No Women Movie Monsters?

It’s ghost and goblin time again, and I’m trying to do my part. I sat through the entire showing of the 1941 horror classic, The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney and Claude Rains last week. Chaney is a great tragic wolf man, and his demise at the end is wrenching, but the movie reminded me that there is something to be said for today’s makeup and special effects. The wolf man’s facial hair is a crucial prop, so it probably shouldn’t bring Tina Turner wigs to mind. But that’s a tiny quibble. Otherwise, I had a wonderful, nostalgic time watching the movie. I’m also reading a really good vampire mystery, Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, which was recommended by members of my Yahoo group.

Naturally, at this time of year, horror movies are running nonstop in theaters and on television, but when I tried to come up with a list of my all-time favorite scary movies, it struck me that we have no classic women movie monsters. The only one I could think of was Bride of Frankenstein, and she would never have made the marquee if it hadn’t been for Frankenstein, himself. That doesn’t seem right, does it? For years we named hurricanes and other natural disasters exclusively after women. Why don’t we have any really great women ghouls?

I’m really curious about this. There were two brides of Frankenstein, Elsa Lanchester in the original and Madeleine Kahn in the mostly comic remake by Mel Brooks, titled Young Frankenstein. Both were terrific, IMO, but I wouldn’t necessarily put them up against Frankenstein, Dracula or the Wolf Man. The more recent Witches of Eastwick also came to mind. It was a great movie, featuring Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher as modern witches, but it was more campy than scary and obviously not intended for the horror genre.

For me, the most memorable witches were the ones in Sleeping Beauty and The Wizard of Oz. I saw both movies as a child, and the spidery countenance of the evil Maleficent will forever be burned in my psyche. She was a sorceress to be reckoned with. Her dragon turn when she came up against the prince was pretty magnificent.

I first saw The Wizard of Oz on television, which may have diluted the fearsomeness a bit, but I will never forget Margaret Hamilton’s crooked nose, spiny fingers, scratchy voice and fiendish skill with a broomstick. She was no slouch in the witch department, and that alone makes her memorable. For me, she outclassed the wizard.

I became curious enough to do some research on this subject, although it was limited because I’m still traveling and on dial-up. But I did discover a few movies that featured women in, shall we say, monstrous ways. One title was Cobra Woman, also staring Lon Chaney, but not in the title role, which would have been really interesting, now that I think about it. Another title of a more recent film was Vampyros Lesbos. I would love to have known more about that one, but I couldn’t bring up a synopsis. I also found The Living Dead Girl, and of course, Carrie.

Carrie may not be old enough to be considered a classic, but perhaps it will be in time. I hope so. The movie is a sentimental favorite of mine, possibly because I endured some bullying as a kid, and I can remember wishing I could do some of the things Carrie does in her avenging angel scenes. I loved it when she used her telekinetic powers to waylay one of the bullies without even touching him. One minute he was upright, the next he was on his behind. Hm, are we suppose to root for the monsters?

For sheer numbers, you really can’t compare the women who’ve been memorialized in celluloid to the list of legendary male movie monsters. I’ve already mentioned Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolf Man. The list would also have to include Phantom of the Opera, Nosferatu, the Vampire, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, and probably many more. Oops I almost forgot Swamp Thing. Can’t have that. I discovered the movie only a few years ago, but it actually has a tragic monster worthy of some of the classics, IMHO. It might even make my Top Ten.

I wish I could remember the name of my favorite horror movie from my youth, although it didn’t involve a classic monster as much as it did a haunted house. My friends and I went to the movies every Saturday without fail, and I do recall that this particular movie had the words House and Hill in the title. I thought it might have been Haunted House on the Hill, the Vincent Price classic, but after reading a synopsis of the movie, I don’t think so. I seem to remember seeing Haunted House on the Hill on TV, and it wasn’t the movie that sent us under our theater seats, cowering in fear. Maybe it’s enough that my friends and I were pleasantly terrified, and on the long walk home, all feverishly agreed that it was the scariest movie we’d ever seen.

I’m not a student of classic horror films, and I may well have overlooked some women ghouls of great note, but I think I’m pretty safe in saying that the scale is heavily weighted toward the guys. That said, however, I don't know whether the women of the world should start protesting the lack of female movie monsters or be happy that filmmakers aren't thinking of us in that way. It could also be that filmmakers aren't thinking of us at all, to which I say BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Suz