Behind the Couch

Ever since Mary Shelley’s Creature first spoke, uttering the words "I expected this reception [...] All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!" , horror has provided a voice for the voiceless. It has made readers and audiences privy to the outsider's perspective, and in doing so, has challenged mainstream, ‘normative’ values and presented the experiences of the marginalised and ‘othered’. From ground-breaking literary works by Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, Shirley Jackson and Angela Carter, to trailblazing filmmakers such as Lois Weber, Alice Guy-Blaché and Maya Deren, whose work flickered fiercely across the early silver screen, women – historically silenced and marginalised, and currently living in a world where violence against women and girls is practically ambient - have used horror to interrogate and subvert traditional male-centric narratives and examine themes of agency, bodily autonomy, motherhood and restric...

Actress and producer Heather Langenkamp is best known for her role as Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven’s classic chiller A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Directed by Arlene Marechal, I Am Nancy  is an exploration of Langenkamp's experience portraying the heroine and of the impact of the film and its antagonist, Freddy Krueger, on pop-culture. It follows Langenkamp as she attends horror conventions around the world and talks with fans about what attracts them to horror, specifically the A Nightmare on Elm Street films , and what the characters of Nancy and Freddy mean to them.  The film follows on from  Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy , a 2010 documentary chronicling the entire  A Nightmare on Elm Street  franchise, which was executive produced and narrated by Langenkamp, who felt a number of issues were not explored in enough depth. By questioning why heroine Nancy was eclipsed by villain Freddy Kreuger, Langenkamp’s own investigation touches upon w...

Film critic, academic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas's 1000 Women in Horror 1895-2018 is an exhaustive love-letter to the vast numbers of women who have worked in horror cinema, both behind and in front of the camera, for over a century and whose contributions are so often unfairly overlooked in favour of their male counterparts. The work of these women has left a significant mark on the genre and helped make horror cinema what it is today. From the Classical Hollywood era to alt-Nollywood, the mumblegore movement to J-horror, 1000 Women in Horror contains a filmography of over 700 feature films directed or co-directed by women and features interviews with filmmakers including Tara Anaïse, Anna Biller, Axelle Carolyn, Aislinn Clarke, Julia Ducournau and Karen Lam.  In a recent interview with EW , Heller-Nicholas said "When we think of women in horror, we default to Janet Leigh or Texas Chain Saw Massacre, those really iconic images from horror films. We think of terror...

Edited by Paracinema Magazine co-founder and former editor, Christine Makepeace , and C. Rachel Katz , the Women in Horror Annual (WHA) is a collection of horror fiction and nonfiction written by women. The WHA counts as one among a scant handful of women-only anthologies in the horror literature landscape. The annual promotes and celebrates women's voices in horror, and the stories and papers contained within - penned by new and emerging literary talent - represent a diverse group of writers, each with their own unique vision and voice. Some of these writers have published previously, while others are just starting out. Women's voices can be under-represented in horror, and this anthology is another step towards providing them with the opportunity to be heard/read. The nineteen original stories featured in the annual run the gamut from melancholic to erotic; some are violent, brutal affairs, and others are more psychological. The essays include cinematic and literary a...

The latest issue of Paracinema , an independently produced, Rondo Horror Award Nominated magazine, is available to pre-order now. As this is Women in Horror Month, this issue’s contents have been contributed solely by women writers.  Amongst a plethora of insightful and provocative features you’ll find the likes of Rape-Revenge Films: A Guide for the Faint-Hearted by Chelsea Suarez; The Degrading Last Days of Laura Palmer: A Backwards Glance at Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me by Christine Hadden (of Fascination with Fear ); Mental Illness in Horror Films: Lifting the Stigma with Let’s Scare Jessica to Death by Andre Dumas (of The Horror Digest ) and Frankenhooker: Titular Commodification of Women by Lisa Cunningham. Plus much, much more… It costs $7 to pre-order a copy, and you can do that my visiting the official Paracinema website, here . And don’t forget to vote for Paracinema at the Rondo Awards !

Body dysmorphia. Existentialism. Cannibalism. Psychological disintegration. Identity crisis. Murder mysteries as musicals. French writer/director/actress Marina De Van makes downright provocative genre films. Her film work veers between enchantingly enthralling ( 8 Women ) and brazenly confrontational ( In My Skin ). After making a name for herself as a regular collaborator with François Ozon (she’s starred in See the Sea and Sitcom , and she wrote 8 Women and Under the Sand ), it was only a matter of time before De Van would branch out and into directing, with her own brand of fiercely intellectual and visceral cinema. Born in 1971, De Van studied Philosophy at Sorbonne University before enrolling at the prestigious film school FEMIS. Here she would meet and befriend future filmmaker Ozon, forming a bond that would fertilise some of the most important and interesting films to ride the crest of the latest New Wave of French cinema. Her own feature debut In My Skin , is an un...

Trailblazer Ida Lupino was to moody, suspenseful film noirs and taut thrillers in the 40’s and 50’s, as Jamie Lee Curtis was to slashers throughout the 80s. Born in 1918 and beginning her acting career in the 30s, Lupino starred in many noirs and thrillers such as They Drive By Night, The Hard Way and On Dangerous Ground . She eventually went on to become a pioneering figure amongst women behind the camera in cinema. She was the first American woman to ever direct a film noir ( The Hitch-Hiker ) and her other feature directorial offerings, such as Outrage and The Bigamist , were concerned with themes and ideas regarding social issues, sexual abuse and bigamy. No mean feat considering she was making films in a post Hayes Code Hollywood. While her directorial offerings can’t really be described as straight ‘horror’, they still contain moments fraught with suspense, violence and unsettling moodiness, and she dabbled in hard boiled noirs and gritty B-movies. The Hitch-Hiker , one of...

February is Women in Horror Month . It is also LGBT History Month and in the States, Black History Month . These month long observances are important as they help shine a light on and give voice to people and communities in our society who are often not only marginalised, but also too frequently on the receiving end of discrimination and prejudice. Over the next few weeks, as well as the usual film reviews and wine appreciation, I hope to post a few articles about women who have made important, unusual or interesting contributions to Horror and genre cinema. There’ll also hopefully be a few doffs of the hat to the fact that it’s LGBT History Month. That’s all for now. Happy Women in Horror Month!