stars began appearing in self-referential roles, inhabiting caricatures of their former public selves.