Representation of Women

Representation of Women in Horror films

The representations of gender in horror films essay from Beccihammond

In horror films women are typically represented as a damsel in distress, someone who needs to be rescued and taken care of as they are incapable of looking after themselves. The women that we see in horror films tend to vary little in age and appearance, they all tend to be young women who are quite ‘pretty’ or attractive.
Women are shown in horror films through the 'male gaze', this is the way in which we view women within horror films, even when the women are strong and independent characters they are still overly sexualised. Shots to make a ‘Male Gaze’ include long body shots, panning/looking up at the woman. It has always been conventional to horror films that the women are supposed to be portrayed as a figure of beauty and desire whilst the villain is portrayed as a gruesome heartless killer. 

The film, the descent in many ways subverts this expectation of women to be weak within the horror industry, within the film the all female cast shows how women can survive in these situations although if you look closely the only way that are lead character suvives this horrific ordeal is through transforming into one of the creatures that she is facing and the film is also shot from a male gaze, this is clearly shown through the blood bath sequence where are female fights off the only other female creature we see.