Women in Horror: Scream Queens Part III

As I did last year I wanted to do an expansion on my Scream Queens list and discuss a few woman in the genre I didn't include. As this week's list was about Final Girls I figured it was only fitting that I included it in this Irrelevant Post Friday. As this is now my third edition I feel that I'll make it a custom every year, although I may need to start dipping in my honorable mentions as I'm nearly caught up on Scream Queens. But here they are, the lovely actresses of our genre.

Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy Vs. Jason, American Mary)

The Canadian beauty is a well versed genre actress who's been present in the genre for most of her already lengthy career. Most noted is her sister werewolf film Ginger Snaps (one of my absolute favorites) and her brief but recognizable role in Freddy Vs Jason. As of current she's been gaining the long deserved critical acclaim for her lead role is the Soska's Sisters new horror film American Mary. Isabelle is a not only absolutely stunning to look at but she achieves talent in her all her roles, whether they be the low budget B's or the indie gems.

Sara Paxton (The Last House on the Left Remake, Shark Night 3D, The Innkeepers)

Sara Paxton is a recently new Scream Queen having only been present in the genre for a few years now. But of her films they are some of the more interesting to come out of studio horror as of recent. Paxton was appropriately cast as Mari in The Last House on the Left remake. Then went on to do the modern camp fest of Shark Night 3D, and Ti West's The Innkeepers as the abnormal, slightly dorky, employee of a haunted Inn. Paxton fluctuates between genres more familiarly seen in comedies and on television so its hard to say whether we'll see her more in horror or not. But the upcoming actress has a lot of attention her way as she's both pretty and verily acts. Hopefully she doesn't leave the genre entirely but even if so I consider her a verifiable Scream Queen for her small but recent presence in horror.  

Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Creepshow, Swamp Thing)

There a few individuals who don't begin to lavishly drool when I mention Adrienne Barbeau, as she is a well known, desired genre actress from the eighties. Her films most commonly with her husband at the time John Carpenter, she played shared lead actress with Jamie Lee Curtis in his ghost story The Fog; where she was the sultry voice of a late night radio host. Of course though her most recognized genre film is Wes Craven's Swamp Thing, which featured a nude scene of Barbeau. But anyone to pass her off as a bimbo genre actress is a fault on their part, as she's more than talented having done theater and television. The former gaining her a Theater World Award and a Tony nomination. In the nineties she again provided her most recognized asset, her seductive voice, to the animated Batman series as Catwoman. The natural beauty even to this day looks incredible and continues to be present in the industry.

The original Top Five list may be found here. And the second edition here. Happy Woman In Horror Month/Irrelevant Post Friday/Follow Friday. Whichever is relevant to you.

Last Woman Standing

This list and the list last week got out to you late as it has been a rather interesting two weeks in my life. Next week's list is the last and yes it will really be on Monday. There will also be a TD review coming up sometime next week, as I'm not sure on the date yet. I haven't done one of those in a while but again my personal/work life take heavy tolls on my day and I'm only spared so much time for my writing. I'm also just exceedingly lazy at times, so I'm not entirely a victim here.

Final girls are not the same as Scream Queens. Of course only horror fans get this intricate into differentiating but it's true. Scream Queens are women of the genre that are prominent and often in films. Final Girls are the characters that make it to the end of the slasher films, or films of a similar finale. They are very different, so I'm not repeating the list I did for October 2011, mind you. Of course a person could be both a Scream Queen and a Final Girl, but the main factor in differentiating them is Scream Queens are the real woman who hold the role and the Final Girls are the characters. As for my third list of the month I'll be taking too the bad-ass female characters that have survived awful horror scenarios, but survived them not by dumb luck but by being smart and killing the monster. And as I didn't last week I'll remind everyone this week this list is a matter of my opinion and is subject to change over time. These are my Top Five Final Girls:

#5 Sarah from The Descent (2005)

Taking from Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, all survivor girls go through a transformation. A point in the film where they surpass being a victim and become a fighter. As with Sarah I feel she makes the most vital and apparent transformation, in which is one of the most memorable images of the film. After losing her husband and daughter in a car accident and then getting trapped in cave while spelunking, with not only ravenous cannibal creatures but with the woman who was having an affair with her husband it's fair to say Sarah is callously beaten down. She becomes submerged in a pool of blood after having to kill her friend and two of the creatures. When she reemerges she display a eminent shift in attitude, aptly shot with actress Shauna MacDonald screaming drenched in red, that changes Sarah from her earlier damaged nature to a brutal survivor. 

