Women in Horror... Why it shouldn't matter!
The month of February is dedicated to the leading ladies in horror, not always those in front of the camera but those who are at the forefront of horror. Why this celebration is dedicated to a month is not a restriction for us here at BloodGuts with the ladies dominating the 2014 awards with the likes of ‘The Babadook’, ‘Truth or Dare’ and a beautiful score from Mica Levi. It is however a shocking reality that even in 2015 we face an industry that still shares much of its films with a male dominating inner circle however times are changing and it’s all thanks to a powerful band of femme fatales.
Not only content with building on an impressive library of gorylicious horror, Jen and Sylvia Soska are at the epicentre of this movement bringing together fresh faces with horror icons in a fight to prove that women can deliver horror as well as survive it.
Kickstarting with a low budget grindhouse-esque underground classic in ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’, the Canadians have made a name for themselves, not from their semi naked bodies or their ability to be the sidekick to others, instead, their rise to popularity within the horror community as been down to sheer talent behind the camera and nothing proved better than this than their groundbreaking follow up, ‘American Mary’. Part revenge thriller, part David Lynch, ‘American Mary’ defied two things. Firstly, showing that when these ladies are put behind a camera with their imagination at heart, they can come out with something that defies anything that came before it.
It may not be the most original of stories, taking heavily from the likes of ‘I Spit on Your Grave’ and ‘Ms. 45’, but it makes it its own not only thematically but everything from soundtrack to editing, it all blends in to make one of the most dramatic revenge thrillers of the last decade. At it’s UK premiere at Frightfest in 2012, there was nothing but praise for the film and now, in 2015 the film still stands tall to hold that accolade. More importantly, nobody cared that this was directed, written and produced by the Soska twins, what mattered was that a breath of fresh for the genre and a bar had been raised for producers and studios to take note.
Since then, it really has been a shame that the ladies of horror have been held back with opportunities of big budget horror given to the hands of the men leaving the women to crowd fund and seek funding elsewhere and yet not only do we have a queue of talent from the stronger sex but a tried and tested group of horror veterans that seem to have been let go by their hollywood comrades.
Based on the book by Brett Easton Ellis, ‘American Psycho’ is quite possibly the most important film of the 21st century. Starring Christian Bale as the yuppy with a chainsaw, the story not only takes on the darker side of the elite psyche but also holds credit to a number of the most iconic scenes in cinema history including a breakdown of the career of Huey Lewis and the News. Yet something more iconic is that this was all made at the helm of Mary Harron. Despite its male dominating plot, Harron managed to take away any stereotype to paint her work of art on celluloide.
The argument is a subtle one to casual moviegoers who genuinely don’t care whether a film is directed by either sex and a film can be good or bad by either. ‘American Psycho 2’ was directed by Morgan J. Freeman (not the good one) and that sank quicker than the Titanic so judgement of good filmmaking is not by the illuminati but by the eye of its biggest critic, the moviegoer.
This is a fight that has challenged Hollywood and the film making community for decades but has been reignited with passion in 2014 with the success of Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Babadook’. Challenged as the film of the year by many critics, and a worthy contender in our eyes, the most nerve shredding film of the year came from one of the most visionary directors the genre has seen for quite some time. Part crowd funded, ‘The Babadook’ seemed to come from nowhere and buzz from film festivals such as Frightfest and a heavy marketing campaign saw box office success for Kent’s monster masterpiece that had as much emotional impact down to it’s characters as it did with the supernatural.
The survival of not only the genre but the film industry needs to take a look at some of these inspiring film makers and provide funding to move them from the underground and into the mainstream. No longer do we want to hear Scorcese, Spielberg, Craven, Carpenter and Hooper but instead the likes of Kent, Soska, Axelle Carolyn, Jill Gervargizian and Jovanka Vuckovic.
'Kiss of the Damned', 'Near Dark' and 'The Slumber Party Massacre' (yes, sexploitation holds no bounds) all have been birthed from the twisted wombs of women and are they any different to their masculine counterparts... the answer is no. Yet why do we still need to dedicate a month out of twelve to the equal of the opposite sex?
With anthology collections such as ‘The ABC’s of Death’ and ‘XX’ (arriving in 2015) this new marketing of film making is giving small independent film makers a market. Directors including Jill Sixx who gave us the exceptional ‘Call Girl’ and Chelsey Burdon’s co-directed ‘She’ not only hold an attention to the decimation of man but show a deeper insight into the female psyche that leaves them not as the victim, but as the master puppeteer of the unfolding events.
There is a growing series of short films showcasing the talent that is missing from the sequel/franchise burning culture of Hollywood that seems to put the ladies into a victim like role with little room for moving outside that box yet slowly there is a movement that sees the tides turning. The quality of Mexican short ‘El Gigante’, directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero,eclipses most of the studio fodder we’ve seen of late and still there is funding for a new Michael Bay film voyeuring on the youngest talent ready to be perved on by it’s bulging money spinner rather than producing the next Hollywood star.
Yet with only 3 out of 26 segments directed by females in ‘The ABC’s of Death 2’ there is still a challenge for the female community and as we step into 2015 need to step up and show support for those fresh minds irrelevant of sex, rather the holders of talent and it seems that with short films like ‘Call Girl’, ‘El Gigante’ and ‘The Captured Bird’ that a big screen debut is not only requested, but demanded.
This is not a feature for a quick read but rather an open letter to Hollywood and it’s producers to stand up and say “HEY!” Talent isn’t judged by it’s sex as much as it’s not judged on the colour of its skin and much like the diverse sub-genres held in the horror umbrella, it’s time that women were taken seriously and not for the scream queens they have been merely cast as.
With one horror film up for nomination in the 2015 BAFTA's ('Under the Skin' - Best British Film, Best Music) and nothing to represent the genre at this years Academy Awards it is a time that we stood up for all that is right with the genre, irrelevant of sex, age, race and culture. The horror genre needs a voice and who that comes from who cares, but so long as the women in horror continue to plough through quality films like Jason slashes through teens, then I know who will be taking the lead.
