THE ABC's OF WOMEN IN HORROR: C IS FOR...

To celebrate Women In Horror Recognition month, Day of the Woman is celebrating by compiling the ABC's of women in horror.  

TODAY'S PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER: C

Before there were final girls, there was Hazel Court.  Her autobiography published shortly after her death was called Horror Queen, and that's exactly what she was.
Despite her long career on both sides of the Atlantic, many film fans know of Hazel Court only from appearances in such productions as The Masque of the Red Death and The Raven. But Miss Court is far more than just someone who once appeared in a Vincent Price movie. A promising British starlet in the 1940s and early 1950s, Court hit her stride appearing in crime dramas and mysteries--even appearing in several of them with her then-husband Dermot Walsh. In 1954, she starred in the offbeat English sci-fi flick Devil Girl from Mars, and before long was specializing in horror pictures. Court was the female lead in two early Hammer productions: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959).  She went on to star in dozens of other horror films, and established a reputation that has yet to go unmatched.

“I think women have a different take on what people find scary. I love horror films but most I don’t find scary. Some of the ideas the women have come up with are scary, perhaps rooted in their own experiences. A lot of them have female lead characters. What we’re not getting is the standard horror film, where the only appearance girls make is to run around semi-clothed before getting their heads chopped off. The female characters are much more important in the narrative than in most horror films.”-Caroline Cooper Charles.  Caroline Cooper Charles is one of the most influential women in horror that you've probably never heard of. She is currently CEO of Universal Spirits, the independent production company she established in the spring of 2010 and is the  head of creative development of Darklight, an initiative to encourage female horror directors at the low-budget film studio Warp X. To put it in the simplest terms, Caroline Cooper Charles is a damn fine example of a Woman In Horror deserving some recognition.

With twelve (and counting) purely horror genred movies under her belt, Jamie Lee Curtis is often seen as one of the most well known and respected scream queens in horror history.  The daughter of powerhouse actor Tony Curtis and Janet "mydeathruinedshowersfortherestofeternity" Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis was destined for film stardom.  The definitive "final girl", Jamie Lee Curis broke onto the acting scene with her iconic portrayal of The Shape's baby sister, Laurie Strode in Halloween.  Between the years of 1978-1981, Jamie Lee Curtis was the "Molly Ringwald" of slasher films.  Her acting chops were undeniable and her career skyrocketed shortly after.  While she has gone to perform in films of just about every genre, Jamie Lee Curtis will forever be known as the "queen of scream".  Recently, David Grove penned a novel detailing the life (both personally and professionally) of Jamie Lee Curtis throughout her career.  Now if she can only convince her husband Christopher Guest to make a horror themed film with his comedy style.  Hey, a girl can dream.

Love her or hate her, Diablo Cody has been making ridiculously huge strides for women in horror.  Although she made her mark in the cinematic world penning a little indie film that destroyed its hipster cred by going oh-so-mainstream, Diablo Cody has been on a huge upswing for screenwriting horror films.  The author of the screenplay for the Megan Fox horror/comedy Jennifer's Body, she created a story about the perfect, pretty, cheerleader Jennifer Check (played by Megan Fox) and ends up as the sacrifice in a Satanic ritual. Now this isn't held by some weird cult, it's held by a douchey garage band in the hopes that the sacrifice will increase their chances of getting signed. While she may be criticized for the dialogue she uses for her characters, she brings in the bacon and her films never seem to do poorly in the box office.  Her talent hasn't gone unnoticed as she is set to co-write the script for the upcoming re-imaging of The Evil Dead as well as the film adaptation for S.G. Browne's Zombie love story BREATHERS.  I admire this woman for her accomplishments and personally, I find her to be quite inspirational.

 She may not have a laundry list of horror credits to her IMDB page the way Jamie Lee Curtis does, but Neve Campbell should never be ignored when it comes to horror street cred.  Neve Campbell emerged as the fresh faced final girl of Wes Craven's SCREAM.  Campbell revisited her role three times in all of the sequels from the original film.  Wes Craven saw her performance on the television show Party of Five and is quoted to say "She could best embody a character who was "innocent" but also able to handle herself while dealing with the demanding physicality and emotions of the role".  Neve actually almost didn't take the role after finishing The Craft, but was willing to do so as it would be her first feature starring role.  It's safe to say that she made the right decision in taking the job.  Her role as Sidney Prescott even earned her a Best Actress award at the 1997 Saturn Awards.  Over ten years from her first performance as Sidney Prescott, Neve Campbell returned to the big screen for one final hurrah in SCRE4M.

