Women in Horror (Feature)

By Amanda Dyar
March 13, 2011

As a fan of the horror genre, I often see the same types of films remade into a hundred different variations. There are occasions when I come across a film that is not only unique but an inspiration to every strong female out there. Some films that stuck out to me this year was Mother's Blood, CathARTic and Won Ton Baby!

Mother's Blood is a collaboration between Darkrider Studios, Muscle Wolf Productions and Clockwerk Pictures. Kitsie Duncan takes on the role of Vivian, a female version of Freddy Krueger, who is murdering in the name of beauty. In the film, Vivian loses her beauty in an accident and makes a deal with a mysterious gypsy to restore it. Nothing ever comes without a price and with Vivian's vain and selfish act her daughter takes on her burden of deformity. Vivian locks her daughter away in shame and after years pass then the mysterious gypsy returns. This time she offers to restore her daughter's beauty with a solution where Vivian must resort to murder, mutilation and cannibalism. The concept of the film really appealed to me. In our society, we place value on being physically attractive. Attractive people have more advantages in life, such as popularity and career advancements. There has also been research that shows that attractive people are found less guilty in court and receive less severe sentences. This shows that our legal system is not as just and fair as we may believe. The stereotype that beauty is associated with characteristics like virtue, intelligence and competence leads people to choose someone that is attractive for potential love interests and job prospects. The film Mother's Blood shows a deeper issue in our society of how much individual worth and importance is placed on beauty. So much in fact, that some may even kill for it.

The short film CathARTic stars Devanny Pinn and is also her first directorial debut. The film stars a controversial group of artists who use their projects to blur the line between art and murder. Devanny Pinn raises the bar in CathARTic and her performance is inspiring for all the women trying to make it out there in a genre dominated by men. The film is beautifully made and follows separate groups of artists who end up coming together in the end. The concept of the film digs deep into societal issues that many people often choose to ignore. The individuals in the film are photographers, painters and  film makers who use their mediums to capture violence and murder. The acting, imagery and the storyline were superb. The film had a runtime of 21 minutes, but it packs a powerful message into a short viewing time. It will leave you with an inner emotional awakening long after it ends. Films rarely touch me on a deeper level like CathARTic did and attention to such a dark subject that we rarely take time to focus on. While I was watching the film, I felt my eyes opening wider and my brain started to kick on. A film that actually made you have to use your brain, who would have thought? Violence is embedded into our society, deeper than some of us may wish to take notice to. There is a beauty even in the most violent acts, because it is a primitive instinct. Art is usually based on discord and every story requires conflict. A person can take away a lot from this film. 

In order to appreciate the beauty of life and the magnitude of our actions, we often have to have a clear understanding of what lingers in the dark.

Lastly, we have the film Won Ton Baby which was written by James Morgart and based on a story idea by Suzi Lorraine. Suzi and James co-produced the film, with James directing and Suzi assistant directing. The story follows a brothel owner Madam Rachel, who after a night of crazy sex and drug use, learns that she is pregnant. She vows to give up the life she knows and raise her child Lily in the right way. Lily (Suzi Lorraine) grows up and realizes she is carrying a parasitic twin, which is a fully developed fetus, that has to be removed from her stomach. The bundle of joy turns out to be a homicidal maniac who is out for the taste of blood. The dark horror comedy will keep you laughing as Won Ton Baby takes advantage of passed out women and enjoys his brother's porn collection. The film is over the top and reminds me a lot of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series. I think the film goes beyond the blood, guts and gore and delivers a powerful message that children pay for the sins of their father or in this case their mother. The life that Rachel lives comes back to haunt her daughter in a horrific way showing that sometimes we can’t outrun the past. Eventually, we are all accountable for our wrongdoings and when our past catches up to us it can often be worse than if we just faced it to begin with. It also makes you look at the fact of how carelessly we play around with life and how others can suffer from it. So next time you feel the need to do some drugs and have crazy sex with strangers make sure to wrap it up, because you could end up with a Won Ton Baby!

Check out this article in BioGamer Girl Magazine: Issue#2