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WiHM: 5 Classic Horror Movies Co-Written by Women

Published

5 years ago

February 18, 2019

We love seeing female screenwriters working in horror. Films like Cam and Ginger Snaps were beautifully woven by women who brought their experiences and insight into their work, and there are several incredible female directors who play double-duty as screenwriter.

But we rarely see recognition for the female co-writers who worked behind the scenes to flesh out the scripts of classic horror films. These women are often overshadowed, but they deserve every bit of recognition for their efforts.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate these women and their excellent work.

Halloween (1978)

Of course, everyone knows that the late, great Debra Hill was instrumental to John Carpenter’s oeuvre. Hill served as a producer on dozens of films (including Clue and The Dead Zone), but she also worked with Carpenter to co-write Halloween, Halloween II, The Fog, and Escape From L.A.

Halloween was such a wild success that it spawned several sequels and reboots, qualifying it as one of the most popular franchises in the horror genre.

King Kong (1933)

In 1926, Ruth Rose was working as the official historian on a New York Zoological Society expedition to the Galapagos Islands. She went on to co-write the epic, iconic feature starring the great Fay Wray and a giant ape.

Two writers had initially worked on the script; one – Edgar Wallace – died before he was able to make any significant changes. The other, James Ashmore Creelman, wrote a script that was supposedly bogged down by slow pacing and flowery dialogue.

Rose was given the script to rework it; she cut out long, unimportant scenes to make the film more fast-paced, tweaked the characters, and can be credited with writing such memorable lines as “Oh, no. It wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast”.

Suspiria (1977)

Dario Argento’s eye candy classic was co-written with actress Daria Nicolodi (Shock, Tenebre, Deep Red). She’s said that the film – which was her first screenwriting credit – was something that she wrote for her partner, Argento.

In an interview with GoreZone Magazine UK, Nicolodi shared that Suspiria was inspired by a story her grandmother told her about her experience at an acting academy — she discovered that the staff were “teaching arts, but also black magic”.

Dead Alive (1992)

This classic Kiwi splatter-gorefest had a great team behind the screams. Dead Alive (aka Braindead) was co-written by Stephen Sinclair, Peter Jackson, and his Oscar-winning long-term partner, Fran Walsh.

Walsh has collaborated with Jackson on all of his scripts and also wrote some of the original music for The Lord of the Rings (for which she won a “Best Original Song” Oscar to go along with her “Best Adapted Screenplay” and “Best Picture” wins).

Blacula (1972)

Joan Torres co-wrote the Saturn award-winning Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream with Raymond Koenig. As noted in Shudder’s Horror Noire documentary, Blacula is one of the most iconic Blaxploitation films of the 70s; it also holds the honor of being one of the highest-grossing films of 1972.

At its initial release, critics praised the fast-paced and genuinely chilling script by Torres and Koenig that deftly touched on topics of slave trade and racism. Blacula has a strong, trailblazing place in Black Horror history and in the hearts of genre fans.

Honorable mention: The Birds (1963)

Though the screenplay itself was written by Evan Hunter, Hitchcock’s classic avian horror was based on a novella by Daphne Du Maurier (her stories also inspired Rebecca and Don’t Look Now). We all know about the brilliant literary minds of Anne Rice, Shirley Jackson, and Mary Shelley, but Du Maurier rarely gets credited for crafting such a terrible tale of terror.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

12 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

13 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.