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The relationship between women and horror has always been a twisting, contentious one. For too long, it was assumed that women didn’t like or engage with horror, and that films featuring sex, gore, and violence were outside their interests. This was convincingly disputed by Carol J. Clover in her seminal book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws, who highlighted that women were, in fact, big fans of the genre. But it is only in recent years that we have seen a shift in the voices telling the stories, moving away from women filmmakers as a novelty item in the sea of male-dominated horror to better representation. From the rise of film festivals that center on women filmmakers, like the annual Final Girls Film Festival in Berlin, is clear that women are here to stay in the spooky sphere of horror. We have also seen that when women are given the opportunity to make horror, success follows quickly behind, with films like Candyman (2021) from Nia DaCosta debuting at number one at the box office.

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Women Are No Strangers to Blood and Fear

A scared Jessica Harper holding a knife in 'Suspiria'

It could be argued that women have an affinity for blood. Our lives are seeped in it from adolescence, and the ever-present loom of gender-based violence dominates the media on a daily, constant basis. If films are to be interpreted as a reflection of the society in which they are formed, then it is unquestionable that these experiences will make their way onto the screen. However, the role of women in horror has, historically, been reduced to merely reflecting the male-dominated interpretation of that violence and the fear that accompanies it. Whilst it’s true that many films written, directed, and produced by men have explored the experience of being a woman, in films like Carrie (1976) for example, when watching films that have had the influence of female filmmakers, many of these male interpretations of the lives of women ring hollow in comparison. There are more than enough examples of films where women have merely existed as sites of violence that demonstrate that the lack of women’s perspectives negatively impacts the final cut.

However, just because men have dominated the genre doesn’t mean women have had no input. In fact, women have been involved in horror films, and the film industry more broadly, since its inception. Take, for example, Ida Lupino, a groundbreaking horror director, responsible for films like The Hitchhiker (1953) or Stephanie Rothman, and Karen Arthur (1978’s The Mafu Cage). Unfortunately, despite this presence, the role of women in some of the most iconic horror films has often been minimized and even ignored. A prime example of this is the minimization of Debra Hills contribution to the Halloween franchise. Hill was responsible for the female characters in Halloween (1978), and without her perspective and ability to write relatable, interesting, and engaging young women, would we still care about Laurie Strode today? Yet, her work on the franchise is rarely mentioned. Similarly, Daria Nicolodi’s significant contribution to Suspiria (1977) has been actively suppressed by director Dario Argento and, as a result, she is routinely overlooked in discussions of the film. Both Stephanie Rothman and Karen Arthur eventually left the movie industry, with Rothman retiring at 48 due to fatigue over the constant pushback she faced as a female filmmaker, and Arthur shifting into the marginally more accepting world of TV.

Female Directors Are Held to a Higher Standard

Slumber Party Massacre

Women have revolutionized the horror sphere, taking male-dominated subgenres like the slasher and reinterpreting them through an often feminist lens in films like The Slumber Party Massacre (1982). But even when making slashers that feature the complexities of female friendship, and the social isolation of adolescence, alongside the entertaining and gory elements of the slasher, filmmaker Amy Jones was criticized for the exploitative nature of the film in a way male directors of the time were not. This is an infuriating, and frequent complaint, one that holds women to much higher standards than their male counterparts. There is also the assumption that women are always intending to make films that are social commentary, or rooted in feminism, whereas male filmmakers are almost never questioned on their politics or intentions.

Female Filmmakers Draw Out the Body and All Its Horrors

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Image Via 20th Century Fox

One of the most interesting contributions of female filmmakers is to the body horror subgenre. In films like Trouble Every Day (2001) Claire Denis, who co-wrote and directed the film, demonstrates how eroticism, sex, and intimacy can be presented in a monstrous and compelling way. This film is an excellent example of how the male gaze of cinema can be subverted. Rather than objectifying women’s bodies, presenting the female form in ways that seek to pay homage to pornographic representations of physical “perfection,” Denis instead shows real flesh, hair, zits and all, and uses extreme close-ups that make it impossible to tell who we are looking at.

Despite the cultural obsession with youth, and adolescent women’s bodies, the actual reality of adolescence, with all its associated trauma, is not often explored. But when it is explored by female filmmakers, the results are both engaging and often empathic. Through this resonance, they have achieved cult status, with films like Jennifer’s Body (2009) written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama, Raw (2015) directed by Julie Ducournau, and Gingers Snaps (2000) co-written by Karen Walton leaving an enduring legacy.

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Subverting the “Monstrous Mothers” Trope

Essie Davis in 'The Babadook'
Image via Entertainment One

The role of the monstrous mother is not alien in the horror genre. But as offerings from filmmakers like Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), Alice Lowe (Prevenge), and Lee Soo-yeon (The Uninvited) have demonstrated there is more to motherhood. These films move away from the one-dimensional psychotic mother character like Mrs. Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980) or the titular character in Greta (2018) and also from the “sacred mother” stereotype. Films like The Uninvited and Prevenge seek to remove the strangling hold of motherhood that this stereotype presents. Society seeks to present mothers as omnipotent, all-seeing, no longer mere human beings. Even in horror, monstrous mothers are not often given any depth or life outside their role as mothers – as seen in characters like Mrs. Vorhees.

