Nothing makes a great horror film like a strong, powerful lady, and this genre is ripe with unbelievable female characters who fight, strike, and often kill the slashers and monsters who relentlessly pursue them. And while people may often think of the women in horror as the victims, one classic slasher franchise gave that notion a sex change operation (so to speak) and reminded us that not all ladies in horror are exactly what they seem. After all, the 80s was the decade of the slasher and no lady-killer had a higher body count than Angela Baker, the Angel of Death, in the classic “Sleepaway Camp” films.

There are plenty of things to love about these four slasher gems, and each film has its fair share of gore and surprises. But the real reason that the “Sleepaway Camp” series is a favorite amongst genre enthusiasts is the loveable, hilarious and oddly innocent nature of our female killer Angela.

The role was originated by now cult horror favorite Felissa Rose, and I think it’s fair to say that she owes her career in horror to “Sleepaway Camp.” Her performance in the original film is excellent, luring us in with her doe eyes and gaining sympathy of the audience as the story unfolds. The most impressive part of her performance is the fact that she was only in her early teens during filming – an age that is rarely seen in horror movie actresses nowadays.

In “Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers” and “Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland,” the character of Angela is played by Pamela Springsteen, who really brings it to the next level of wackiness and honesty. This may be an unpopular opinion, but “Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers” has some of the finest acting that I’ve ever seen in a horror film, lead by Springsteen as the delightful and ruthless Angela Baker. Her performance is incredibly believable, and while there are plenty of corny one-liners, they certainly don’t detract from the humanity she brings to the character…right before she chooses you for death, of course.

Which brings me to the kills. I’ve got nothing but love for Jason, Leatherface and the like, but Angela Baker definitely pulled her weight in a decade that was otherwise ruled by the men in masks (and fedoras). And the body count wasn’t the only thing that she brings to the table, but the method of execution with Angela is always surprising and it’s never pretty for the victims. Sure, she’s slashed her fair share with the knife and axe, but how about the boiling water? The kitchen cleaner? The outhouse…Angela Baker doesn’t mess around when it comes to brutal murder, that’s for damn sure, and why would we have it any other way?

There are so many amazing women in horror, and Angela Baker is no exception. There’s something to be admired about a woman who is not afraid to slash in this genre, and I couldn’t possibly recommend this series to anyone who hasn’t seen it. After all, Angela Baker is not just a woman in horror, she’s THE woman of horror!

–Hunter Johnson

When it comes to Women in Horror, I cannot think of a single blogstar extraordinaire who has left more of an impact on me than the one and only Stacie Ponder. One of the wittiest writers talking about horror today, her blog Final Girl is a tribute to anything and everything we all love about the subgenre of horror we all know and love: SLASHERS.

I’ve been following Final Girl and Stacie Ponder for a few years know (I hope that doesn’t come off as creepy as it sounds) and I truly cherish every new review or write up she contributes to the site (even if, sadly, new updates have been rare as of lately). Her biting sarcasm and all around playfully campy tone makes me giggle like no other. Not only has Ponder proven herself as an exceptional writer, she’s also a damn good filmmaker as well. Her vampire Barbie doll short film “Taste of Flesh, Taste of Fear” is a campy delight that had me hollowing with laughter. Her first feature, “Ludlow,” was a brave and complex tale that shows just what kind of power a great indie film can have.

Three years ago Ponder teamed up with the equally hilarious Heidi Honeycutt to form the most entertaining podcast currently available online: “The Scare-Ening.” Each episode is filled with witty one-liners, great celebrity guests (Bree Grant, Joe Bob Briggs, Heather Langenkamp…the list goes on and on), and some fantastic insight on what it is like to work in indie horror today. Ponder is also an extraordinary artist and her comic “Slashers 101” holds as special place in my heart as it combines her love of the genre with her love of comics. It really is something outstanding. So good that I would frame it but, how could I look at it and show it off to friends?

So let’s her it for the ubertalented Stacie Ponder! The world of horror and the world of slashers is a better place because she is a part of it.

To check out Stacie’s blog: Final Girl
To check out The Scare-Ening podcast: The Scare-Ening
Stacie’s comics and much more: Stacie Ponder Art

PERSONAL QUOTES

“I’m always the one who gets killed. And I want it to be really gory. Body parts all over the place. Mangled!”

“Horror films are where women can shine and have a chance to lead. They always save the day in these films.”

