Stereotypically, women are depicted as the weaker gender in most movies, but especially within the horror genre. Typically, the Men are the killers and the Women are most likely always the victims. The women are stereotyped as “Pathetic Figures” who always need to be saved from the killer or monster. However, the role of the “Final Girl” often means that the girl loses her femininity and is shown to have boyish appearances and masculine traits in order to overpower the villain. The woman has to face her fear and seek out the killer.
Women are controlled by the male society and women often hold a certain look which attracts males. Men tend to watch horror films to see the women fighting for her life and also for the constant images of nudity, This keeps the audiences’ attention and creates suspense. A study by Sapolsky, Molitor and Luque says that “Exposure to scenes of explicit violence juxtaposed with sexual images is believe to blunt males”.
In the past, women in horror films were seen as "pin ups" and "sexual objects" In films such as "The Hammer House Of Horrors" The females were often seen as sexual objects and vunerable because they were dressed seductively and were often called "The Scream Queens".
THE SCREAM QUEENS OF THE HAMMER HOUSE OF HORRORS
Slasher films victimize females more than any other film genres, such as Scream (1996) where the male killer is after the female students. The females are also seen as sex objects and being vunerable, however there is a final girl.
SCREAM - OFFICAL TRAILER 1996
Women aren’t always just the victims, but can also be the killers or monsters. In films such as The Exorcist (1973) and The Ring (2002) the Women are possessed or are the killers. This shows that gender roles and stereotypical beliefs are changing for women.
THE EXORCIST - OFFICAL TRAILER 1973
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