Five women do five questions.
In support of the fifth annual Women in Horror Recognition Month I asked five women in the horror industry to answer the same five questions; getting down to the nitty-gritty of what inspires them, compels them, fires them up. Their responses were awesome.
Ursula Dubrowsky is based in Adelaide, Australia. Ursula is in the throes of a “demon” trilogy. Her first feature, Family Demons, was released in 2009, the anticipated follow-up, Inner Demon, is in post, and she’s completed the screenplay to the third part, Demonheart.
Cult Projections: What three horror movies do you consider the most powerful in terms of atmosphere, viscera and/or suspense?
Ursula: Martyrs, A Serbian Film, The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence).
CP: What three elements of horror cinema excite and inspire you the most?
U: Story, story and story.
CP: Identify something about humanity you’ve seen on screen that deeply troubles you and/or a taboo you would like to break, or seen broken, in horror cinema.
U: Mental pain and suffering, psychological abuse, nihilism.
CP: Name three women you’d love to work with.
U: Mandy Walker (DOP), Veronika Jenet (Editor), Angelina Jolie (Actor)
CP: If you were to adapt a novel, or short story, for the screen (either prose or graphic), what would it be, budget restraints aside?
U: Simone de Beauvoir's The Prime of Life (1960).
Isabel Peppard is from Melbourne. An animator of two short films, she's about to make her first feature.
Cult Projections: What three horror movies do you consider the most powerful in terms of atmosphere, viscera and/or suspense?
Isabel: Well, obviously it’s very much a personal preference but I would say;
1. Kubrick’s The Shining
2. Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby
3. Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist
All iconic films with strong, stylistic elements of viscera and suspense.
CP: What three elements of horror cinema excite and inspire you the most?
I: 1. I love the use of horror and flesh as a metaphor for psychological and sociological states of being.
2. I’m inspired by films that create their own original worlds and mythologies.
3. I’ve always been deeply attracted to blood, viscera and monsters, all of which I find exciting and inspiring.
CP: Identify something about humanity you’ve seen on screen that deeply troubles you and/or a taboo you would like to break, or seen broken, in horror cinema.
I: I think we have become desensitised to sexual violence against women in the horror genre. I’m not saying it’s never been done but I am certainly interested in exploring the idea of inverse rape revenge films where the sexual violence is playing to the female gaze. Not saying it makes it right; I just think it’s interesting to see things from a different perspective.
CP: Name three women you’d love to work with.
I: 1. I am working with Jennifer Lynch at the moment; she is mentoring me as I am starting work on my first horror feature. She is a fantastic writer and director. I especially loved Chained, which I found absolutely terrifying when I saw it on the big screen!
2.I think Asia Argento has a very interesting screen presence and I’d love to work with her on a project one day.
3. Caroline Thompson wrote Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, amongst other things. I would love to co-write a gothic fairytale horror feature with her some day.
CP: If you were to adapt a novel, or short story, for the screen (either prose or graphic), what would it be, budget restraints aside.
I: That’s a tough one! I usually write my own original material based on my experiences of the world so I haven’t really thought about adaptations. It would probably be a fairy tale of some sort, as I love the way that they present elements of the naïve and grotesque side by side.
Briony Kidd is best known as the Festival Director of Stranger With My Face, an acclaimed female-centric horror film festival in Hobart, Tasmania.
Cult Projections: What three horror movies do you consider the most powerful in terms of atmosphere, viscera and/or suspense?
Briony: The Haunting of Julia, The Innocents and Picnic at Hanging Rock are three of my favourites.
CP: What three elements of horror cinema excite and inspire you the most?
B: I like eccentricity (e.g. strange or counterintuitive music choices), frightening levels of melodrama and emotion (e.g. psycho-biddy stories, Bergman, Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger) and practical effects.
CP: Identify something about humanity you’ve seen on screen that deeply troubles you and/or a taboo you would like to break, or seen broken, in horror cinema.
B: Women's anger and violence is under-explored in cinema so there haven't been very many great female monster characters yet. I think the taboos are more to do with storytelling and character than any specific act.
CP: Name three women you’d love to work with.
B: Tricky ... But off the top of my head, Amy Seimetz, Angela Bassett and Yancy Butler.
CP: If you were to adapt a novel, or short story, for the screen (either prose or graphic), what would it be, budget restraints aside?
B: Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels, or Lois Duncan's Stranger With My Face.
The Twisted Twins are from Vancouver, British Colombia. Sylvia and Jen Soska have two features under their belt, the trashy Dead Hooker In a Trunk (2009), and the slick American Mary (2012), both of which have garnered them an impressive following.
Cult Projections: What three horror movies do you consider the most powerful in terms of atmosphere, viscera and/or suspense?
Sylvia: Atmosphere would have to be Sinister - I love how it would be so unrelentingly disturbing, then comedic to put you into a false sense of security to torture you again. Such a fun film, I watch it a lot - it never loses the effect of getting under your skin.
