Almost coincident with the launch of Rue Morgue
light is a force to be reckoned with. It features an ex- tremely passive main character whose existence re- volves around her creepy-in-all-the-wrong-ways vampire boyfriend, and has been heavily criticized as a step back for women both in and out of the genre. In addition, Hollywood’s current predilection for
big-budget horror remakes is hardly fertile ground for the development of captivating and original female characters. Paul Solet, director of the maternal- themed undead baby movie Grace (2009), sees this trend as a failure of creativity, pure and simple. “In the genre, filmmakers, or perhaps producers,
seem to be under the impression that their job is to provide titillation, to create an exclusively visceral ex- perience,” he says. “So attentio n to character and story falls by the wayside, and the focus falls, instead, on working from the flesh in. The results are the usual quick fixes: more blood, and exploitation of the fe- male form.” But with the increase in readily available filmmak-
ing technology over the past decade, more women have had the chance to get behind the camera. Heidi Martinuzzi, founder and editor of
pretty-scary.net, feels that female filmmakers bring a different per- spective to the genre. “Women’s horror usually deals with psychological
and complicated family issues, and often draws on aspects of the surreal and avant-garde to express them,” she says. However, she also points out that the difference in the way male and female directors are represented at most horror conventions is typical of how they’re generally treated by the media and by fans. “You’ll see George Romero, Clive Barker, Adam
Green, Wes Craven, etc. invited as guests and celebri- ties. The fans want their autograph. But you’ll never see a female horror director invited as a guest.” When Katherine Bigelow – director of Near Dark
(1987) – made history earlier this year as the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director, for many, there was a sense that it was too little progress, too late. But women continue to stake their claim to hor- ror by writing, directing, performing and blogging; consequently, as Solet observes, “It’s from these ranks that the next generation of filmmakers will come. My hope is that many of these budding fangirls will blossom into an exponentially more passionate new breed of genre filmmakers.”
FEBRUARY 12, 2000 Original macabre shock rocker Screamin’ Jay Hawkins dies at age 70.
R 32M
AUGUST 20, 2000 Skinny Puppy reunites for a concert at the Doomsday Festival in Dresden, Ger- many.
was the introduction of the DVD format in North America. At the time, VHS was the dominant home video platform. By no means was it the best, Super VHS and LaserDisc offered superior audio and video quality, but the players and media were so prohibi- tively expensive that neither was widely adopted by consumers. DVD, essentially an extension of and an improvement on the LaserDisc, marked the begin- ning of a sea change in the presentation of genre films. They were now uncut, in their original theatri- cal aspect ratio, and augmented by bonus material.
“The LaserDisc format really woke people up to the possibili-
ties of better home video presentations,” says Don May, Jr., the mastermind behind acclaimed restorations of genre classics Night of the Living Dead (1968) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) during his time with LaserDisc label Elite Entertainment. “Better resolution, better sound and the ability to do supplemen- tal features like commentaries; LaserDisc was the reason I got into this industry. I was a collector and I was fascinated by the technology that presented my favourite films in such a great way.” May left Elite to concentrate on DVD with Synapse Films in
1998, releasing superlative editions of everything from fan favourites such as Street Trash (1987) and Brain Damage (1988) to notorious Japanese splatter epics, including Entrails of a Virgin (1987) and Evil Dead Trap (1988), at consumer-friendly prices. “In the early days, VHS tapes were almost $100 retail, as well as some of the fancier LaserDisc titles,” he says. “I have always been a fan of horror films and used to import LDs from Japan that cost hundreds of dollars be- cause the quality was so much better. DVD was better quality and much cheaper. It was easier for us rabid horror and sci-fi fans to grab up our favourites in bet- ter versions. We no longer had to pay $200 for that LaserDisc of the Japanese Gates of Hell. We could now get it for $20! At that price point, with the wealth of ex- tras and space DVDs could pro- vide, DVD exploded.” Stephen Biro, who since 2001
has run Unearthed Films (Guinea Pig series, Frankenhooker and Aftermath), recalls, “Horror fans always wanted to see the uncut horror films. Back then, most people didn’t even know that a lot of horror films were cut when they rented them from their local video store. I saw the opportunity
DECEMBER 10, 2000 Battle Royale tackles the last great Western cinematic taboo – the entertaining massacre of children.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 World Trade Center towers fall to terrorism; horror flicks thereafter display brutality not seen since the ’70s.
to get into the business and give the horror fans exactly what they wanted: uncut gore films.” Part of the enormous appeal of the DVD for-
mat has been the value-added component of supplemental material in the form of com- mentary tracks, production featurettes and in- terviews, so much so that the quality or lack thereof of the extra material on a disc be- comes more important than the presentation of the feature itself. However, the market has become so saturated with product that smaller horror labels can’t get retail shelf space. Now, the high-definition format war that has given us Blu-ray and left consumers weary and wary. Compound this with the cur- rent economic climate and the predicted death of physical media and it seems bells are tolling. Michael Felsher, the man behind Red Shirt Pictures, which has produced bonus ma- terials for such DVD releases as The Burning (1981), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and The Monster Squad (1987), isn’t optimistic that fans can expect to see such special editions in the future. “There certainly has been a change in some
studios’ attitude towards the amount of special features on certain titles,” he explains. “In fact, I’d go so far to say that certain titles I worked on only a couple of years ago would not even be considered for release now. ... My prediction is that the market for physical media will become more and more niche and will ultimately service the collectors more than anyone else.” The future of home video is uncertain at best
and grim at worst, agrees May. “I know what I’m about to say may seem
crazy, but I feel that, within the next year or so, the studios may drop DVD all together. Blu-ray is struggling to find its hold and the studios want it to succeed for a number of reasons. It’s harder to copy and upload to the ’net. With the new 3- D systems coming in, I don’t think the studios want to deal with three different physical formats for their films – DVD, Blu-ray, 3-D Blu-ray. ... All that will need to happen is for one or two stu- dios to call DVD quits and the entire home video industry will shift.” Although horror fans are known to be rabid
collectors, Biro laments that the era of small la- bels digging up gems and releasing them as col- lectible special editions is ending. “I release a film that no one has ever seen
and the next day it’s available on 50 different sites. I like to have a library, and people love to collect, but the generation that is coming up be- hind us doesn’t have that mentality. They expect everything to be free.”
APRIL 11, 2003 Rob Zombie releases his first feature effort, House of 1000 Corpses.
OCTOBER 2003 Image Comics introduces The Walking Dead. More zombie comic mayhem to come.
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