Women in #horror : Featuring @EmilieFlory by @PromoteHorror #SO 2 @DeniseGossett @mariaolsen66 @JessicaCameron_ @nicolemalonso @alexessoe @jenniferblancb

Women in #horror : Featuring @EmilieFlory

@WiHMmonth #ITW by @PromoteHorror

With a SPECIAL SCREAM OUT TO

6 Iconic Women in HORROR

PROMOTE HORROR

WOMEN IN HORROR: FEATURING EMILIE FLORY

http://www.promotehorror.com/2015/02/women-in-horror-featuring-emilie-flory.html

 

-When did you first become a horror fan?

I realized I was a horror fan at age 7, when Jaws came out…

I already had a thing for scary books, cartoons and games. Horror represented something very exciting to me. I lived in Saint-Tropez in a rich and sunny environment as pleasant as it was superficial. In this environment, horror was a form of escapism for me, a subversive force. I was irresistibly drawn to it: When you’re scared, you feel more alive. You have to find the courage to face this state of mind where you feel almost like you’re going to die. It’s horrible… But once the fear is gone, you feel just great. When Jaws came out and I saw the posters outside the Renaissance movie theater in Saint-Tropez, it was quite a shock. There was a catch line that said, “She was the first…” and this tiny figure of a naked woman swimming above a gigantic shark!

I lived in a seaside resort… I fantasized all summer about what the poster promised because, of course, I wasn’t allowed to see the movie, I was too young!

-Was there a specific moment when you realized that you wanted to go from being a fan of horror to a woman who contributes to the genre, or did it just kind of happen naturally?

That’s an excellent question, Promote. Thanks for asking. Actually, as a result of the exposure I have to bring to my movie Trauma Dolls, I realize that I contribute directly to promoting the horror genre: I’m plugging the world of horror in its entirety as well as the world of women in horror. Certain people in my circle are surprised and try to figure out where I got my liking for horror. This allows me to give them information concerning a world and realities they are totally clueless about.

We see some remarkable personalities militating for the horror genre on Twitter. Women are very active in that domain; I’m delighted to see this. There is a spectacular synergy, very tight bonds that are created in the horror community. It’s a world where there exists strong values, extraordinary friendships and mutual aide you don’t see anywhere else. I’m extremely happy to belong to this world.

- What does having a "Women in Horror" month mean to you?

It’s essential to have a month dedicated to women in the world of horror: Even if highlighting them only lasts a month, it allows everyone to become aware that, in this domain, women are bankable. They are an amazing strike force to be reckoned with. From the very beginning women have contributed to the emergence of the horror genre, especially thanks to scream queens which also had for a perverse effect to blur the image and the role of women in horror. Today women screenwriters, directors and producers showcase their talents; they are in every department and they are just as successful as men are.

-Is there a woman in horror who you consider a role model?

Denise Gossett is a model for me. She has all my admiration. What she did for the horror genre with Shriekfest is outstanding.

Shriekfest is a world famous, medium sized festival where each person selected becomes a full member of the family. Its selection is rigorous and the quality exceptional.

Denise fights for independent movies. She is uncompromising on this point. It’s really important so that things change and genuine artists can emerge.

There is also a “film music” selection at Shriekfest; it’s an innovating festival on many points. Denise does a lot for artists. She’s extraordinary on a professional and human level. I would like to add that she’s a wonderful actress and a magnificent woman.

-How do you think the role of women in horror has changed over the years?

If we consider only the change that has come about with respect to actresses and the roles they are offered, things have changed tremendously. Woman’s status in horror movies has evolved at the same time as her status in western countries has. Women are no longer just pretty faces who scream while waiting to be saved. They act, attack their aggressors and even save their lovers. Sometimes, I even find it’s exaggerated by making them excessively mannish. I like women being strong but I find that if their strength hides their vulnerability and their sex appeal, we lose a great deal of what makes up the magic of the horror genre. Starry Eyes is a great success because it doesn’t forget that. Just like Crawl or Die whose heroine is a soldier. And I love Nurse 3D because, thanks to exceptional acting, Paz de la Huerta proves that you can scare, thrill and move people by playing an unfortunate psychopath with an outrageously explosive sexuality!

-What do you think the future holds for women in horror?

The future is promising for women in horror but also for those in genre films in general, in action and sci-fi movies. Director Kathryn Bigelow, whom I personally consider as a genre director, brought about a real tour de force by making it in Hollywood as she did. Thanks to her, everything has become possible for women, especially for women who are in genre films: We see marvelous actresses like Maria Olsen, Alexandra Essoe and Nicole Alonso come into their own, we see young directors like Jessica Cameron bring down mountains and personalities like Jennifer Blanc-Biehn fight relentlessly to impose projects she believes in. All of that is very positive. Very constructive.

