Women in Horror Month creator Hannah Nuerotica and FGT editor Heidi get down and dirty about the new GoreZone Women in Horror Month Tribute Video in a no-holds-barred bikini-wrestling match of emotions.
Hannah: On January 8, 2011 Uk Magazine GoreZone launched a video called “Women in Horror” (in honor of February being Women in Horror Month). Despite my legitimate skepticism regarding how a magazine indistinguishable from Maxim on the rack would portray a movement rooted in the feminist ideal of equality, yet I remained open-minded. Maybe we would all be surprised and elated to see some true progress taking place.
If you’re an artist, a filmmaker, a director, an editor, an actress who doesn’t happen to look like a model, or basically any woman who doesn’t cater to the sexuality of male horror fans, you may find yourself having a harder time getting your projects seen and heard, or getting jobs doing what you love. Is this sexism? You might say that. But we’re all adults here, and we all love horror, so in the past few years it’s been great to see changes made and women’s careers skyrocketing into their rightful place as equally acknowledged as men’s.
Women in Horror Month, founded in 2010 by Hannah (she created Ax Wound, the radical feminist horror ‘zine), is one more way women have to celebrate their accomplishments, and a great way for men to join in that celebration. In 2010, Andrew Rose of Dallas, Texas, Andrew Shearer of Atlanta, Georgia, and Mike Snoonian of Massachusetts all started film festivals screening horror films directed by women. So did Nia Edwards-Behi in the UK. Actresses, filmmakers, and writers like Tara Cardinal, Jen and Sylvia Soska, and Dai Green used the opportunity to support charities by garnering women and men’s support for horror. Horror journalists interviewed women they normally might have overlooked.
Hannah: When the average person hears the words “slasher film,” I believe the first image they concoct is one of voyeuristic camera angles, heavy breathing, and of course-a woman running from some demented killer with blood splatter all over her silicone bags. If I have ever been sure of anything in this life it is that the last thing women need recognition for is their breasts, just as we do not need a month to raise awareness about porno films ending in women getting a hot load of cum shot all over their face lifts. However, based on the recent GoreZone video, one would think WIH is about how women look and not how women are working hard to be taken seriously by fans and industry members.
Women in Horror Month is about setting time aside to grab people’s attention, raise an awareness that women do in fact make horror films and do in fact love horror films. WIH Month is about giving deserved recognition to those women who have worked their asses off in the genre out of love for horror. It is not about using the genre simply to get a foot in the acting door. WIH Month hopes (and I believe does) create an online/offline cross community of women in the industry finding each other and banding together to carve out a space for our work- but also young girls who need positive and responsible horror loving role models. We ladies have never been handed anything in this country (the right to vote, the right to reproductive choice, etc) and we have had to fight like bloody hell to get where we are. With that revolutionary spirit, I hope women (and men who support us) can join forces to promote women behind the camera, FX artists, writers, actresses who have devoted their careers to horror, and the general understanding that females are also part of the horror audience.
We should give credit where credit is due, so I will point out the few positive aspects of this video:
The fact GoreZone made an attempt to discuss Women in Horror Month is admirable. I do not for one second believe they meant any harm or knew they were doing anything wrong. I do however believe it provides us with a "teachable moment." Reyna Young speaks intelligently about being a female working in the industry behind the camera, the lack of female influences in the genre growing up and how things are changing underground. Kristie Duncan (like Reyna), spoke in her normal voice, and encouraged girls and women to get involved, pick up a camera, and take the helm even if from scratch- just do it /DIY!
The panel discussion clips featuring filmmakers Jennifer Friend and Susan Adriensen showcase an actual discussion. You see a glimpse of legitimate conversation taking place about women working in the industry in a serious way. After all, WIH Month depends on our ongoing communication, discussion and action - the clips of these women actually embody that. Bravo.
Now for the bad. WIH Month is all about giving women a place in the genre to actually be HEARD. So, why does this video start with a male discussing an actress in his films, a poster for another one of his films beside him featuring a woman with a black thong up her ass? I have no problems with imagery like that (obviously) but if ever there was an inappropriate place for this, the opening of a video about WIH Month would be one of them. Both in the imagery (but mostly) in that a woman's voice didn't kick off this video.
I wish I could tell you how rad the video was, but, sadly, the outcome was (dare I say?) a remarkable display of honoring everything Women in Horror Month participants are working so hard to fight against. This video is not a representation of Women in Horror Month. It is a watered-down version of a severely misinterpreted intention. I do not believe the editor had malicious intent; just that he is uneducated on what WIH Month stands for.
They discussed "classics" of the horror genre, like "The Hills Run Red".
Because the actresses were asked to send in their own footage for the project, the video is poorly produced and edited, with scenes not matching in quality, sound, or design. The editor made no attempt to make the film about ‘women’, but rather about hot, sexy women who wanted to promote themselves. His is the same problem I have with the movie Hot and Horrifying (watch the trailer) by one David Byron – a movie about women in horror that amounts to nothing more than a cheap attempt at T&A. Believe me – I have no problem with T&A. It’s great. It’s just not great for Women in Horror Month.
