Here we are at the fag end of Women in Horror Recognition Month, Gorepress’ lovely Sarah (can I say that without coming across as creepy please?) asked me to contribute a guest blog to the site on the topic and I have been completely blocked for several weeks. “We don’t like to tell people what to write” Sarah said breezily (okay, typed into FaceBook), which was very kind and generous, but really Sarah TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!! For a while I contemplated writing about pregnancy horror, but you would be surprised how many pregnancy horror films are actually all about men (thank you Sir. Ridley). Also writing about Xtro in this context seemed to be rather off message.

So, I decided to take a break from wracking my limited brains trying to the think of a subject to write about and watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead and BOOM! There it was.

When you have been a movie fan for as long as I have, and particularly a horror movie fan, several things strike you. Firstly how difficult it is to get through the night without having to pee at four in the morning, secondly, your knees creak, but more importantly you begin to notice certain names that have been constants in the films that you love for years. Of course we all have our favourite directors, actors, possibly writers. But few pay a lot of attention to producer credits except perhaps in the macho world of blockbuster action flicks, were the name Bruckheimer is more recognisable then the directors of his movies (M. Bay excepted). However, for almost as long as I can remember being a genre fan, a name has been cropping up with regularity. Some times on great films, sometimes on less great films, but almost always on Science Fiction or Horror films (and lately TV shows). And that is producer Gale Anne Hurd.

Like many producers Hurd came from an academic background in something vaguely financial (don’t let me down here Wikipedia) studying Economics in the late seventies before getting a job as an assistant to the legendary Roger Corman (seriously, is there anyone in American genre films who didn’t work for Corman back in the day?) Hurd grafted at New Line Pictures, working her way up to production positions. Eventually she earned a co-producer credit on something called Smokey Bites The Dust (1981). I’ve never seen it, but I have a pretty clear idea of what it’s about.

Now details are sketchy (read: I couldn’t find much from five minutes with Google) but it seems likely that it was during her time at New Line that Hurd will have met another young buck grafting his way through Corman’s ranks, one James Cameron. When Hurd formed her own production company Pacific Western Productions her first film with full producer and co-writer credit was a low-budget, hyper violent, Sci-fi shocker called The Terminator (1984) – you may have heard of it.

I first saw The Terminator when I was 14 on a school exchange trip to France. The French kid I was staying with, frustrated at our complete inability to communicate in two languages, dragged me to a French cinema. France laughs in the face of British classification (and elderberries) and had deemed The Terminator (a UK 18 certificate film at the time) suitable for children. And so I sat in the dark, watching Arn-holdt dubbed into French and came out knowing how to say “fuck you asshole” in French ”Vas te faire encule trou du cul.” I dunno if that’s right now, as I’ve forgotten how to say it, but that’s what Google translate just gave me.

Just how good The Terminator is as a story, and how visually that story is told, is shown by the fact that despite not being able to understand anyone in the film. I only got one story beat wrong. I thought Kyle Reese and John Connor were the same guy. Oops. Think about that for a minute, yeah, I’ve always been a little sick in the head.

Hurd’s next film was again with Cameron (also her future ex-husband) and not only was it their second hit in a row, but it was also one of the greatest sequels ever made, 1986’s Aliens. I saw this on opening night in a cinema in Aberdeen, and to this day I have never seen an audience react like it. Screaming, whimpering, popcorn flying everywhere, it was total bedlam.

Hurd would work with Cameron one more time 1989’s flawed but hugely ambitious The Abyss.

Hurd has 45 production credits on IMDb, and I have no intention of going through them all but here are the greatest hits, plus a bonus disc of B-sides and rarities:

Tremors (1990), Hurd exec produced what is I think the finest creature feature of the nineties. Directed by Ron Underwood (City Slickers), Tremors is a about the residents of a desert trailer park coming under attack by “goddamn underground monsters”. It is hugely entertaining, has a hilarious script, and fantastic idiot buddy heroes played by Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon. Through a stroke of terrible bad luck the film was released in the US just after a major earthquake in California and died a death. It is now regarded rightly as a cult classic.

Cast A Deadly Spell (1991) it is a shame that you have probably never heard of this fantastic TV movie directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale). Set in an alternate reality 40s LA, the wonderful Fred Ward stars as Detective Harry Phillip Lovecraft in a tale of dames, crime and magic. It’s really, really good and I urge you to seek it out.

The Waterdance (1992) a rare non genre film for Hurd. This sensitive and moving story of coping with sudden disability by Neil Jimenez (the writer of the essential River’s Edge) is a lost gem.

Raising Cain (1992), when your first marriage was to James Cameron, would your second be to Brian De Palma? No matter, Hurd produced this, a film that is beyond demented even by the less than subtle standards of De Palma. A crazed, twisted psycho-thriller in which John Lithgow delivers one of the most bonkers performances of all time.

The Relic (1997), a fun monster flick with a really cool creature.

Armageddon (1998), it’s big, it’s stupid, and I really like it and I don’t care what you think.

Punisher: War Zone (2008) produced by Hurd, directed by Lexi Alexander and loosely adapted from the Punisher Max comics by gifted Irish nut job Garth Ennis, this may be the most violent film ever made by women. It isn’t very good, but it is profanely OTT.