6 Iconic Women in HORROR HIGHLIGHT :

Denise Gossett @DeniseGossett  @Shriekfest

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1011206/

http://www.shriekfest.com/

http://www.imdb.com/video/demo_reel/vi754556185/

 

Maria Olsen @mariaolsen66

 

See Maria Olsen’s full resume on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1864017/.

Like MOnsterworks66 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MOnsterworks66.

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariaolsen66.

Jennifer Blanc-Biehn @jenniferblancb

http://www.jenniferblancbiehn.com/ 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004760/

https://www.youtube.com/user/blancbiehn     

    



Nicole Alonso @nicolemalonso

 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223066/ 

http://www.crawlordietrilogy.com/

#CRAWLorDIE FULL LENGHT TRAILER :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEerniuK-hs

Jessica Cameron @JessicaCameron_

http://jessicacameron.com/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2781723/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDq-8gNrDJI

 

Alexandra Essoe @alexessoe

 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3012273/

STARRY EYES / TRAILER :

http://youtu.be/2JbO0eIc3jM

-Being that this is PromoteHorror.com, please feel free to plug your current/next horror project.

Since my next project is in the writing stage, let me tell you about my horror movie project, my team and I are looking for producers and investors: Trauma Dolls is a slasher that takes place in the worlds of fashion and neuroscience. The movie treats the question of good and evil and the chances of finding love and light again even if it seems hopeless! The movie’s screenplay, which made it to the semi-finals in Shriekfest, made the finals in the Frightnight Film Festival (Fandom Fest) and the presentation trailer, a finalist at the HollyShorts Film Festival, was shown at the Chinese Theaters. We have a press kit, which includes a budget, available for people who are interested.

Thank you so much, Promote, for your invitation to take part in this month of horror. Thanks as well for the wonderful reviews, previews and interviews you treat us to, they all contribute to help genre movies move forward.

The Trauma Dolls’ Trailer was an official selection at the Holly-Shorts film festival 2014:

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2091035673  

FIND OUT MORE HERE:

INTERVIEW BY DEAN SILLS FOR UK HORROR SCENE:

http://www.ukhorrorscene.com/an-interview-with-emilie-flory-by-dean-sills/

INTERVIEW BY EMORY SLONE FOR MALEVOLENT (P16-P19):

http://joom.ag/1aTb?page=18#.VDKVHcLrPxU.mailto

http://www.promotehorror.com/2015/02/women-in-horror-featuring-emilie-flory.html

CRUISING

CRUISING:

More timely than ever!…

Cruising by William Friedkin

– 35mm Print – 1 hr 42 min

With a warning on the 35mm print you won’t find on the 98 min DVD

 

Shown with a 35mm optical print during the “contamination” cycle proposed by the Forum des Images in Paris, Cruising was presented as an immersion into a hostile environment. The movie followed a screening of Bug and preceded one of The Exorcist, two more first-rate movies directed by the tremendous William Friedkin. A conference was also dedicated to the filmmaker’s work: His remarks and vision, acclaimed and controversial, but remarkably timely, have become essential again in these days of filmmaking scarcity.

Cruising, an exceptional film if there ever was one, remains a major cinematographic case in the 7^th art’s history. Major not only for what it reveals about its author, an incredible fighter and great perfectionist subjected to insurmountable difficulties for the duration of the project (he almost died of a heart attack shortly after), but also by the bridges it builds between different movie forms and genres in the 7th art’s global scene.

Cruising is the story of Steve Burns, a young and ambitious New York cop who accepts an undercover mission in gay S&M circles to clear up a series of brutal homosexual murders. Recruited to act as a lure, Burns has to change his identity and his appearance. In so doing, he gradually drifts away from those close to him and the life he’s made for himself. He takes on another personality, another “self” that surfaces in him and affects his psyche and his whole behavior.

The original idea for the movie, vaguely inspired by journalist Gerald Walker’s novel, came from some articles by columnist Arthur Bell about a series of unsolved murders in New York’s gay S&M bar neighborhoods. William Friedkin drew inspiration from these news items that gave him the motivation to start working on this story. He found the material in his close circle: Thanks to certain stories told by investigator Randy Jurgensen, his friend and consultant on French Connection, who had to go undercover in gay S&M bars to unmask a killer, as well as the arrest of Paul Bateson, one of the radiologist actors in The Exorcist accused of having sadistically murdered homosexuals. Thanks to certain connections linked to organized crime, the filmmaker was also allowed to investigate in S&M bars himself before shooting in them.

It’s clear that Walker’s book, added to the exposure of certain sexual crimes in the press plus the Big Apple’s high crime rate at the end of the 70s, made New York in the 80s the ideal setting for several movies about serial killers: William Lustig’s Maniac came out in 1980 too (Joe Spinnel, the lead actor, was cast in Cruising), but also Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill and two years later, New York Ripper by Lucio Fulci.

