Written by Abigail Petipas and Eve Katz, Image courtesy of Blumhouse Productions and SCAD Savannah Film Fest
For decades, the horror genre has been littered with tropes meant to demean women, sexualizing, violently killing and enacting extreme violence against the female gender. Even beyond the screen, women have struggled to find a place within the genre, with many believing that the creation and directing of horror should be left to the men.
The three women from the “Women of Blumhouse: Shaping Genre Storytelling at the Iconic House of Horror” panel defy those stereotypes, bringing a strong female presence to the Blumhouse Productions company and making sure that female voices are heard.
Lisa Neidenthal, Bea Sequiera and Terri Taylor all hold high ranking positions within the production company. Though none of the women originally intended to set out to work at Blumhouse, their backgrounds in the production of other films, like “Witches of Eastwick” and “Malice,” eventually led them to their positions at the production company. There they work to pioneer the horror genre with unique and diverse movies and television shows.
The Filmmaking
As a woman looking to find a job working in horror, it is inspiring to see these three women talk so passionately about their jobs as they strive to make the company a place where everyone can see themselves represented fairly in a horror movie.
The panelists understand that the first step to creating a diverse movie, is to create a diverse movie set. This effort was especially put forth when casting the recent Blumhouse movie, “The Craft: Legacy,” a movie centered around four girls who find themselves dabbling in witchcraft. When Taylor, Head of Casting, was tasked with finding the four leads, she put in the utmost effort in order to find four unique actors with great chemistry.
It feels comforting to see these women so intent on making the horror community a more welcoming place for all women, using their position to speak up for others struggling to find a place within the genre.
Sequeria, Executive Vice President of Development and Production for Feature Films, put it best when she said we need to start “making people uncomfortable” by moving forward and embracing female involvement in horror. The panelists’ conscious decisions to greenlight female centric stories opens up opportunities in the horror genre for women and creates an environment free of the restraints that existed for years.
The Writing
Growing up, horror stories and horror movies were something my brothers enjoyed, but I was too afraid to interact with. Horror has been stereotyped as a genre that exists merely for slashers and gore, and can be assumed to not appeal to women. “It’s so much more than that,” said Sequeira.
Horror movies can be vessels for bigger ideas and social commentary, “eat your vegetables” movies as moderator Jenelle Riley put it. Especially with modern horror content like “Get Out,” “Into the Dark” and “The Purge” films, all Blumhouse productions.
Despite growth and landmark films that are redefining the genre as more than just bloodshed and chase-scenes (although honestly, there is fun in that, too), horror has had its struggles with representation. Female characters in particular are often given very similar attributes: the virginal final girl, the party girl who dies first or, as Sequeira describes, “the woman in peril.”
“For years [women] were just the victims. Then, there was a moment where we were like, we can fight back,” said Sequeira. “Sometimes the female tropes are used way too much without digging. I feel like we’re going to be seeing a lot more movies where women are fighting back.”
In fact, fifty percent of Blumhouse executives are women. “I feel like we have loud voices, and we can empower women,” said Taylor. With women like Sequeira, Taylor and Nieddenthal in positions of power, female characters are in good hands, with those who are willing to fight to make sure they are represented correctly.
Strong female characters like Maddie in “Hush,” Adelaide Wilson in “Us” and Cecilia Kass in “The Invisible Man” prove that women are not just victims, but essential parts of stories that exist for more than just shallow scares.