Viscera would have to be Martyrs. I see a lot of backlash regarding the use of gore in a film, but I feel there is no such thing as too much as long as it serves the story rather than being a band-aid for poor filmmaking/story telling.
Martyrs grabs you instantly and doesn't let go as it one-ups-itself through an epic tale of misery, suffering, and the power of a victim.
Suspense would have to be A Serbian Film. I was warned before I watched it, but it sucks you into its world and you forget the warning because it's made so damn well. You are forced into this very dark place and then brutally relive the greatest sorrow through the misplaced fuzzy memories of the lead character. It won't scare, it scars.
CP: What three elements of horror cinema excite and inspire you the most?
S: What I enjoy about horror is the ability to tackle real world issues while still allowing the storyteller the ability to be somewhat in fantasy. I think you can talk about things that are important without preaching in a fascinating way through the medium. I like scaring people, or rather surprising them - it's up to them whether that shock results in fear. Seeing an audience react in a darkened theatre is the best experience for me. Lastly, I love make up and FX - I can never get enough of those artists work. I don't think I could go to set if there isn't blood there.
CP: Identify something about humanity you’ve seen on screen that deeply troubles you and/or a taboo you would like to break, or seen broken, in horror cinema.
S: The epidemic of a lack of original thought in the arts deeply troubles me. You can only go so far creatively by re-hashing the same stories, but people are so afraid to take a risk on a new idea. Art is what defines us as humans, so good art from different perspectives is very important to me.
CP: Name three women you’d love to work with.
S: Mary Harron - she's the reason why I got into directing, Jen Lynch - she's fearless and completely brave in her filmmaking, and Katharine Isabelle - she's my muse, I cannot create without her and I hope that I never have to.
CP: If you were to adapt a novel, or short story, for the screen (either prose or graphic), what would it be, budget restraints aside?
S: Deadpool. Jen and I are long time comic nerds and Wade Wilson's stories really appeal to our sensibilities. I know that there is a film in limbo in the works, but I want to tell that story very badly in a way that will make my fellow fans and the studios very happy.
Cult Projections: What three horror movies do you consider the most powerful in terms of atmosphere, viscera and/or suspense?
Jen: Atmosphere is would have to say Antichrist. Spoiler Alert: when Willem is hiding from Charlotte and that crow starts screaming, I started yelling at the screen for him to just kill himself. I wanted out. I didn't want to see what the next level of crazy was going to be. I couldn't take it. I never want a character to just off themselves and get out of a film, so that was memorable. Lars has one hell of a way with atmosphere.
Viscera? Sylvie said Martyrs so I'll go with Inside. It was just a non-stop shit show, just pure, violent madness. It was incredible. We like to play this game where we each blindly pick a horror movie and watch them back to back. One day Sylv picked Martyrs and I picked Inside, and that day became legendary. We just sat there after like, "What the hell just happened?"
Suspense? Funny Games. The tone of that film is incredible. There is so little blood, but the tension is so real and the reality of the whole thing just puts it over the edge. The camera work and edit are superb, as well as the acting and material, of course. It's those long pauses and moments of air that just sit with you that make your stomach turn.
CP: What three elements of horror cinema excite and inspire you the most?
J: Originality. If I'm taken or shown or get to experience something new, I am so deliriously happy. I can see a screen shot or a mini clip and just have to see something. North American horror is so formulaic by in large. I hate that. Give me risk and strange and indefinable any day and I am one happy girl.
Artfulness. I love to see the beauty in unconventional things or even awful or terrifying things. Nothing has to look ugly, even when the content is disgusting.
Empowerment. Horror is a place where the final girl evolved from Laurie Strode to bad-asses like Ellen Ripley. Being a bit on the little side always made me feel strong when I saw these incredible femme fatale final girls. I love seeing someone evolve and rise up to face their demons. I love an underdog.
CP: Identify something about humanity you’ve seen on screen that deeply troubles you and/or a taboo you would like to break, or seen broken, in horror cinema.
J: I cannot believe we live in a day and age where most women will be sexually assaulted and most people just turn a blind eye to it because it is so common. And men, too. Being a man it's even more shameful and taboo to openly speak about rape and sexual assault. I find it so disgusting. I don't think there is enough of a deterrent, legally speaking or even based on the reactions of society, to prevent people from going around doing whatever they want and then blaming the victims with slut shaming comments like, "what were you wearing?" It's disgusting to me.
CP: Name three women you’d love to work with.
J: Everyone Sylvie mentioned, but here are three others: Tristan Risk, Chelan Simmons, and Debra Sullivan. And I'll be working with all three sooner than later.
CP: If you were to adapt a novel, or short story, for the screen (either prose or graphic), what would it be, budget restraints aside?
J: I want to bring Clive Barker's Abarat to life more than I can even express. It's such an important and beautiful story for so many reasons. Budget would have to not be an issue as the world Clive creates and the creatures and characters are so astoundingly elaborate and unique. That would be a dream come true.