Hannah: Many of us love watching blood-covered boobies too, but we also want to be recognized for creating those blood covered boobies in our own image.
The Gorezone tribute also embodies everything that was disappointing about last year’s Women in Horror Month. February is also Black History Month. During Black History Month, we celebrate people of African descent who inspire, lead, and have made awesome differences in the world. We talk about martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. We never say, “I’m black, come down to my auto repair garage because it’s black history month!”, but that’s what many women do during Women in Horror Month. Instead of taking time to recognize one another, women (mostly actresses, but certainly it isn’t limited to that) use Women in Horror Month as an opportunity to shamelessly promote themselves and their own accomplishments at the expense of recognizing women who have contributed far more to the horror industry and culture than they have. And I’m not the only one bothered by it.
Hannah: The whole video was like one big confused commercial- many of the clips in this video were just people promoting their films and websites. You even get the feeling half of these people didn't even know what they were recording these clips for? I do not blame the participants in this video because many of them were just asked to submit clips without much direction. So, please ladies, this is not a personal attack against any of you. But also a good moment for a reminder to everyone that WIH Month is not about self-promotion for the sake of self-promotion. Of course we want you to promote your work and share what you do but if you are going to tell people to check out your films maybe also mention a movie by another woman as well? We need to all have each other’s back and not be in a state of competition. That is what WIH Month is all about. Joining forces.
Women in Horror Month should be about people like Debra Hill, Daria Niccolodi, Gale Ann Hurd, Kathryn Bigelow, Amy Holden Jones, Anne Rice – women who have created, and will leave, an important legacy that is just as relevant as the ones George Romero, Wes Craven, Dario Argento, and Stephen King will leave. Women in Horror month is about equality; about evening the odds on purpose and directly with the intent to give women the same footing as men. The Gorezone Women in Horror video, like so many others, has only one main message: Women in Horror can be just as violent as men, just as powerful as men, and just as interesting as men - as long as the men watching the film want to fuck them. And that message can go fuck itself.
Hannah: A clip in the beginning is used to illustrate how women can be just as "sick" and "twisted" as men. Now you might make an educated assumption the editor would then cut to a clip of a female made horror film. Nope! Instead he cuts away to an outtake of a low-budget film made by none other than himself! David V G Davies. Huh. Speaking of self-promotion why would a tribute to women making horror films feature a clip from his own film?
Actress Marysia Kay mentions her role in Jennifer Eiss’s (director) horror film “Short Lease”, but they strangely didn’t show a clip of her in it. Melantha Blackthorne shown as an actress in a clip from the feature “Sinners and Saints”, but she, in fact, also wrote, directed, and produced it as well. There's only a tiny credit at the end of the film to let us know that.
Hannah: When filmmaker Reyna Young is talking about the lack of female influences in the genre for her growing up, how things are changing, etc the editor cuts away from her speaking and her voice is heard over a clip of some random dude in a Leatherface mask wondering around the street looking into the camera in semi-slow motion. Why on earth would the editor not use the visual space to showcase what Reyna is actually talking about!? We never even see a film still or clip of her work, footage or photos of women at conventions, etc. NOPE- we get this man in a rubber mask just killing what could have been valuable visual space.
A spoonful of sugar helps the feminism go down! Why did the large majority of women discussing the genre have to speak with dramatically stereotypical sexy drawls? This leaves me feeling that GZ believes its readers need sugar-coating anytime something related to female empowerment is discussed. That if we don't speak in porno voices we can't hold male attention.
Not only is it basically a huge commercial for GoreZone Magazine, it focuses on actresses who have appeared in the magazine and their upcoming films they’d like to promote
Hannah: I think you get the gist of our frustrations. I do want to end with some constructive feedback because I would really love if GZ would give themselves a "do over." Or at least take what we’re saying into consideration for next year. A lot of these issues could have been remedied quickly if the editor had actually shared this and gotten community feedback before it was a finalized piece. I strongly believe that if they had taken the time to get our opinions, the video could have been something of which we could have maybe been proud. I mean- it's not even February yet, there is time to change this, GZ!
Now fluff those tits in your brain and help women fighting hard in the industry to be seen AND heard. If you feel like it, join us in writing to GoreZone and request that they re-work the video in time for February with all our feedback in mind.
Watch the Video:
Thank you for this! As a horror writer who is also female (I hate referring to myself as a "female horror writer," and not just because it makes people think I write exclusively about vampire sex.) I grow weary of expecting men to take time out to celebrate our contributions to the genre. When women are featured protagonists in horror, it is often because they are scantily clad and kicking ass in accordance with the standard ass-kicking-female-fantasy of the average teenage boy. Not to say I don't love Resident Evil movies, but we never get to know Alice well enough to know what kind of person she is. We only know that she's angry and fighting for her life--not exactly a study in contemporary feminism.