Representation Of Women

It has been proven that the majority of horror film audiences include a male audience, meaning that the roles of women within these films are extremely important. Traditionally, it could be argued that women are typically seen as the ‘damsels in distress’ in many horror films, and seemingly are looking to be saved, normally by the male hero in the piece. Though, nowadays, these stereotypes are being challenged, with various roles that women play within these films, including the heroin, the sinner and in some cases, the villain.

The film House of Wax displays the role of women in various ways; the first and arguably most prominent character is Paige Edwards, played by Paris Hilton. Within the film, Paige is the girlfriend of Blake, the captain of the football team, and seeming ‘bad boy’. With this in mind, it is no shock that he is soon killed by the villain, by a spear through his face. Though unlike Paige, Blake’s death is only 15 seconds long, with him fully clothed, whereas Paige’s death includes her running round a car garage in her underwear for at least 2 minutes. This idea therefore supports Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. This theory states that the camera is from a male perception, and therefore sexualises women, and focuses more on their deaths than the male deaths. In the case of House of Wax, this is seemingly the case, especially between Blake and Paige. By limiting Paige’s clothing to only her underwear, this may cause the male audience to fantasize over her death, since it is portrayed in such a sexual way. This may appeal to the male audience, and therefore encourages them to see other horrors. Although an element of Paige’s character appears within Mulvey’s theory, the reason behind her death is explained within Carol Clover’s theory ‘Final Girl Theory’. This theory suggests that since the film shows that Paige is sexual and drinking alcohol, seemingly known as ‘sinful’ act’, then through these actions, she must be killed. This represents the fact that if a sinful act is committed, the person committing the acts must therefore be punished and die. This is evident within many horror films, most obviously in the ‘Saw’ films.

Another character within House of Wax is Carly Jones, the final girl within this movie. Carly Jones, best friend of Paige, is more caution than some of the other characters, including her boyfriend, Wade, and is particularly aware of the strange goings on within the woods, and abandoned town. According to Carol Clover’s theory, in order for Carly to be the final girl, she must be virginal, have an androgynous name, and embodies some masculine features when killing the villain. The name Carly can be used as both a male and a female name, so in these terms, Carly does support Clover’s theory. In addition to this, at the end of the film, it is in fact Carly who tries to fight to monster in order to save her brother, which could support the idea of her character embodying some masculine features. Although this is the case, at the beginning of the film it is made aware that Carly does have a boyfriend, and it could be argued that she is not entirely virginal, since she is seen kissing him and sitting on his lap. Along with this, Carly also drinks alcohol with her friends, which could be argued as a sinful act, and therefore goes against Clover’s theory.  Although she is not portrayed as provocatively as Paige in this film, she still has elements within it which could be seen as sinful, and therefore, does not fit into Clover’s theory perfectly.

Paranormal Activity 2 is a film which focuses on the suspicious events which occur in a house, due to a poltergeist; a follow up from the original ‘Paranormal Activity’. Within this film there are 2 women involved, the first of which being the mother, Kristi Rey. The mother is seen to be the protector of her child ‘hunter’ who is most susceptible to the haunting’s from the poltergeist. In this sense, Kristi lives up to Clover’s theory, since the name is androgynous, and her attempts to save her child could be seen as brave; a typical characteristic of a male role. In addition to this, there is no evidence of Kristi drinking alcohol, doing drugs or having sex; meaning that she can be seen as angelic and pure.   Although this is the case, Kristi does in fact die, so, even though she may possess some characteristics of the final girl, she still does not live, meaning that the theory does not always apply to characters, even if they possess the characteristics.  The second female within the film is Ali Rey, Kristi’s step daughter. Unlike her Step Mum, Ali believes more in the poltergeist, and is determined to find out what it is trying to do. Ali is seen to be more rebellious, since she is younger; she is seen to invite her boyfriend over secretly, without her parent’s permission. Although this is the case, unlike Kristi, Ali is the only main character who survives. This therefore shows that Clover’s theory is not representative within this film at all.

Overall it could be argued that in some cases, these theories are extremely representative of the women involved, proven in the film House of Wax, though in some cases, especially within Clover’s theory, some of her judgements of the final girl are extremely old fashioned, and are therefore not evident within modern day films.