Connect with us

News

WiHM: 5 Classic Horror Movies Co-Written by Women

Published

on

WiHM female writers

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)

via IMDb

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)

via RKO

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)

via IMDb

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)

via IMDb

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)

via IMDb

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)

via American Cinematheque

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.

Related:
Women in Horror Month: 6 Real Life Lessons From Horror’s Finest Final Girls
Women in Horror Month: Why Do We Love Horror?

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Childhood Memories Collide in New Horror Film ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble’

Published

on

It looks like ITN Studious and Jagged Edge Productions are going the Avengers: Infinity War route with their upcoming film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. From the deranged mind of Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey) comes this belligerent mash up of beloved childhood icons.

According to an article out of Variety today, Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will consist of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Tigger, Piglet, The Mad Hatter, and Sleeping Beauty. All of these iconic figured will be warped into nightmarish versions of their former selves. Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is set to be released upon the world sometime in 2025.

Poohniverse

Actor-producer Scott Chambers (Malevolent) had the following to say about Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. “As horror fans, we would love an Avengers that is all villains. It’d have Freddy Krueger, Jason, ‘Halloween,’ ‘Scream,’ all of those. Obviously that will never happen, but we can make it happen in our own little way, and that’s where this film has been born.”

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will be a part of The Twisted Childhood Universe. Just like the MCU, each character will first get a standalone film. After introductions are made, they will be reunited in an Avengers style film. Although they will be killing off the survivors from the previous films, they won’t be working together.

Chambers describes this as an “epic sequences of monster vs. monster.” And I don’t know what more fans could ask of the studio. This fantastical idea is a huge risk but Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble sounds amazing.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Check back here for more updates on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 below.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

News

Blumhouse’s ‘The Wolf Man’ Reboot Kicks Off Production with Leigh Whannell at the Helm

Published

on

Blumhouse Productions has officially commenced filming its reboot of the Universal Monsters legend, “Wolf Man”. Under the direction of Leigh Whannell, known for his acclaimed work on “The Invisible Man” (2020), the project promises to breathe new life into the iconic tale. The film is slated for a theatrical release on October 25th, marking a new chapter in the storied franchise.

Wolf Man

The journey of a “Wolf Man” reboot began in 2020 when actor Ryan Gosling presented a fresh take on the classic story to Universal. This concept quickly evolved into a screenplay crafted by the talented duo Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who are known for their work on “Orange Is the New Black,” alongside contributions from Whannell and Corbett Tuck. The narrative is set in contemporary times, drawing inspiration from the atmospheric tension of Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler,” albeit with a distinct supernatural twist.

The film has seen its share of directorial and casting shifts, with Whannell initially signing on to direct in 2020, only to step away and then return to the project after Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance exited. The lead roles have been filled by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, both of whom bring significant talent to the screen. Abbott portrays a man whose family faces the terror of a lethal predator, with Garner likely playing his wife, sharing in the familial peril. The storyline also hints at a daughter named Ginger, adding a layer of depth to the family’s harrowing experience.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott

This reboot represents a collaboration between Blumhouse and Motel Movies, with Jason Blum producing. Ryan Gosling remains involved as an executive producer, alongside Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell himself. The announcement of the film’s production start was made by Jason Blum, who shared an exciting glimpse of Whannell on set, signaling the beginning of what is hoped to be a memorable addition to the horror genre.

As the “Wolf Man” reboot moves forward, fans and newcomers alike are eager to see how this modern interpretation will pay homage to its roots while offering a fresh and thrilling experience. With a talented cast and crew at the helm, the film is poised to reintroduce the timeless tale of transformation and terror to a new generation.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Games

‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

Published

on

Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Horror Movie Reaction Video