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

Sarah Michelle Gellar was born on April 14, 1977 in New York City. Her career in horror movies began in October 17, 1997 when the hit slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters. The film grossed a worldwide total of $125,586,134. Sarah played the role of Helen Shivers. A beautiful girl who plans on moving to New York to become a serious actress. That night her and her friends get into a car accident. Hitting a man who is standing in the middle of the road on the 4th of July. She agrees to dump the body into the sea. At first, she disagrees of dumping the remains, but later agrees because she is afraid of losing her trip to New York. One year after the incident, Helen’s trip to New York failed, thus she had no choice but to work for her sister’s department store. The friends begin to receive threats and start to wonder if the man they left for dead wasn’t really dead after all. Sarah gets some great scenes in the movie. While she is sleeping, the killer cuts Helen’s hair off and leaves the threat “SOON” on her mirror. This is where we hear that Sarah has a killer scream. Even after being threatened, she still participates in the Croaker Parade, where she sees the killer threatening her with his hook. At the pageant, while a contestant is singing, she sees the killer attack and murder her boyfriend Barry. She screams and tries to get help, but no one believes her. Later she is escorted by a policeman. Then the fisherman lures the policeman in an alley and kills him. This is when one the best chase scenes I have ever seen in a movie happens. Helen then escapes and runs to where her sister is working. Not long after her sister is killed. Leaving Helen alone with the killer inside the store where Sarah brilliantly walks around with the most terrified look on her face. This girl can really play scared. Sarah is attacked and continues to run through the store. She jumps out of a window from the second story and runs toward the parade. Just as we think Helen is going to survive. Which we are all rooting for. She makes the dumbest horror cliche move of turning around after hearing a noise coming from behind her. She turns back around and the killer is in front of her pushing her into a pile of tires. She continues to fight but is stabbed to death by his hook. No one could hear her screams because of the parade. I find it rare to root for characters to live in horror movies, but Sarah manages to play such a likable character that you want her to survive.

SCREAM 2

“Movies are not responsible for our actions.”

After her amazing performance in I Know What You Did Last Summer she snagged the role of CiCi Cooper in Scream 2. Another successful slasher film. Making a Worldwide total of$172,363,301. Which opened the same year on December 12, 1997. Sarah once again gives a strong performance. Casey “Cici” Cooper is a film student at Windsor College who is murdered by Ghostface in Scream 2 as part of copying the Woodsboro murders from the first film. Sarah gets in my opinion one of the best scenes of the film. She is talking on the phone with her friend when Ghostface calls her. Her other sorority sisters are out partying leaving CiCi all alone. Ghostface stalks CiCi and eventually attacks her. Leaving Sarah to have another brilliant chase scene in a horror movie. She runs up the stairs instead of running out the front door and continues to run until she is in the attic. Ghostface grabs her and throws her through the window and then stabs her in the back before throwing her off of the balcony. Sarah gives out another great scream as she falls to her death. Sarah is only in two scenes and in the background of another but she manages to make such an impression on the film by once again playing a likable character that you can actually root for to live.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

“It’s my first day! I was afraid that I was gonna be behind in all my classes, that I wouldn’t make any friends, that I would have last month’s hair. I didn’t think there’d be vampires on campus.”

Sarah isn’t just known for her horror films. She is also a scream queen of televison. Playing the role of Buffy Summers. A bubbly teenager who finds out that she is the Chosen One to protect the world from demons, vampires and whatever else could be thrown at the world. On March 10, 1997 a pilot for Buffy the Vampire slayer premiered on the WB. With the ratings of 3.4. It received largely positive reviews from critics. The show was sure to be a hit for the WB. A hit it was. Running for 7 seasons. Ending May 20, 2003. Sarah’s role of Buffy was inspiring and strong. It was fun to watch a girl kick so much ass.

THE GRUDGE

“The whole time I was in that house. I felt something was wrong…”

Sarah is also known highly for her work in The Grudge. A remake of a Japanese horror film. The film hit theaters October 22, 2004. The film grossed worldwide $187,281,115. Sarah stars as Karen Davis. An American social worker who moves with her boyfriend to Tokyo. After the first caretaker Yoko does not show up at work she volunteers to take care of Emma Williams. An elderly woman who is living in the house that is cursed which causes her to fall victim. When the curse starts claiming the people around her she starts investigating the origin of the curse. She decides to head back to the house to keep her boyfriend Doug from falling to the grudge, but fails. Karen then tries to stop the curse by burning down the house, but this instead releases the curse. She is the only survivor. Sarah returns for the Grudge 2 but is killed off in the opening which left fans devastated and disappointed.

Sarah has had a successful and tremendous career in horror and I hope it continues on. She will always be one of my favorite Scream Queens.

–Timothy James King

In all actuality, my chosen “Woman of Horror” has only technically been a woman for a little more than 3 years now. And even though she hasn’t done a slasher film (yet), her films are highly infused with elements from the horror genre. Emily Hagins first came to my attention when I stumbled upon a charming documentary entitled Zombie Girl: The Movie while surfing through Instant Streaming titles on Netflix a few years back.

I was immediately hooked by the premise of the film, which chronicles a 12-year-old girl experiencing the ups and downs of making a feature-length zombie film. Yes, you read that correctly. She was 12-years-old at the time. In the 365 days I spent being 12, I didn’t do a damn thing other than pick my nose, ride my bike and play SEGA Genesis and here’s Emily Hagins writing, producing, directing and editing a feature-length movie.

The documentary itself was extremely entertaining as it introduced me to this ambitious little kid who spends the better part of two years making a zombie flick entitled Pathogen. With tons of help from her extremely supportive mother, Emily tries to stay focused on seeing the film through to the end despite endless setbacks and an inability to fully understand the determination and responsibility one needs to accomplish such an endeavor (remember, she was only 12). After it was finished, I found myself overwhelmed with an odd sense of inspiration from this little girl and decided to keep tabs on her as she continued her pursuit of becoming a legitimate filmmaker.