The Walking Dead (2010 onwards), male show runners have controversially come and gone but Hurd has been constant from the start of this ambitious attempt to bring a serious hardcore zombie series to US TV. TWD has had its ups and downs, the first series was too short and had a weak ending, the second too long and had a great ending, the third series has hit the sweet spot dead on so far.

There are a load of films I haven’t mentioned, including among the misses, two Hulk’s, Aeon Flux and Virus.

Like many good producers Gale Anne Hurd prefers to remain in the background, but her impressive career is a testament to hard work, persistence and great taste in projects.

So Gale Anne Hurd… producer, woman, Gooner (not necessarily in that order). We salute you.

In honor of this year’s annual Women in Horror month celebration, there are going to be countless articles published about the errors in the ways the horror genre has represented women over the years. While the injustices of female filmmakers are greatly apparent and consistently topical, the idea of sexism and degrading roles of women in the horror genre are perhaps the most talked about subjects. It is no secret that the gender bias within the horror genre is prevalent and it is infrequent for a female character to be anything other than a ‘stock character’. I may be disappointing my feminist allies everywhere, because I’m about to play devil’s advocate in a huge way.

The “Damsel In Distress” archetype is arguably the first character type for women in popular culture. It has without a doubt been cited as the biggest example of differential treatment of genders in literature, film, and works of art. “Damsels in Distress” are often scoffed at as perpetuating the stereotype that women are the weaker of the sexes and are rendered useless without the assistance of a man. The Damsel in Distress is the grandmother of other incredibly offensive female archetypes like the “princess in the castle,” “missing white woman syndrome,” “Daphne Blakes,” and most recently, “Bella Swans.” Despite their seemingly offensive and stereotypical portrayal of women in cinema, they may be quite possibly the most important stock character to happen to horror films.

Before I continue any further, let it be known that I firmly believe that women can be strong and independent members of society capable of taking care of themselves and making their own decisions. I do not believe women are prizes to be won. My ability to analyze a potentially counterproductive aspect of film criticism does not change my feminist viewpoints.

From the earliest examples of horror films, “Damsels in Distress” (or women in peril) were the only roles that actresses would play. From the beautiful Dea in The Man Who Laughs, to the kidnapped Madeline Parker in White Zombie, these women were often the sole conflict of horror films. Although these women were written as nothing more than beautiful prized possessions, it was their existence that propelled the story further than just introductory statements. Film theorist, Budd Boetticher, stated “what counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance.” To put it simply, without the simplistic nature of the “Damsel in Distress,” there would be no story. These female characters are absolutely vital to the storytelling.

Here’s the thing. Here is the thing that no one ever cares to admit: we care more about the well being of women than we do men. Don’t believe me? As Major West said in 28 Days Later… “Because women mean a future.” When there is a disaster or a terrible event occurring, people scream “women and children first” or violent criminals are more willing to spare them. This concept has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of women and children being weaker than adult males, this has everything to do with the fact that without women, there is no existence. Men cannot bare children, therefore, they cannot continue on the species. Women are the most important attribute to survival and therefore, are the most valuable creatures to mankind.

When we look at it historically, the reason that “Damsels in Distress” were popular are due to the fact that up until the last forty or so years, there wasn’t any insight to the female psyche. Women were seen as inferior beings and the “Damsel in Distress” is merely a product of its time. Yes, the “damsel in distress” still makes its appearance into films today, but the impact this character type made on horror far surpasses its offensive nature.

Without the “damsel in distress,” we wouldn’t have a character to be offended and angry towards. That may sound silly, but it’s true. If we weren’t so intensely offended by this archetype, we wouldn’t have rebelled and tried so hard to disprove it. Strangely enough, horror movies showcase some of the greatest female protagonists in film history regardless of genre. The rebellion against the damsel in distress introduced entirely new archetypes into the horror genre. Badass women like Alice in Resident Evil or the ladies in The Descent, intellectual anti-heroes like May, women who learned to use their gender against men like Ginger in Ginger Snaps, victims turned champions like Jennifer in I Spit On Your Grave, and brutal killers like Asami in Audition. All of these women (whether for the ‘good’ or ‘evil’) are the complete and utter opposite of a damsel in distress. While many of them do follow stereotypically sexist ideals (they’re all conventionally attractive and they’re ‘crazy bitches’) these women would not exist if it weren’t for the “damsel in distress.” In an attempt to create characters so opposite of the damsels audiences had become accustomed to, it forced storytellers and filmmakers to think outside the box and come up with different ways to explore the female character.

Witness: The Final Girl. The slasher film has arguably the biggest fanbase and brought more iconic characters to the horror world than any other subgenre. Although a bit formulaic at times, they all contain the all mighty Final Girl. Final girls are the virginal, usually brunette, woman who remains as the sole survivor of the slasher film for exemplifying intellect, morals, and strength. The Final Girl is the polar opposite of the damsel in distress and showcases one of the most radical ways to view female characters in the horror genre. Although it is nearly impossible for a filmmaker to write a totally non-offensive female character, the final girl is the closest thing we’re going to get. Hell, even Sidney survived in SCREAM after throwing her virginity to her mother’s killer. Female characters are evolving with every film, and it all goes back to the damsel in distress. Whether you choose to agree with me or not, damsels in distress were inadvertently the most important thing to happen to female characters in horror movies and potentially, all forms of cinema.