#4 Laurie Strode from Halloween (1978)

Jamie Lee Curtis is the example of both a Final Girl and a Scream Queen as Curtis is renowned in the genre for her appearance in the late 70's and 80's, notably in Carpenter films. But her most famous character, Laurie Strode, is not only in the quintessential slasher film but is still regarded as one of the best Final Girls. The original monster, disregarding the sequels, had her against what was called The Shape. A seemingly faceless killer that resembled something of the boogeyman, as Tommy so calls him, with a physical superiority and the damaged mind of a six year old. Whether it really was the virtue or her luck Laurie was the only one to stand against him and live, all while doing her babysitting duties of keeping the children safe. The closet scene stands as shes cornered by a butcher knife with her only defensive tool being a hanger. She may not have killed Michael Myers but she definitely fought for her life.

#3 Samantha from The House of the Devil (2009)

Sam is the baby of the group, her film only being four years old but part of the reason I enjoyed The House of the Devil so much was I liked her as a final girl. This is besides the regular critiques that come with the film as an hour of it, or rather most of it, is spent watching Sam amble around the house, bored. In that hour drag of the film we get to see Sam be a normal 80's college student, which in my opinion gave her a more likable personality and evoked more empathy towards her. Often even the final girls get a rush of character development and are scooted through the film until the end when they really matter. Her final act is an awful but intelligent choice in that she realized her situation, even in all the horror encasing around her, and was able to make it despite the urge not too. WARNING I will spoil this for you if you don't stop reading, she shoots herself in the head to prevent Mother Ullman to take over her living body. Again not everyone's favorite choice but I felt that in likes to her situation it was the smartest.

#2 Nancy Thompson from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

This might be off-putting to most, as a lot of people don't hold Nancy as high as I do on the list. Of course she's a recognized and regarded Final Girl but she usually holds a lower position. However, this is my list and I like her at number two for a lot of reasons. Nancy is of the few who takes her dream stalker head on. Of course so do the other women on this list, that's why they're final girls, but most are forced by circumstance in a life or death moment. Inevitably Nancy would have faced this as well but instead of waiting till that final moment she went looking for the monster in her dreams. Nancy has an uncommon strength and a fiery fight her in, whether that streaming from her dysfunctional family or her hurt from seeing her friends die in their sleep. It's an arch to her character that makes part of the reason A Nightmare on Elm Street is as good as it is. The fight, of them all, is that of a fair match as I argue that Nancy and Freddy are parallel in smarts, it was just a matter of limiting him to her human capabilities. If this isn't enough to convince you there's a great documentary out there called I Am Nancy with Heather Langenkemp that talks about why our Final Girl is just as remembered as one of our favorite slashers.

#1 Ginny Field from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Friday the 13th Final Girls are almost another category of their own, the film having birthed nine sequels, a remake, and a spin off. Of course in all of them though Amy Steele as Ginny from Part Two is my absolute favorite. There's quite a bit of reasons I like Ginny, the original reason being that my first viewing of the film when I was younger I was actually surprised to see a character like her. Having been used to the run of the mill slashers I didn't know capably smart victims existed, and especially not for the last woman left. Even to this day though when I re-watch the film I'm almost in awe how they could produce a character like Ginny in Part Two but then give us Chris in Part Three. An aspiring child psychologist Ginny is of the few who doesn't underestimate Jason or the legend, which is displayed so in the bar scene where she evaluates what the trauma of Jason seeing his mother killed would do to him. But her real Final Girl moment is when she finds the decrepit shack that Jason's been living and dresses in Mrs. Voorhees infamous blue sweater, pretending to be her to distract him. As Ginny doesn't kill Jason its hard to say what occurs between the two in the cabin in the following scene, but she is alive, albeit a bit emotionally unstable. But then again naturally anyone would be.

Honorable Mention: Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) from Scream (1996), Alice (Adrienne King) from Friday the 13th (1980), Sally (Marilyn Burns) from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

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The Vampire Lovers (1970)

After being called away to a family emergency The Countess imposes her beautiful daughter Marcilla on the General. Warmly receptive the General takes Marcilla into his home where she becomes very close with his daughter Laura. As the two grower closer though Laura becomes infected with an illness that causes her to have unbecoming nightmares and drains the strength out of her daily. When Laura's sickness peaks and she's at her worse all she can ask for is Marcilla, but when Laura fatally passes one night and the General looks to Marcilla she has disappeared. With lingering rumors of a vampire that has killed nearby villagers the General makes it his mission to stop her with the help of an experienced vampire hunter. Meanwhile Marcilla has moved onto a new house with the new name Carmilla and a new love interest in young and pretty Emma, who's beginning to grow pale and plagued nightly with bad dreams. As Carmilla's seductive prowl extends it's way over the Morton household the General rushes to find answers and kill the vampire Micalla.