Known as “The Movie Girl” since the 2nd grade among her fellow students, Emily credits Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as the film that made her want to make movies herself, but it was the 2003 Australian zombie film Undead that made her realize her love for the horror genre and motivated her to start writing her own aforementioned zombie movie.

Pathogen wasn’t completed until Emily was 14 years old, making the entire process a two-year ordeal. Even though she has publicly stated that she isn’t entirely happy with the end result, she is still proud of the film and looks back on it as a wonderful learning experience. Not three years later, a 17-year-old Emily started production on her second feature, a supernatural thriller titled The Retelling. The film was intended to be much darker than Pathogen and absent of any comedic elements.

Now, I haven’t seen this film yet, mostly because Emily refuses to let anyone see it outside of the cast and crew. I’m not entirely sure why either, the trailer is available to watch on YouTube and even though there are amateurish qualities present, it looks like a vast improvement from her directing work on Pathogen. Nonetheless, she has placed the film “on the shelf indefinitely.” Her choice as a filmmaker, I guess.

Two years after The Retelling, a determined Emily set forth to direct her third feature, which would go on to become her most well-known film to date. My Sucky Teen Romance was a lighthearted spoof on the Twilight films and told the story of a young high school girl and her friends being stalked by a pretty-boy vampire during a horror convention. The film was far from perfect but still charming enough to make for an entertaining watch. It received a buzz-worthy premiere at the renowned SXSW Film Festival in Emily’s hometown of Austin, TX, with critical reception being somewhat mixed. You can currently view the film on Netflix Instant Streaming and gather an opinion for yourself if you’d like.

For her latest film, Emily moved away from the horror genre and instead focused on what we all can agree is the next best thing: Halloween. Grow Up, Tony Phillips tells the story of a teenage boy unwilling to give up his love for trick-r-treating. The film stars horror’s new leading man A.J. Bowen and, from what I can tell by the trailer, appears to be Emily’s most polished work to date. Again, the film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival this past fall to mostly positive reviews with a VOD/DVD release planned for October 2014. Personally, I can’t wait to see the film as the Halloween subject matter hits pretty close to home.

So, at the age of 21, Emily has been making movies for the better part of nine years already with four features under her belt, a feat I find incredibly impressive. She has opted out of attending any type of film school and instead has chosen to keep writing her own material and getting movies made herself (with the help of her LA-based agent, of course).

Do I think Emily Hagins is a great filmmaker? No, at least not yet. But there’s no denying that her skills have vastly improved with each film she has made and I’m certain that her determination and willingness to succeed will one day get her there. Wherever her career ends up, I think it’s safe to say that her overwhelming passion to pursue her dream makes Emily one of the most inspiring writer/directors out there, regardless of her gender.

–Adam Krause

When I found out Slasher Studios were doing a Women in Horror Month, I had to chime in. I had to hit up my favorite series of movies, Nightmare On Elm Street. But, even that is difficult, because the Nightmare series is just cluttered with final girl awesome-ness. I mean between Heather Langenkamp (Nancy) and Lisa Wilcox (Alice) there’s plenty to appreciate right there. But I had to go with my favorite film in the series, (and most hated, for reasons I just don’t get.) Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge,and Miss Kim Myers.

Now, unlike some of the (great) women in the Women in Horror Month series, Kim was the “Final Girl” along with the “Final Boy” Mark Patton (Jesse), i believe she played a character that would normally be the male 2nd lead in most films. Lisa (Kim), brought a strength mixed with understanding as the counterpart to the main character, Jesse. She fought for him when the going got tough,(cue awesome 80s montage!) and gave Jesse the strength to fight for himself like some sexy version of a head coach of a football team “FIGHT HIM, JESSE!” Sometimes the girlfriends in horror movies have 2 possible outcomes, either they are the “lead” and therefore, end up beating the odds in the end and standing victorious over the “horrors” they endured… or they are killed off fairly quickly, (and usually half naked, and bloody) Lisa was neither, she was a character who had to be a strong “Final Girl” without getting the props and respect most Final Girls get. She was/is beautiful and strong and really lights up the screen with her smile, but also impresses with her ass kicking abilities.

She stands up to the monster when Jesse couldn’t. She looks into the face of adversity, and sees the damage done to her friends at her party, and still doesn’t shake. She still goes to the boiler room knowing full well what the consequences were. She could of hid with her parents at her house, but she didnt. She could of let her father shoot Freddy/Jesse and save the day (maybe). But she didn’t, she knew what had to be done, and why.

Love conquers all in this film, even the bastard son of a 100 maniacs, Freddy Krueger. For anyone who writes this film off because it’s “gay” or “not as good as the rest of the series” i implore you to give it one more chance, if not for the amazing performances by Mark Patton, Clu Gulager, Robert Rusler,Hope Lange or Marshall Bell, then watch it once more and pay close attention to Kim Myers, you may find yourself rooting for this beautiful actress and feeling your opinion on the film slowly change.