Explore how the horror genre represents women

Horror films strive to evoke emotions of fear, terror and horror in viewers. Women in these films have been portrayed as both victims and survivors. Women’s roles in horror movies have changed over the years, with women beginning to come into their own, showing them as strong as men and not just sexual objects.
In the early 1930’s, in classic horror films such as ‘Dracula’ (1931) and ‘Frankenstein’ (1931 ) women were shown as objects of desire and their needs were saved by the males. The roles were filled by beautiful looking women, often portrayed as being vulnerable and simple. They were often ‘scream queens’ where their shrieks would endanger not only themselves but would put others at risk too. More often than not, these women were killed and were not seen to fight back. This image of women began to change as women in society became stronger, with the feminist movement.

In one of the true first slasher films, Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, we see the character ‘Lila Crane’ being one step ahead of her male counterparts. However, in this film although having been attacked by Norman Bates, she is not given the chance to attack back or even try to kill Bates. She is however rescued by Sam, her sister’s boyfriend. This allowing women not to be seen as in complete control and that the hero is always the man. This film was also thought to portray how a sexually repressed man fears a sexually independent women (Lila Crane).
Many women up until the release of ‘Halloween’ were portrayed as helpless and were rescued by strong masculine hero’s. In Halloween (1978) we are introduced to the strong and intellectual character of Laurie Strode. In this film the women fights back and stabs the villain, however her character’s strength is again reduced by the fact that she is never quite able to kill him, which proves the idea of superiority and strength of men over women and that male killers in horror films mostly triumph.
We also meet another strong female in ‘Alien’ (1979) where Sigourney Weaver plays ‘Ripley’, who is a strong commanding hero. However, several sequels of these films were released and it was seen how Ripley became more and more masculine as the films progressed, even having a shaved head!
In many horror films, we often see the ‘final girl’, this is often a stereotypical role where the actress has masculine traits, We see her virginal and pure surrounded by sexually active friends. She has often an androgynous name such as Laurie in ‘Halloween’ (1978), or Sidney or Billie. The ‘final girl’ often finds her friends mutilated, she is chased, cornered, we often see her scream, stagger and fall yet rise. The girl looks death in the face but still finds the strength to kill the villain or saves herself. We have empathy for her as we see her struggle and then feel relief as she survives her ordeal. It is the final girl in many horror films that gives the suspense. ‘Nightmare On Elm Street’ and ‘Halloween’ both portray the ‘final girl’.
Interestingly, a lot of horror films connect the female characters to sexual references. Often the first character to be killed is often female, often promiscuous and is seen to be drinking alcohol or into drug taking. These characters are often killed by men who are sexual inactive or sexually immature. Their unsociable behaviour tends to reduce the sympathy felt by the audience when they are killed and then when a ‘good living’ person is murdered, we as an audience feel more outraged. This increases the suspense and thrill in the film.
Women were also used in films to highlight the male’s negative feelings he has against females. Often the female involved would be a relative such as his mother or sister or it may have been a past girlfriend who have spurned him. Examples of this is seen in Psycho (1960) where Norman Bates has issues with his mother and in Halloween (1978) where Myers have issues with his sister.
Thankfully, like women have gained equal rights with men in society, women have gained better roles with better outcomes in horror movies. In modern films, such as Final Destination (2000) and the sequels and Wrong Turn (2003) it is more often than not, that groups of teenagers are hurt, hunted or murdered, with no more emphasis on females than males. No longer do we see weak, defenceless females, but now strong dependant women fighting back. It could also be said that films in general have progressed in different ways which have an effect on the way women are represented in the horror genre. With modern technology of computers and special effects, suspense and tension can be created in a more severe form rather than having to rely on a poor distressed female being terrorised.
In later years, women have also been casted as the villain, the main source of evil, in such films as ‘The Thing’ and ‘Poltergeist’ changing yet again the role of the women in horror movies.
Concluding, women’s representation in horror movies has progressed as society has progressed. They have become stronger and more independent.