Obviously, there are PLENTY of women and films that have yet to be uncovered, but who knows...maybe they'll make an appearance under another letter.  Stay tuned to Day of the Woman for a continuation of this series and

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SCRE4M COMING TO DVD & BLU-RAY ON OCTOBER 4TH

As someone who has gone on record more than a few times to express resentment towards this series, I was actually quite pleased with the fourth installment of the franchise.  While the 2nd and 3rd installments left little to be excited over, the fourth one seemed to reach back into its roots and completely revitalized the series.  I had already seen the movie when this DVD arrived in my mailbox, so this will not be a film review.  However, there are some pretty neat special features that come along with the DVD that deserve mention.  Included:

• The Making of Scream 4 featurette
• Alternate Opening
• Extended Ending
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• The Gag Reel

The Gag Reel is everything you could expect in a Gag Reel and the Alternate Opening/Extended Endings weren't bad by any means.  Depending on my mood, I could actually prefer the alternate opening.  For a fan of the series, it's definitely a must have.  I'd give a bit more opinion on the rest of the extras, but I'm not one for spoilers ;)

Scream 4 will be available on DVD and as a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack on October 4th, 2011 – just in time for Halloween! You can click here to pre-order it on Amazon.com. More information about the film is available on Scream-4.com

WOMAN OF THE WEEK: NEVE CAMPBELL

In celebration of tonight's release of SCRE4M, Day of the Woman is going to feature one of the premiere Scream Queens of the 1990's.  Although Neve Campbell doesn't have a laundry list of horror films to her resume, her portrayals as Bonnie in the witch movie The Craft and her role as Sidney Prescott in the SCREAM franchise have permanently earned her a spot in the hearts of horror fanatics everywhere. 

Born in Guelph, Ontario, Neve Campbell was the daughter of a yoga instructor/psychologist and a high school drama teacher.  Her grandparents ran a theatre company in the Netherlands and performed as well.  It was only logical that Neve would also found herself bitten by the acting bug.  Her parents divorced when she was two years old and she resided most of her childhood with her father.  When she was nine years old, she moved into the National Ballet.  When she was around fifteen years old,  Neve Campbell switched her focus from dancing to acting and performed at the Canon Theatre's production of The Phantom of the Opera. 

Her first widely released film was for The Craft.  Starring alongside Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Christine Taylor, and fellow SCREAM actor Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell played telekinetic "Bonnie", one of the four members of the coven shown in the film.  Surprisingly, the most memorable scene from Bonnie's character wasn't performing witchcraft, but rather the painful treatment she endured to try and get rid of the burn scars plaguing her back.  After the scars were treated due to witch magic, the character takes a major switch from playing such a shy and insecure girl, to a cocky and conceited girly-girl.  The flawless character switch Neve managed to portray was highly impressive and a sure signal for the talent she possessed within.  

It was later that year when Neve Campbell would secure her spot in the horror movie hall of fame.  Joining the ranks of Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Thompson, and the like, Neve Campbell emerged as the fresh faced final girl of Wes Craven's SCREAM.  Campbell revisited her role three times in all of the sequels from the original film.  Apparently Drew Barrymoore was intended to star in the film, but due to scheduling conflicts, the role was given to Campbell instead.  Wes Craven saw her performance on the television show Party of Five and is quoted to say "She could best embody a character who was "innocent" but also able to handle herself while dealing with the demanding physicality and emotions of the role".  Neve actually almost didn't take the role after finishing The Craft, but was willing to do so as it would be her first feature starring role.  It's safe to say that she made the right decision in taking the job.  Her role as Sidney Prescott even earned her a Best Actress award at the 1997 Saturn Awards.  Over ten years from her first performance as Sidney Prescott, Neve Campbell is returning to the big screen for one final hurrah with the rest of her SCREAM companions.  SCRE4M opens in theatres everywhere tonight. 

