Women do frightfully well in horror genre

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Femme fatale Maila Nurmi vamps it up as Vampira. (CTV PHOTO)

Empowered and emboldened, or merely ensnared and eviscerated?

That's one of the fleshiest questions when it comes to women in horror movies, and if the new Canadian documentary Pretty Bloody is any indication, the answer cuts closer to the former than the latter.

Pretty Bloody: Women in Horror (tonight at 9 on Space) is an intriguing if not altogether satisfying look at the increasing influence of females in the horror genre, from onscreen heroines to behind-the-camera writers and directors to the ever-burgeoning young fan base that follows and falls in love with all manner of cinematic slashers, psychos, murderers and monsters.

"It's a giant boys' club," says Jovanka Vuckovic, editor-in-chief of the made-in-Canada Rue Morgue Magazine, "but I've been accepted into the boys' club. And once you're in it, you're OK -- you've proven yourself, you know your (stuff), you can roll with the big boys."

The media that covers moviedom's macabre side is just one area in which women have made impressive strides -- Pretty Bloody features interviews with females who have gained a foothold in pretty much every aspect of the "art" form.

The film offers a cursory historical overview of the horror genre, starting in the 1930s, when women were mostly limited to scream-and-die contributions to the narrative, through to the 1970s, when female characters began to play a more important role in horror flicks and a new wave of "scream queens" became the favourites of the genre's fans, and beyond.

A special nod of appreciation is offered to actress/character inventor Maila Nurmi, whose 1950s thriller-mistress TV creation Vampira opened the door for many smart, sassy and subversive women who followed.

The question of whether women who appear in slasher movies are being empowered or exploited is discussed in some detail, with perspectives from '80 scream queen Brinke Stevens (Slumber Party Massacre) and current kick-ass horror chick Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever).

Stevens insists that she's made a comfortable and in-her-own-control living. She recalls her arrival in Hollywood, when she learned that fully clothed movie extras made $35 a day, but extras willing to get naked pulled down more than $1,000 a day.

In short order, a habitually nude, often-in-the-shower, inevitably about-to-be-slain star was born.

The rise of horror's behind-the-scenes power brokers is also examined, with comments from several female fright-film directors, including Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary) and Katt Shea (The Rage: Carrie 2).

The obvious bottom line here is that it's better for women to be in control of their own destinies than not, and that the genre is stronger and more completely realized because of their presence.

While Pretty Bloody does a decent job of illustrating the growing influence of females in the horror world simply by showing the sheer numbers that have arrived, it fall short in its attempt to provide a fully rounded understanding of how and why women have made such impressive inroads into the genre.

Sort of like watching a slasher flick in which the killer never gets his blood-spattered comeuppance, the end result is compelling and impressive, but never quite fully satisfying.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

TV PREVIEW

Pretty Bloody: Women in Horror

Featuring Brinke Stevens, Katt Shea and Jovanka Vuckovic

Tonight at 9, Space

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 25, 2009 D8