Horrible Women: My Favorite Women in Horror part 2

Women have broken more boundaries and defied not only gender clichés, but also more social and cultural obstacles than men as well. Hollywood, or the world for that matter, is still very much a man’s world. Actresses still struggle to get paid the same amount as a male counterpart. Horror is not with its own stereotypical pitfalls, but in fairness, horror has also come a long way. Slasher movies are known for typecasting women as weak characters. Sure, but looking at it from another angle, perhaps you might notice that as said slasher movie victim is running around bumping into dead things and screaming at the top of her lungs, she survives while typically every single if not 99% of the male character population parishes in some grotesque way. At the very least, maybe those stereotyped movies are saying that when the shit hits the fan, women are survivors. To say the only contribution women have made for horror is to play its victim is a gross generalization. In movies where women are intended to be the victim, they survive. And then there’s the other side of the road. The villains. The most creepiest characters and monsters of horror, in my humble opinion, have been women. Consider Kathy Bates in Misery and you tell me if her portrayal as Annie Wilkes didn’t creep you out! Putting aside our egocentric macho bullshit lets admit it, women have done more for horror, and are continuing to do more for horror, than men. So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorite horrible women!

Eihi Shiina as Asami Yamazaki in Audition (1999)

I’m not ashamed to say, Asami scares the shit out of me. And for good reason. Leave it to the Japanese to come up with something so twisted. The story follows a widower named Aoyama who, aided by a film producer friend, hosts an “audition” of which they aim to work as a dating service. Aoyama sets his sights on the quiet and withdrawn Asami, but when they venture to his house, Aoyama soon discovers Asami is not so reserved as she appears to be. The torture in this movie is…insane. Its almost doubled by the this otherwise seemingly sweet woman, who even during the torture is nearly whispering pleasantly as she inserts nails into Aoyama. Here’s a clip on YouTube, but its not for the faint of heart.

Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Both Conjuring movies that have thus released have been true pleasures watching on the Big Screen. And while you cannot have Lorraine Warren without her partner and husband, Ed (Patrick Wilson), I feel it is Lorraine who really shines, in both movies. In part 2, the Warren’s are called out to Enfield, England to help Peggy Hodgson, a single mother of four who tells the Warren’s that something evil is in her home. When one of her daughters begins to show signs of demonic possession, the Warren’s work quickly to try and help the besieged young girl. The Lorraine and Ed relationship almost reminds me of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, where Ed is the headstrong, well-meaning “car sells-man,” and Lorraine is the collected talent. Not to mention that Vera is a real treat watching on screen.

Jane Levy as Rocky in Don’t Breathe (2016)

Another slam-dunk that came out last year, Don’t Breathe was a surprise; not surprise hit with new audiences and horror fanboys alike. Stephen Lang may have stole the show with his creepy vulnerability, but it was Levy playing the part of thief/single mom Rocky that really sold me on the story. But Don’t Breath wasn’t you typically casting, technically Rocky was the bad guy, of sorts, breaking in to a blind man’s house in the hopes of making it rich so she can take her kid and escape the wastelands of inner city Detroit. And Rocky takes some hits in this one, as well as dishes out her own vengeance. Seeing how this is her second appearance on “My Favorite Women in Horror” list, last years being Mia from Evil Dead, I’m very curious what this young lady has planned for 2017.

Karen Gillan as Kaylie in Oculus (2013)

Karen Gillan in anything is both entertaining and amazing. Her time with The Doctor aside Matt Smith as the 11th incarnation of The Doctor, to her reprised role as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. Oculus was a solid lead for her, released shortly following the end of her stint on Doctor Who. In this movie, Gillan plays Kaylie, a strong headed woman who attempts to exonerate her recently released brother in order to prove that he did not murder their parents, but that a cursed mirror did. The movie is a total head trip and Gillan plays wonderfully as a strong resourceful leader whilst still somewhat vulnerable. A drop in the bucket among paranormal movies coming out, Oculus is potent enough for its flavors to let it stand out. Gillan certainly added to the movies benefit.

 Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin in The Witch (2015)

Another rising star, right there beside Jane Levy, Anya Taylor-Joy has been in horror hit after horror hit, starting with The Witch, followed by Morgan, and finally this years mind bender, Split. The Witch is a unique movie that divided horror fans into two groups of “love it,” and “hate it.” From what I can tell, most are in the “love it” group, and for good reason. What caught my attention was the use of 17-century records as means to developing a script that sounded very much like a movie set in the mid-1600s. The Witch was also not what I was expecting. I thought maybe the story was going to be about this town and witches were involved in some manner. But instead, the movie focused on a zealot uber religious family that is exiled from a colony for being too religious, which is funny in its own right. And whilst the family struggles to survive living on their own in the wilderness, tragedy befalls them when the youngest newborn member of the family is thought to be taken by wolves. the mother blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson) suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan’s faith, loyalty, and love to one another. As said above, the movie wasn’t quite what I thought it was going to be. Yet, it was still really provocative, with plenty of tension and wonderment, especially when you realize there really are witches out there. The ending was one of the more satisfying endings to a movie I’ve seen in years.

Thomas S. Flowers is the published author of several character driven stories of dark fiction. He resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife and daughter. He is published with The Sinister Horror Company’s horror anthology The Black Room Manuscripts. His debut novel, Reinheit, is published with Shadow Work Publishing, along with The Incredible Zilch Von Whitstein and Apocalypse Meow. His military/paranormal thriller series, The Subdue Series, both Dwelling and Emerging and Conceiving, are published with Limitless Publishing, LLC. In 2008, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army where he served for seven years, with three tours serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2014, Thomas graduated from University of Houston Clear Lake with a BA in History. He blogs at machinemean[dot]org, where he does author interviews and reviews on a wide range of strange yet oddly related topics. You can keep up with Thomas and all his strange books by joining his author newsletter, at http://goo.gl/2CozdE.

You can get Reinheit for $2.99 on Amazon!