Starting tonight, VH1 is searching for the next queen of horror film. In Scream Queens, 10 unknown actresses will put their shrieking, crying, and butt-kicking skills to the test for the chance to win a feature role in the upcoming Saw VI. (Yes, there's going to be a Saw VI.)
The trailer for the show looks kind of hilariously awesome, in that White Rapper Show-esque, self-aware kind of way. But it's also gotten me thinking about women in horror generally and whether this show is a good or a bad thing.
On the one hand, well, the title says a lot: The show's looking for someone who can scream all damsel-in-distress-style, presumably while being attacked by some menacing thing. So often in horror movies, female sexuality and violence go hand-in-hand. You certainly would never see a competition looking for male screamers, right? But on the other hand, the trailer seems to be playing up the ass-kicking aspect of being a horror star, and show judge (and original Saw gal) Shawnee Smith has said there's a lot more to being a "scream queen" than just playing the victim.
In this Halloween month, it's as good a time as any to get talking about women in horror — so I invite you to post your thoughts on that below. You can check out the Scream Queens trailer if you read more.
Photo courtesy of VH1
Diane von Furstenberg
And I thought it was going to end with 'Saw V'...
The tagline "You won't believe how it ends," must be referring to this movie and not the entire saga.
1LOL SanDiegoLove. I can't believe they keep making these.
2I don't think the Saw series gets enough credit for the awesome plot it has. Not many horror movies can combine two of my favorite themes... explicit gore and crazy and smart plot twists. Saw definitely delivers! I'm watching one Saw movie every night until Friday when I go see the new one!
3Yeah I also thought that "You won't believe how it ends" was about the whole series. They can't keep using this hallowe'en release every year though, it's not original anymore.
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