The subculture described in Cruising, a perfect backdrop for the director to develop his ideas, was never considered by him as being the movie’s main intention. The barrage of accusations leveled against William Friedkin for having stigmatized the gay community is totally unwarranted. If Cruising distinguishes itself from the movies mentioned above by its environment, it’s essentially the way this environment is depicted that radically differs it from them.

Due to its treatment, Cruising frees itself from all the current codes and conventions of the day. Thirty-five years later it appears extremely timely: The midnight blue monochrome photography, the dark and sensual score, skillfully present and spellbinding, the directing sometimes clinical, sometimes emotional and impulsive (especially during the murder scenes where a few subliminal penetration shots can be found; “That’s how our brain works”, analyzes the filmmaker.), but also the pacing imposed by the story, deliberately caught in a symbolic vice to expand the subject, all these key points predate the movie. Cruising is an erotic crime thriller, but also a slasher that doesn’t really borrow from codes, and what’s more, it’s a completely reformulated giallo genre.

Symbolism here is pushed to the extreme to serve the psychological aspect. A virtuoso, William Friedkin takes us very far. The key to the movie lies in its last scene. It shows a tugboat crossing the Hudson River; the river is immersed in the grayness that enshrouds the port, barely lit by the ball of orange sun hanging over it… Consciously or not, this last scene refers to Monet’s Impressions, Sunrise. What it says about the movie is that, like impressionist paintings or films from the “first avant-garde”, it attaches more importance to a fleeting impression, to the probability of environmental phenomena (in Cruising the environment directly affects the character’s psychology), rather than to the stable and conceptual aspect of things.

So even more than the character himself, it’s the particular world he’s immersed in that determines and triggers the story. The identity search is, almost as if it was meant to happen, the theme that truly dominates the movie. This quest results in a fantasy of ideal virility, which causes physical desire for this virility as well as hatred for this desire. The filmmaker uses certain visual and audio elements in a metaphorical way to highlight this masculine desire burdened by repressed urges (penetrating blades, leather, weight bars, police hats, gay porno magazines, river water, obsessive voices and nursery rhymes). He also brings in the memory of paternal castrating authority, something both Burns and the killer are trapped in: “You know what you have to do”, uttered by the killer’s father, sounds like a “Man up!” aimed at all the movie’s characters.

William Friedkin also takes us into late night leather bars where the hero is submerged by so many contradicting impressions that he ends up not knowing where to situate his desire. One of the movie’s great strengths is to give us hardcore scenes in a very realistic manner to make us feel Burn’s disorientation. Although most of these scenes were cut to avoid the movie being rated X (the extras are real patrons of the bar!), they fascinate and considerably speed up the feeling of alteration experienced by Burns. Without the cuts imposed by the MPAA, Cruising would send us into orbit because William Friedkin is careful to confuse things throughout the movie by showing us different men’s faces as being the killer’s face (the movie’s first killer plays the part of the second victim while the first victim plays the part of the killer in the porn movie theater, etc.)…

If William Friedkin wanted to show that the dark side of an individual remains a mystery for others, the problems owing to Al Pacino’s performance probably pushed him to dig a bit deeper. The choice of Al Pacino, described by some as a casting mistake, is quite unfortunate since the acting (using only the range of surprise) is dull and linear… William Friedkin himself says in his memoir (a memoir I will discuss at length in a later article) that when Al Pacino came on set he didn’t know what he was supposed to do and hadn’t learned his lines. The actor’s excuse was his wanting to recreate his character’s surprise on discovering the world of S&M. In actual fact, we feel a lack of implication in his acting, as though he were disembodied, except for two action scenes that create a discrepancy. One can only regret that Richard Gere, the magnificent Julian Kay in American Gigolo (released the same year), didn’t play the ambiguous part of Burns. He was the filmmaker’s initial choice and possessed all the finesse and ambivalence necessary for playing the role.

True to his lifelong vision between uncompromising Manichaeism and skepticism, but also probably because of the lack of ambiguity and evolution Pacino brought to his character, even though he gradually becomes aware of his true personality, the filmmaker took some basic measures while editing. Choosing to suggest that Burns might be either the killer or his copycat, William Friedkin once again gives us a razor-edged story with a strong theme about the ambivalence of the human soul: From a mixed-up young cop trying to find his way, Steve Burns becomes a young cop adrift and a potential murderer!

Just like Burns, who has become not only a mystery for others but for himself as well, the viewer then becomes free to wonder about his own dark side as well as that of others…

“There is a lot about me you don’t know”, Burns says to his girlfriend at the beginning of the movie… Even though Burns knows himself a bit better, he’s still not out of the woods; his dark side is a dishonorable mystery to him. A mystery he’s going to hide in order to move on, just as the movie’s penultimate scene suggests when Burns looks at himself in the mirror before turning around and staring at the camera while his girlfriend puts on his punk leather “uniform”…

Emilie Flory

English translation by Cameron Watson.