Women in Horror

What is the common representation of females in horror?

In general, the traditional representation of females in horror is that they are often perceived as either vulnerable and inferior (the 'virgin') or that they are sexually driven and almost asking to be killed because of this (the 'whore'). They're also usually the ones that become possessed by a demon and more often than not, a man is usually the one trying to get 'rid' of this evil in order to save her. For example, in The Exorcist, the men are called first to save the young girl rather than it being a woman. Horror often depicts females to be 'the damsel in distress.'

In The Human Centipede, it could be argued that the girls are represented as stupid and naive - they voluntarily go knocking on a stranger's door in search for help, but honestly, if someone looked as dodgy as the man did, they should run straight away. Due to their vulnerable state, their vulnerability is therefore exploited in a series of unfortunate events.

 

In The Shining, the mother is shown as the innocent and paranoid female. This shot shows how she's practically the smallest thing in the room; it seems as if the walls are closing in and that there is no escape for her. And while she does have a weapon, she makes it extremely visible and it makes her seem like a joke because she doesn't know how to be tactical about it. Also, her clothing and hair gives the impression that she is approachable as she has a motherly vibe to her, unlike the girls from The Human Centipede. 

How are Hannah and Selena presented in the first half of 28 Days Later?

In the first half, Selena goes against the stereotypical views of females in horror. She's neither the virgin or the whore, but rather a woman who will do anything to survive, even if it means killing those who prevent her to do so. She's presented as selfish, though perhaps not in a bad way and this leads her to be a cunning, dominant character in the first half of the film. Hannah, though briefly seen at the start, is presented as innocent but rather wise - she's the one that suggests for all of them to go to Manchester because its better for them to die there than where they were. She's also shown to know how to drive a car, and while her father tells her to get out, its evident that he is proud of his daughter's skills. 

How do their characters change as the film develops?

Their characters subtly change towards the end of the film and it starts to lean more towards the idea of 'the damsel in distress.' While we saw Selena fight her way to survival in the first half, she still ends up being rescued by Jim rather than being able to rescue herself given the situation she was in. This shows that while she was the dominant and powerful character, she still reflects the traditional female role when it comes to the end. However, I think its fair to say that although she might be presented as 'the damsel in distress' during the last moments, she is in fact the heroin because she put Hannah first before herself. 

Sub-Genres of Horror

Action Horror combines the elements of your regular features of horror such as evil forces and supernatural beings with gunshots and frantic chases that can be found in action packed movies. This, in my opinion, creates a movie that has something happening all time, making it more interesting than a regular horror movie.

Body Horror is the sub-genre which focuses on the graphic destruction/degeneration of bodies. Other forms of body horror include unnatural movements or incorrectly placed limbs to create monsters.

Comedy Horror combines the elements of both genres to create a film. However, its not regular comedy that you find in Romantic movies but rather 'black comedy' which is a lot darker and the focus is more on humour that is based on terrifying people.

Gothic Horror at times may have aspects of romance, which unfolds during the film in a suspenseful way. Some of the earliest horror movies came under the sub-genre.

Natural Horror normally includes mutilated beasts, carnivorous insects and animals/plants turned into cold blooded killers. Sometimes it may overlap with science fiction.

Psychological Horror is a science-fiction sub-genre often including killer aliens, mads scientists and/or an experiment gone wrong.

Slasher Horror often revolves around a psychotic killer who kills a sequence of victims a graphic/violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as knife or an axe.

Splatter Horror focuses on the graphic use of gore and violence. Using special effects and excessive use of blood and guts. They show an over the top interest in the vulnerability of the human body and its mutilation.

Top Three Scary Films

The one horror film that I have watched was the Spanish film 'El Orfanato' (The Orphanage).  

What made it scary was not just the plot, but also the fact that it was in a foreign language. Though the English subtitles were on, barely understanding what was happening made that much more worse when something happened - it was filled with suspense throughout. Another reason why it has reached the top three is because the writers used children as the source of the horror. They're supposed to be innocent and incapable of harm and yet the film showed that it's not always the case. Also, children wearing masks isn't the most comfortable thing to watch. The film was well produced but the scene that stood out to me was 'The Bathroom' scene. 

The scene uses a child, masks, corridors, a bathroom, doors, windows, and doors with windows which makes it effective because it used an everyday environment, making the audience cautious as it could happen to them. Even watching two times in the day, knowing exactly what will happen, I still get freaked out. We don't associate children with being dangerous but rather them being prone to getting into danger so the idea that the boy goes after an adult, who should be able to protect herself, makes it a plot twist. 

Normally I would think that using most of the key characteristics of horror would make scenes seem too overdone, however, El Orfanato shows that it can be created tastefully, as long as you have a strong plot. 

I haven't watched any other scary films, however, the next following two are ones that I would not even think about watching. The second movie that has reached the top three is 'The Human Centipede.' 

The reason for this is pretty obvious I think - disgusting is usually scary, but what's scarier is the idea that humans are capable of not just creating a disturbing movie, but the possibility of someone carrying out a 'human centipede.' 

The trailer alone would make me not watch the movie. A surgeon is supposed to save lives rather than destroy them. The idea that they trusted a stranger and he abused that trust in a corrupted way is why it reached the top three. 

The last film that I would not consider watching the trailer for is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). 

Reading more about the movie, it was marketed as a 'real life story' (though entirely fictional). Due to this, it would have been incredibly popular among people during the release, however, although I would find it interesting, I would rather have read up on the movie rather than watching it purely because of their marketing technique. 

I think the trailer gave away the whole movie in 2 minutes, but regardless of that, it still reached my top three because it still freaked me out just as much as the other movies. Also, the idea that the victim is almost near to freedom but gets dragged back makes a nice touch to the film.