Sheridan Le Fanu 'Carmilla' has enticed more of my interest in vampires than anything as of recent. Another adaption, Et Mourir De Plasir, is my current icon and recent cinematographic addiction. The Vampire Lovers in truth fell a bit short for me as the film faltered and slowed during the middle. The cover itself is of an exploitation variety offering the word blood-nymphs as it description. And like ninety percent of the exploitation film posters it's a lie as there's no sex, little blood, and neither of them occurring together. The little bit of nudity used is tasteful and not like those from the late seventies tits and gore collection, despite having similar plots. It doesn't expel cheesy or over the top moments, but makes up for it in effectively capturing the seductive horror to the female vampire plot. Not that it necessarily scares but is more of a case of acknowledgement than anything else.

Ingrid Pitt is of course the lovely, beautiful and terrifying Carmilla or Marcilla, depending on who's house she's lurking in. She's memorizing in a role she seems to understand every facet of, as playing the alluring vampire isn't foreign to her. There's an interesting complexity to the Micalla character as the bits of exposure outside of preying on young woman show an age that most actors and writers fail to grasp in the vampire story. Peter Cushing is lovable because he's simply Peter Cushing. The role of the general is simplistic yet kind and Cushing likely didn't have to do much for the part, but he's likable in his small role that almost serves as a cameo more than anything. The two young women Carmilla sets her interests on are too naive to be mentioned beyond that, Emma especially. For whatever reason I'm failing to locate an actor name or character name for the vampire on the horse. That being said all I really wanted to address of him was how ridiculous of a character he is, with his corny wicked smile being the lead issue. But, as that being said, it's in appropriate Hammer Horror fashion.

The film flowed in and out of unique photography moments but some of the more noted use of cinematography is in the opening scene that utilize a foggy dark set to display a beautiful lavender sheet for the vampire. The other is the nightmare sequence where the director and DP turn the frame black and white and doesn't allow the creature to come on screen. The Vampire Lovers is among a lot of the better Hammer Horror films, but not as famous as some of their other vampire classics, such as Dracula and Pitt's Countess Dracula. It's also a good 'Carmilla' adaption but not the best as I still give that to Roger Vadim's previously mentioned film. Still good enough to create a small film franchise and following I'd recommend The Vampire Lovers to Hammer Horror fans, as a watch for one of the genre's most prominent females of horror Ingrid Pitt, or for those who like the lesbian vampire sub-genre, mind you.

Women In Horror: Scream Queens Part II

February is an odd month; it doesn't follow the basic calender system, it gets an extra day every four years; a groundhog has his day; it celebrates African Americans, women, and throws in the most pointless holiday of the year, Valentines Day. BLEH. Not that all these things are bad by any means, it's simply that they have nothing in common but the month of February. It is Women in Horror Month however, in relevance to this blog. Few people are still uncertain of my gender but I am a woman, who loves horror so it all works out.

I'm not really sure what to do for Women in Horror month, I do know I'll be posting randomly throughout the month, on Follow Friday no less, but in specific I cannot say. Regardless thereof I thought I'd address a few not forgotten Scream Queens on my top five list last October. It's not so much as I didn't consider them Scream Queens it's just that they slipped my mind.

Rose McGowan (Scream, Planet Terror, Charmed)

I'm a tad bit disappointed in myself for missing Rose McGowan on my Honorable mentions list. I love Scream and Planet Terror and as to how I managed to forget Robert Rodriguez's zombie film staring a one-legged-gun Rose McGowan is quite disturbing and disappointing. Regardless how can you not love her? She's beautiful, funny, and she plays the throwaway friend and the final girl, rare for most Scream Queens as they are usually typecast as either or. McGowan also has a long running stance on the TV show Charmed, which really isn't quite horror but like Ghost Whisper it has its moments.

Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers, The Wicker Man)

I'm not entirely familiar with Ingrid Pitt, besides knowing that she played in the Carmilla adaption The Vampire Lovers and segarded a legacy as a Gothic horror icon as seductive vampire Marcilla and as Countess Dracula. Hammer Horror actress Pitt survived the Holocaust in a Nazi concentration camp to go on to become one of the most gorgeous and voluptuous horror actresses of all time. Ashely Greene has nothing on her.

Barbara Steele (Black Sunday, Dark Shadows Revival, Nightmare Castle)

I'll admit back in October I was ignorant to Barbara Steele as a Scream Queen, having not seen Black Sunday until as of recently. But it's easy to say those wide eyes of hers have locked me into addiction as I'm not now seeking out her films, especially those with collaboration from Bava. Steele is stunning and admirably a great actress, playing the innocence and the evil so well. Captivating beauty she's the Italian Horror Scream Queen.

Honorable Mentions: I feel that Daria Nicolodi is also unregarded as a Scream Queen. Maybe not the final girl so much but in recognition shes in a good portion of Argento films including, Opera, Phenomena, and his essential giallo Deep Red, as well as Bava's Shock. Maybe not a Scream Queen so much as just a honorable woman in horror.

