Finally my next review/commentary, its been a while. I’ve  been sick, but I’m doing better Then I went on a  West Coast trip and now I’m home!! So here goes, this is gonna be a little different , more of a commentary for a project that I have found to be really cool , and something I am glad to know is out there and informative!

Bloody Breasts: Women in Horror
Directed by Maude Michaud
Starring -Shannon Lark ,Reyna Young , Elisabeth Fies and more-
2010 and 2011 -ongoing
Episodes 1-3
Article by: John Ginder
Rate 10 / 10 (due to importance of the issue and relativity to today’s horror scene)
http://www.bloodybreasts-documentary.tk/

I love horror. I know a lot about the old school stuff, and I’m learning a lot about newer films, stars, directors and issues in the horror community. NO community is perfect. Not  film, music, the one you live in, none are! We all have our issues and our preconceived ideas , our “stereotypical” way of thinking ,which was really brought to light in  the Scream series . One issue in our horror community that a lot may not even realize exists,  is the way women have been “not encouraged” to step up and take the reigns and do it for themselves. To sit in the directors chair, write the screenplays, edit their films etc… Not to say the men in the genre have been worse than other genres or have intentionally held women back, its just a way that perhaps society has looked upon the genre. I never knew the extent that some women were into the films I like also, like gory gory ones. The horizon is changing , the women are grabbing the reigns, they are “coming out” of the closet of horror fandom to become directors and writers etc… This is what the little series that Miss Michaud has boldly tackled and brought out , and with the mighty army of  some incredible ladies of horror.

First off Shannon Lark, the starter of the Viscera Film festival , the lovely Reyna Young , and the genre crossing Elisabeth Fies. Many more give their insights on this whole issue, and their views on how it is working. The tell their story on how they got into horror. Too bad I didn’t know of ladies like these when I was a kid. When me and my guy friends would get together and watch horror films , it would have been a blast!

This is foremost about the horror shorts from women in horror. Which means more about Maude is a must! Maude has taken time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for me in regards to this relevant issue. So I have included some of the dialogue from her to help see her point on the relevance.

John: What in the genre, did you see or feel , or sense, that grabbed you so deeply, to do Bloody Breasts?  Why that issue, and why now ?

Maude: “All my life I’ve had people question my career-choice and my interest for horror. I learned to deal with it and answer in a way that makes sense to an outsider. Then, I started studying film and media studies, reading a lot of academic texts and having to academically defend my work, which I thought would be fairly easy until I had to answer to comments from classmates saying that I was the embodiment of everything that was wrong with women today. Ouch. That was a tough one to swallow, especially since their judgment was mostly based on the misunderstanding that a woman could enjoy watching a horror film. I like to think of myself as a egalitarian and I never felt that wanting to work as a woman in horror was diminishing in any way. But I must admit that, at first, I wondered if I was wrong and started seeking fellow women horror filmmakers. I was so amazed by the great women I met locally and virtually that it became obvious that I had to get this project started, so that collectively we could speak up and say ‘it’s enough’ to all these gendered, pre-conceived notions.

As for timing, it couldn’t be better as halfway through the shooting, the first Women in Horror month happened, which just made the timing even better!”

This awesome statement brought about many thoughts to me. Have some women always been into horror and now it is “safe” to come out into the world of  horror geeks? Or have we simply ignored what they have been saying that all along? What brings some of these gals to the point of screaming at top of their lungs ”I LOVE HORROR!” now ?

I find within my thoughts what an interesting twist the ladies will bring to our world of horror, the world of the God awful remake trend we are in. Have we wore out the genre to the point that now we must show more and more to make it something new. The gorier the better, the more violent the better, the more disturbing the better, just to make a new horror movie. My fear is that if we don’t embrace some kind of change in the genre, we will become desensitized to real violence, and real tragedy. Granted most of us can watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and get grossed out, but if a real tragedy would occur, it still make us squeamish and hits our heart to the core. What if horror could change because of these women and their perspectives on the genre. Would the idea of the kill become fresh again, or are we over that line so far by our male instincts , the primitive drive for power and dominance is in a place of no return?  Will the only way we can be freaked out still is if a person is really killed on the screen before us?? I say bring on your ideas gals. C’mon girls. Write them , direct them, give us your imagination, and scare the shit out of us!