Location: www.youvegotredonyou.com

Date: February 1, 2015

Organizer(s): Richard Bland and David Stephens

Contact: blandhorror@gmail.com

Website/Social Media Links: www.youvegotredonyou.com

Description: A series of articles focusing on women in horror.
Female Directors / Kick ass genre women / Best female horror villains

UPDATES:

February 5, 2015- DEADLIER THAN THE MALE:  YGROY picks some of the most charismatic female villains in the genre

Excerpt: “If somebody suddenly pointed at you and said; “Quick! Think of a movie villain!”, the chances are that your mind would immediately conjure up the image of a bald scarred man stroking a cat in a swivel chair, whilst pondering his latest eeevil plan (possibly in an lair hidden in a volcano). Or maybe you’re old-school, and the picture of a moustache-twirling dude with a top hat comes to mind.
Obviously with more time to consider it, the infinite number of choices would deliver a more realistic image. But if someone limited that choice to a villain from the horror genre, maybe it would be a hockey-masked slasher, or a finger-knifed dream-demon.
However, continuing our “Women in Horror” theme this month, how about a psychotic slasher-mum, or royalty with blood-thirst and a serious lack of empathy? For your consideration, YGROY presents a selection of our favourite female villains from the world of horror.”

February 13, 2015- CELEBRATING WOMEN IN HORROR AND OTHER THINGS…

February 2015: KICK ASS HORROR HEROINES

Excerpt: “Like an ageing Hollywood lothario, the horror genre has had some difficult relationships with the ladies over the years. From portraying women as helpless screaming damsels in the 1930’s – 1950’s (e.g.: Fay Wray in the original King Kong and most leading actresses in the Universal studio monster movies), to the giallo and slasher movies of the 70’s and 80’s. The less salubrious of the latter films often objectified some 2-dimensional female characters to be slain or tortured by misogynistic villains. Or they would fall foul of the sex=death theorem and die after tripping over their high-heels, whilst running from a mutated maniac. In 1980 for example, there was a huge (media-backed *sigh*) “outcry” over the films “Dressed to Kill” and “He Knows You’re Alone” for their perceived slight against the portrayal of women in movies. It was mostly undeserved in those cases to be honest, although there were sometimes causes for concern with some horror films, but absolutely no more than any other genre. Just look at how the average woman is portrayed in the older Westerns for example.”

February 2015: CELEBRATING FEMALE HORROR FILM-MAKERS

Excerpt: “Women have always played a major role in horror films. For years they may have had very limited choices in terms of the types of characters they played (usually either the smart, virginal female – who usually survived, or someone slightly more promiscuous – who tended not to survive) Fortunately things are changing and women are no longer restricted to such stereotypes. However, what about behind the camera? Female film-makers, especially within horror, have historically been virtually non-existant up until about twenty years ago or so. There are a number of reasons for this yet I don’t intend to cover them in this article – for it’s really about celebrating those women who have made (or are making) the breakthrough and who represent a very real shift in the industry.
We’ll start at the beginning and make our way towards present day…”