But these films, written and directed by women, some of whom are mothers, present the tensions that can arise within the dynamic of motherhood, and the complex emotions that it can invoke. Often, this leads to characters who are the antithesis of the socially acceptable mother, one who sacrifices everything, her body, her mind, her life, and her sense of self for her children. These “monstrous” mothers present the often disturbing nature of both pregnancy and motherhood in ways that hopefully bleed out of the screen and influence our perceptions of mothers everywhere, giving support to those who struggle, and working to remove the social pressures such women face.

Alongside presenting the experience of motherhood with empathy, and demonstrating its complexity, women filmmakers have also explored the domestic setting, shining light into the spaces where women have historically been hidden. In films like Relic (2020), The Babadook (2014), and Lucky (2020), we see how the home space becomes a breeding ground for resentment, haunting, and violence. These films demonstrate the often exhausting experience of being a woman, with the place you are supposed to feel the safest being the site of all your worst fears. The haunted house is one of the most enduring tropes in horror, but in these films, we see how this experience can be markedly different for women.

Female-Made Movies Provide Empathy for Those Suffering From Mental Ilness

A woman dresses herself in a robe and stands in front of a mirror

Women have often been presented as mentally ill, unstable, and paranoid. This misogynist portrayal of women has formed the basis of many books, plays, and films. In horror, the unstable woman has long been a cliché of the genre. Sometimes the villain, often the victim, we have seen these portrayals both influence and reflect wider society’s views on women. One-dimensional portrayals of women as mentally unstable saturated the market for a time. However, in the hands of female directors and writers, these tropes become a vehicle through which to explore both the fears of mental illness and the wider fear of being labeled as unstable by those around us. In films like The Wind (2018) from Emma Tammi and Saint Maud (2020) from Rose Glass, we see the cost of loneliness and an empathic exploration of mental illness that moves beyond the “mad woman with a knife” trope that is so often prevalent. These portrayals illuminate the experience of mental illness and present those suffering with a sympathy that acknowledges the difficulties they face.

Depicting Relationships Without Objectifying Women

Daisy Edgar-Jones in Fresh
Image via Searchlight Pictures

Sexual violence has often been a plot device in horror, with films like I Spit on Your Grave presenting graphic portrayals of sexualized terror. When in the hands of women, these themes take on different, but equally disturbing, representations. Filmmakers like The Soska Sisters have taken these themes and combined them with body horror in films including American Mary (2012) to show the impact of this violence, alongside the enduring impact of objectification. In Fresh (2022), written by Lauryn Kahn and directed by Mimi Cave, the contemporary realities of dating are also explored in tandem with this objectification and Revenge (2017) demonstrates how it is possible to explore the theme of rape-revenge without objectifying women in the process. By highlighting the role of wider issues of objectification in these films, these filmmakers allow for a direct acknowledgment of the ways in which wider issues of misogyny and objectification feed into violence toward women. In A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) by Ana Lily Amirpour, this threat is effectively manipulated to overturn the women as prey stereotype and instead present an alternative.

Alongside films that explore the potential dangers of sexual violence and the risks of romantic relationships, women have also explored the complexities of friendships, in films like Jennifer’s Body and Bleed With Me (2020) by Amelia Moses. Rather than presenting women as one-dimensional characters who exist only in competition with each other, usually for the attention of men, these films instead highlight the intensity, and sometimes toxicity, of female friendship.

Women filmmakers bring much more to the table than just “emotion.” Everyone experiences emotions, and yet, somehow, it has become the realm and responsibility of women to translate this to the screen. Whilst it’s true that women have been responsible for many of the most emotionally resonant horror films, like The Babadook, there is much more to explore in the work of these women. It is clear that female filmmakers have brought much to the horror genre. Female horror filmmakers have redefined the slasher film, removed the misogynistic emphasis that overshadowed earlier offerings, and crafted characters that have endured through decades and multiple sequels. They’ve also presented complex, morally ambiguous characters that move women away from the victim or virgin narrative. It’s inarguable that women have continued to push the boundaries of the horror genre.

We need more opportunities for female filmmakers, so we can continue to enjoy films with complex, well-rounded characters and stories that take into account different life experiences and perspectives. We need more films that acknowledge the women in the audience, rather than reducing them to an afterthought, and we need the horror sphere to continue to shift and grow, with these new perspectives to continue generating rather than stagnating if we are to continue seeing the exciting developments of recent years. The rise of streaming has increased accessibility and potential for filmmakers, in a move that may start to eventually level the playing field. But what the horror scene needs is a radical shift towards equality that removes the need for “female filmmaker” as a subgenre. When women are in the horror space, magic happens. And we deserve that magic.

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