Scream Queens

Yesterday was not a good day. While I was able to attend the Mile High Horror Film Festival, which was amazing, there were a lot of other things that attributed to it just not being a good day. Therefore my tone may appear more sullen than wanted, though it's not as if this blog normally reeks of the macabre sort of humor. I'm also blessed with a migraine, so you know as it is basically every week this is not my best writing.

Horror is a torn genre when it comes to its portrayal of woman. Often seen more in a negative light as it is rare for people to make the most rational of decisions when they are avoiding a machete wielding supernatural killer. But I digress woman have an important part in horror and the genre intends to give woman a more dominant role in film, whether people acknowledge it or not. Most often there's the final girl, not the final guy. This weeks list is composed of my favorite leading ladies in horror, they are the final girls (or not) that prove credible and strong, My Top Five Favorite Scream Queens:

#5 Fay Wray (King Kong, Mystery of the Wax Museum)

This is one of those entrants that I don't care too much for, but as a horror fan and in respect to the history of this blog, Fray Wray makes the list. Wray is the first of the Scream Queens playing the damsel in distress in King Kong, and a less demanding part in Mystery of the Wax Museum, where she essentially had to stand there and look good. Wray has been noted saying that she hated her role as Scream Queen, saying she didn't like the term or it's meaning so she moved to Europe. But without her wailing lungs or charming inability to play dumb women wouldn't have an important part in horror without her.

#4 Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 & 5, Rob Zombie's Halloween 1 & 2, Hatchet 2)

Harris rarely plays a final girl in horror as she's backup best friend in the Zombie's Halloween, but she's also been in horror from an early start having been in the original Halloween series as Michael's niece Jamie, and in a number of other less known films. Often remit but I've always liked her and think she surpasses costar Scout Taylor Compton in acting. I've never been sure why Harris hasn't been more publicly noted as a Scream Queen but regardless thereof she makes my list.

#3 Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Grudge)

It's a confident statement that Sarah Michelle Geller basically owned the 90's with her regular campy horror TV show and her appearance in horror films. Geller is one of the few who never really abandoned her horror image for more 'respectable' parts, still appearing in horror films like Possession (and before you argue Scooby Doo with me it's a horror film for a kid). In my opinion I wished her character Helen lived in I Know What You Did Last Summer, she had a fair run with that killer and I found her more competent than Julie. Her filmography isn't necessarily bulky but her vampire slaying TV show not only makes her identifiable but arguably the most bad ass female of horror ever.

#2 Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night)

For whatever reason I fell in love with Jamie Lee Curtis in The Fog. Don't misunderstand, she's still one of my favorite final girls and horror characters of all time (Laurie Strode) but something about the drifter who sleeps with Tom Atkins gave her that edge I didn't see in the previous Carpenter films. Curtis was the Scream Queen for quite awhile, only having her mom previously hold the title. Curtis's first film, Halloween, is the classic of the genre and her portrayal as Laurie was sympathetic and likable. It revived the image of woman in horror and transcended them past the victims and into survivors.

#1 Dee Wallace (The Howling, The Hills Have Eyes, Cujo)

Dee Wallace is a horror veteran in all respects. She's done Wes Craven to Stephen King, and then stared in the werewolf cult film The Howling. There's not really any other way that I can say this but I just fucking love Dee Wallace. Dee is an amazing actress among other things but like Ms. Harris she's void of acknowledgement outside the horror community. Mostly recognized as the mom in Steven Spielberg's cult children's classic ET: The Extra Terrestrial, she's stand alone scream queen in Cujo where she had to carry the film with child actor Danny Pintauro inside a broken car. Wallace was also in Zombie's Halloween as Laurie's adoptive mom, and casted based on her legacy as a horror actress. She'll be in his new film Lords of Salem as well, which I'm excited to see her coming back to the genre. As I said I love Dee Wallace, she's an incredible actress and my favorite leading lady of horror.

Honroable Mentions; There's a lengthy list of Scream Queens so in order to even make the honorable mentions the actress had to appear in either a series of films or at least two or more. Janet Leigh (Psycho, The Fog), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Castle Freak), Neve Cambell (Scream 1 - 4), Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn, The Alphabet Killer), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Final Destination 3, Death Proof, Black Christmas Remake), Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street 1, 3, & 7), Sigourney Weaver (Alien 1 - 4, The Village), Ali Larter (Final Destination 1 & 2, Resident Evil 2 - 4), Asia Argento (Land of the Dead, Mother of Tears), Brooke Lewis (iMurders, Polycarp). Elizabeth Shannon unfortunately does not make this list, while she's done an extensive list of films (Thir13en Ghost, Cursed, Jack Frost) I find her to be a dead giveaway, meaning which as soon as I see her face I know she's going to die. Therefore she's not an effective scream queen. She even died in Scary Movie...

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