An article on Collider highlights *Thoroughbreds*, a 2017 psychological thriller starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke, arguing it remains an underrated gem despite Taylor-Joy's rise to fame through films such as *The Witch*, *Furiosa* and *Dune: Part Two*. The piece credits writer-director Cory Finley, making his feature debut, with crafting complex, believable teenage female characters rather than caricatures, comparing his approach favourably to Ari Aster's work in *Midsommar*.

The 93-minute film follows Lily (Taylor-Joy), a popular but troubled teenager in affluent Connecticut, who bonds with outcast classmate Amanda (Cooke) after being hired to tutor her. Amanda, who has a condition leaving her unable to feel emotion, proposes they murder Lily's abusive stepfather, Mark, with the plan gaining urgency once he arranges to send Lily to a behavioural boarding school. The article praises the film's unflinching, non-judgemental portrayal of dark female friendship, contrasting it with the more comedic tone of *Heathers*, and likens its morally complex heroines to Amy Elliott-Dunne of *Gone Girl*.