THE HISTORY OF GHOSTFACE: INSPIRED BY SCREAM 4

Unlike most of my horror comrades, I wasn't alive for the glory days of Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger.  I'm not even old enough to legally drink (less than 2 months to go!), and the slasher that reigned my childhood is the latest of the so-called "slasher franchise canon" to tip-toe their way into the limelight.

In the 1990's, the horror genre was cursed with a bit of a mainstream drought, so to speak.  While the horror films that were released underground lead to countless cult followings and praise, the ones the average movie-goer were exposed to were less than stellar examples.  This isn't to say there weren't fabulous films from the 1990's (Army of Darkness, Candy Man, Cemetery Man, Silence of the Lambs, Sixth Sense, etc. etc.), but the obsession with slasher films from the 1970's and 1980's had gone from horrifying to pathetic.  I'm sorry, but it is preposterous to even have an accidental thought that the fisherman from I Know What You Did Last Summer or the antagonist from Urban Legend could ever even attempt hold a candle to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees.  It was in 1996 when horror god Wes Craven came to the aide of the slasher depraved grunge children of the 90's and delivered us Ghostface. 

While there have been five different actors to don the Edvard Munch inspired mask and cloak, Ghostface has always been voiced by Roger L. Jackson. (Yes, the same guy who voiced Mojo JoJo on The Powerpuff Girls).  Like many slashers, Ghostface is always human but the person behind the mask often exhibist extreme durability against physical harm, super-human strength,  and exudes an almost supernatural level of stealthiness.  While the character beneath the mask may change, they all have the same motive.  Kill Sidney Prescott.  Craven created Scream with the intention of almost parodying the world it was living in by exposing the "rules" of the slasher genre.  With that mindset, Sidney Prescott is almost 100% on par with Laurie Strode of the Halloween series, with Ghostface as her Michael Myers.  In each film, the Ghostface killer(s) often murder people close to Sidney and taunt her by use of the phone with threats and intimate knowledge of her life, or the murder of her mother.  Basically, if you ever meet Sidney Prescott. RUN.  Also like Halloween's later insallments, the Ghostface costume is not unique.  The world of Sidney and Ghostface is the world we live in now, and the Ghostface costume is easy to purchase and wear for fun.  I've always found this to be an interesting twist in that anyone could be Ghostface, regardless of location.

Ghostface was created as a mute character, only speaking when using the telephone or as the voice-changer for whoever was wearing the costume.  When speaking to his victims, he doesn't pop out immediate hatred but instead attempts to reel them in by flirting or complimenting.  Wes Craven considers Jackson's voice performance as Ghostface to have "evil sophistication".  I couldn't agree more.  Ghostface does seem to make grunting/groaning noises when injured, which always gives away the human underneath the mask.  Because Ghostface is different people, his characteristics often change depending on who is underneath it.  Some of the killers were seen as "clumsy" and would fall over objects when running, giving their victim a chance to get away.  However, anyone that used the Ghostface costume immediately shared the trait of screwing with their victims and prolonging a kill when they appear to have an advantage. For example, the Billy Loomis/Stu Macher Ghostface would almost always gut their victims after killing them with the exception of Tatum Riley who was killed while trying to squeeze through a doggy door built into a moving, mechanical garage door.  

 I will never forget the first time I ever laid eyes on the Ghostface killer's mask.  I was barely six years old and I had once again stayed up all night watching scary movies while my parents thought I was safely tucked away in bed.  It was during a commercial break for one of the films Svengoolie was showing that night when a very blonde Drew Barrymoore picked up the phone to hear the infamous question, "Do You Like Scary Movies?"  I peeked my head around the couch and stared in vain as my brown Bettie Page bangs struggled to cover my eyes.  That's when I saw the mask.  Without even thinking, I screamed as loud as I could and ran down the hallway into my room, slammed the door, and locked it.  I didn't sleep that night, and I wouldn't until after the commercials stopped running. The sight of Ghostface is one of the first memories I have as a child of being genuinely scared. To this day, I'm more than a little uneasy around the masks during Halloween time because the six year old inside of me wants to run away.  While the Scary Movie franchise turned him into a joke, he was a very scary creature for anyone who grew up in the 1990's, and deserves his due.