Right off the bat, happy international women’s day! A day that we use to promote the idea that women should be treated with equality and respect every day of the year, not just today. There are a lot of influential women in the world and as a horror blog, I thought I would use discuss some of the woman that work in a genre so close to my heart.
Melanie Light – The Herd
I thought I would start off with a film that is near and dear to me on many levels. The Herd is a short indie horror film directed by Melanie Light that touches upon both the abuse of woman through objectification as well as the the abuse of cows (and other animals) for their milk. The Herd is intense and hard hitting though out, portraying the extent of suffering of these woman to such an extent that all those watching can understand that it is something to be discouraged in society. Light is a very powerful voice for both women’s rights and animal rights, using the medium of horror and film to make a bold and strong point about the way both are treated in today’s world with the underlying tone that lets us all know that it needs to change and we can be a part of that change.
You can watch the entire film for free on Melanie’s website here:
https://www.melanielight.co.uk/projects/5299121
Jennifer Kent & Essie Davis – The Babadook
Jennifer Kent is the writer/director of ‘The Babadook’, a dark and chilling film that depicts the very real horror of mental illness and grief in the form of a intense, petrifying entity that follows Amelia (Essie Davis) and her troubled son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). In my eyes, Jennifer Kent created one of the best horror film in recent memory and one of my all time favourites. Through Kent’s incredible direction and Davis’ haunting portrayal of a woman on the edge emotionally from everyday struggles as well as being tormented by a supernatural creature, we as an audience are able to observe an artistically enhanced view point of what it is like to live with mental illness – This is a topic that I will talk about in greater detail one day as I feel it is both very interesting and important/relevant to many of today’s issues. Overall, Jennifer Kent and Essie Davis came together to create a stunning and suspenseful piece of art that strikes you with fear as well as with an important message and for that, they both have my undying respect.
Lin Shaye – The Insidious Franchise
Lin Shaye has done something very special in my opinion. To be the an integral character and well written lead in a four part horror franchise as a 74 year old woman is hugely inspirational in my eyes, subverting expectations of her gender and age. Through out the franchise her portrayal of Elise Rainer is both strong and confident while still showing enough vulnerability so that we can feel her fear as she confronts the worlds most horrific demons. Lin Shaye is a very inspirational actress paving the way for other women in the horror genre by working her way up from small roles in the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series to becoming the lead in her own world renowned horror movie franchise.
Milicent Patrick – The Creature From The Black Lagoon
Milicent Patrick was an actress and the special effects artist who created the Gill-Man from ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon’. Patrick does not receive enough praise and recognition for her design of one of the best looking, most original creatures in cinematic history. Sadly, a lot of this comes down to the fact that fellow special effects artist on the film Bud Westmore did all he could to tarnish what ever credit she received as he did not want to admit that a woman was the one who designed the iconic titular creature. After going on promotional tour for the film titled ‘The Beauty who Created the Beast’ Patrick returned to Westmore firing her from his effects team purely for taking credit for her work while also being a woman. So not only does Milicent deserve our respect and admiration for creating such a beloved monster but also the credit she deserves for her creation, so that Westmore’s attempts to hide her genius go on to be unsuccessful.
There are so many women that deserve to be highlighted for their contributions to the horror genre, and even more outside of horror and film in general, but I can only type for so long, so I wanted to highlight my personal favourite artists and ones that are particularly not as well known compared to others that I feel deserve more credit. But just to round things off, here are as many honourable mentions of other amazing women in horror that I can think of.
Sigourney Weaver – Alien, Aliens, Ghostbusters & The Village
Wynona Ryder – Beetlejuice, Dracula (1992), Black Swan & Stranger Things
Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween, The Fog, & Prom Night
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Witch, Split & Marrowbone
Barbara Steele – Black Sunday, Pit and the Pendulum & Shivers
Sheri Moon Zombie – House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects & The Lords of Salem
Mia Goth – A Cure for Wellness, Marrowbone
If there are any others that I may have not thought of, please let me know in the comments! I’m sure there are some amazing women in the horror genre that I may not have heard of yet. Thanks for reading and again, happy international women’s day!
Movie Night Massacre 