DYNAMITE FROM NIGHTMARELAND

In honor of women’s equality day... 

Growing up, the only thing that scared me more than the prospect of death was girls. 

I’m from Alabama. Patriarchy thrives in Alabama *along with homophobia, racial inequality, religious intolerance and a number of other fucked up institutionalized systems). Like most people at the mercy of their environmental conditioning, it took a while to realize that the only thing to fear was my own inability to empathize with the what I considered “the other”.The majority of my childhood was shaped by the fact that women-- at least women in my own age group-- were perceived as objects of terror. Getting over this idiocy took, well, most of grade school and the first couple of years of high school. 

Horror movies helped me gain perspective on women I would not have had otherwise. Even from an early age, I understood that horror, unlike the majority of other mainstream genres, frequently put female characters into empowering and multilayered roles. Even when characters were killed off (like Marion Crane in Psycho), “scream queens” typically got more nuance and more stuff to do than their male counterparts. 

Dallas. Van Helsing. Hicks. Jim. Dr. Loomis. All fine characters. All sort of one-note and ultimately serving to support a more interesting female protagonist. If I’m gonna be facing off with a horde of Lovecraftian beasts or a black gloved killed, I’d much rather have an Ellen Ripley or Laurie Strode in my corner than Dr. Loomis or Hickes. 

Call them final girls, scream queens or just plain strong female protagonists. Regardless of label, these characters embody the iconic archetype of smart, cunning and multi-faceted horror leads. These are the types of characters that make horror filmmaking a fantastic showcase for a wide range of talented actresses. If you can’t guess them all, feel free to ask for a helpful hint. Otherwise I like to let the images speak for themselves.