Women Directors of Horror Films

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Women love gore too. Since the beginning of time people have always been intrigued by storytelling especially ones that scare them. Stephen King the master of horror once said people love watching horror films simply because it keeps their sanity. “It may be that horror movies provide psychic relief on this level because this invitation to lapse into simplicity, irrationality and even outright madness is extended so rarely” (King). When people see a slasher film it gives them a chance to kill off “Annoying Bob” from the office in their heads. Horror films also tell the story about the culture watching them.“Horror films are to an observer of culture what frogs are to the medical student: dissecting them displays the anatomy of the culture behind them better than with any other genre” (Brashinsky). Horror film directors give great visuals for people to kill off people in their minds as well as tell the story of the culture watching them. Traditionally this genre has been dominated by male directors. The work of most women in film gets pushed aside. Women’s perspectives as well as their work often gets devalued. Women can and have created great horror films. In the horror genre women are depicted as the victims but in many movies women are the heroes or the villains as well the director. Very few female directors have gotten credit for their work on films, even on great films. Their work is discredited especially in the horror genre. The reason women have been shut out of horror is the same reason women been shut out of film: it’s a man’s field. Since the beginning of cinema women have been involved. They wrote, produced, and even directed. Unfortunately they were not given credit and written out of the history of cinema. The only... ... middle of paper ... ...Films In Review 47.1/2 (1996): 36. Academic Search Elite. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. Weaver, Matthew. "Kathryn Bigelow Makes History as First Woman to Win Best Director Oscar." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 08 Mar. 2010. Web. 28 April 2014. Bartyzel, Monika. "Girls on Film: 10 Horror Movies You Probably Didn't Know Were Directed by Women." The Week.com. The Week Publications, 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Hall, R.D. Through a Dark Lens: Jackson's Lord of the Rings as Abject Horror. Through a Dark Lens: Jackson's Lord of the Rings as Abject Horror. 3-4 ed. Vol. 25. : Mythlore, 2007. 55. Print. (Spring-Summer 2007). Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue: The Evolution of American Horror Films. Dir. Joseph Maddrey. Lorber Films, 2009. DVD. Bartyzel, Monika. "Girls on Film: How Women Shaped Horror." AOL Moviefone.com. Aol, Web. 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

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