The Horror Genre Needs More Female Led Slasher Movies

Written by Scott Edwards

While I am amazed that people care about my opinion on horror movies, a tough question was raised to me in that that the next Texas Chain Saw Massacre Leatherface should be a female. While I chart this question up to being click-bait, it did spark the thought in my mind that there really are not a ton of female slasher movies out there, at least ones that don’t feature the woman killing for no other reason than doing so. As I have watched and reviewed many movies over the years, especially in the indie horror market, I always love the story when it comes with a strong female lead that is able to take charge of the situation, no matter what it is and that makes me wonder what would need to be done to make a good horror movie with a woman that everyone should fear.

So, before I get away from the subject, my thoughts on a female Leatherface. I have a problem with this being just shot out there with ease, as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has become an essential in all horror fans collections. The narrative that the story plays when it comes to Leatherface is simple, a powerful killer that only takes commands from his father. There is something that would not sit right with the audience when taking this in to account, since Leatherface is a person that has major developmental issues, would you really want to see a woman in the role, especially since all she would be able to do is grunt? And then being submissive to a vulgar man, who she may or not be related to, well, let’s just say that it would send the franchise straight down the tubes as women are sick of seeing submissive characters on the screen, much less I do not know a woman who would do anything that is commanded of her, especially when she grows up. 

Just naming movies off of the top of my head when it comes to really good female-led slasher movies, where the woman is charge of the bloodshed, Friday the 13th comes to mind, because Pamela Voorhees loses her mind when it comes to the loss of her son, and anyone that crosses her path needs to watch out. American Mary may not be a standard slasher film, but it does show Mary taking control of her life after being taken advantage of by a former professor, and there is plenty of blood when she knows what she wants to do with the rest of her life in body modification. Even Lambs Have Teeth was also great when best friends and sex slaves Sloane and Katie take their revenge on the town that has taken their innocence. The I Spit on Your Grave original and remake series both showed how badly abuse can damage a person, and that revenge is a dish served very cold and bloody. Axe to Grind showed an aging actress making sure that she can get back to the top, but she would need to dispose of those youths in front of her with magical axe kills. While these may not be qualified by the horror purest as conventional slasher films, they do hold the spirt, as the blood splatters all across the screen, but they all have the same theme attached, revenge.

So, when thinking about the Texas Chain Saw statement, it made me wonder what women in history would serve as the solid basis for a slasher film revolving around them, and I dove into a couple stories from female serial killers from the past. While the research did not give me as much blood as the Ed Gein story did for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I did stumble across a couple that would help to bring a woman slasher to the big screen. Leonarda Cianciulli, a.k.a., ‘The Soap Maker of Correggio.’ This just an interesting story about an Italian woman who killed three women and instead of getting rid of the bodies, turned them into soap and teacakes. Then Elizabeth Bathory, ‘The Blood Countess’ who used to kill her servants to drink and bathe in their blood to stay young for all eternity. There are two stories that have not found their way to movie screen at this point and could be done in their natural timeline, or someone could even bring them to present day and have a little bit of fun with it.

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Then the thought of another couple of famous serial killers came to mind and the first was Jack the Ripper. While we have had a couple of Ripper stories over the years, the verdict is still out on who the killer was and why not have the killer be a woman? Having the killer be a woman would give a much different narrative than what the stories have told us in the past, a jealous woman of the night, a scorned lover, a nurse that wants to prove she can be more in medical school that is held out because of her gender. The ideas could keep flowing for a new storyline, and unless they are able to prove who Jack the Ripper is, a rewrite in history could turn the tables.
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The story of H.H. Holmes has been gripping the country recently as well as we have found out so much more about his history, growing up and murdering his cousins, along with animals in the neighborhood.  Then masterminding the building of the infamous Murder Castle which claimed the lives of countless victims. Why not have the mastermind be a woman instead of a man in this story or adaptation, since nobody really knows what happened when the victims made it to the basement. This could be a story that is shrouded in blood with an extremely intelligent woman at the helm that will never be brought down.

While I don’t like the idea for a reboot of a franchise that has been struggling for years, I do like the idea of women being killers in slasher movies and these are a couple ideas of what I would like to see. And these are just a few little stories of what could be, as there are many more out there that I did not cover.  It will prove difficult for the studios to choose what they want to try on the big screen, as if they do it wrong, they can lose many of their viewers. I just hope that what comes out over the next couple years continues the trend that we have been seeing in horror; the strong female lead who is able to keep her head on her shoulders, for most of the movie anyway. Stay Scared. 

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