Misplaced Pages

#61938

102-509: The term "scream queen" is more specifically used to refer to the attractive young damsel-in-distress characters that have appeared in a number of films in the horror genre. Lloyd Kaufman , co-founder of Troma Entertainment , noted that being a scream queen is "more than just crying and having ketchup thrown on you. You not only have to be attractive, but you also have to have a big brain. You have to be frightened, you have to be sad, you have to be romantic." Debbie Rochon , often described as

204-496: A dragon . A late addition to the official account of this Saint's life, not attested in the several first centuries when he was venerated, it is nowadays the main act for which Saint George is remembered. Obscure outside Norway is Hallvard Vebjørnsson , the Patron Saint of Oslo , recognised as a martyr after being killed while valiantly trying to defend a woman—most likely a slave —from three men accusing her of theft. In

306-710: A sadistic nobleman, or members of the religious orders. Early examples in this genre include Matilda in Horace Walpole 's The Castle of Otranto , Emily in Ann Radcliffe 's The Mysteries of Udolpho , and Antonia in Matthew Lewis ' The Monk . The perils faced by this Gothic heroine were taken to an extreme by the Marquis de Sade in Justine , who exposed the erotic subtext which lay beneath

408-560: A "final guy" character. Rachel Roth defines the rise of the "scream kings" as a result of moving away from formulas where men are typically cast as monsters for a female character to fight off and female actresses being cast less as victims and sometimes as the monster or villain themselves. Roth cites Bruce Campbell as an early example of a scream king for his role in the Evil Dead franchise . Campbell has also been referred to as "the definitive scream king." Another notable early example of

510-563: A Hollywood mainstay – even when films were silent". Fay Wray , an actress starring in King Kong (1933), is sometimes referred to as the "very first scream queen". Anne Gwynne , Chris Pine 's grandmother, is known for scream queen roles in the 1930s and 1940s. Janet Leigh , playing Marion in Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho (1960), is regarded as the "one of the most iconic" scream queens in horror film history. Four actresses in

612-452: A campfire in the woods. While having sex in the moonlight, they undergo a frightening transformation into werewolves. While investigating the following day, Terry is attacked by a werewolf in a cabin, though she escapes after severing the monster's hand with an axe . She runs to Doc's office and calls her boyfriend, Chris Halloran, who has been alerted about the Colony's true nature. While on

714-401: A commercial break. Theater chain owner turned producer Steven Lane had long been wanting to get into film production and was an avid horror reader, particularly of Stephen King . A blurb from King on the cover of the 1977 book The Howling by Gary Brandner drew Lane's interest and eventually he looked into the prospect of buying the rights to make a film adaptation. After tracking down

816-412: A disguised alien creature, predatory and highly dangerous. Soon, Smith himself needs rescuing and barely escapes with his life. These themes have received successive updates in modern-era characters, ranging from 'spy girls' of the 1960s to current film and television heroines. In her book The Devil with James Bond (1967) Ann Boyd compared James Bond with an updating of the legend of Saint George and

918-444: A guy...unless said guy is the one trying to kill them, with some of them wreaking vengeance by defeating the villain . The prominence of women in horror films dates back to the silent film era, with films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922). George Feltenstein, film historian and senior vice president of theatrical catalog marketing at Warner Home Video , states, "Women screaming in terror has been

1020-759: A laser in the film Goldfinger . Both are examples of the classic hero's ordeal as described by Campbell and Vogler. The serial heroines and Emma Peel are cited as providing inspiration for the creators of strong heroines in more recent times, ranging from Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone and Princess Leia in Star Wars to "post feminist" icons such as Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Xena and Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess , Sydney Bristow from Alias , Natasha Romanoff from

1122-433: A live viewing audience, although the people watching the transformation from their television sets around the world are amused, believing it to be just a stunt done with special effects . Marsha, who escaped the Colony herself completely unscathed, sits at a bar with a man who, while watching the special broadcast announcement, orders a pepper steak for himself and a rare hamburger for Marsha after Karen's display cuts to

SECTION 10

#1732802061062

1224-518: A notion of honour and nobility . The English term "damsel in distress" itself first seems to have appeared in Richard Ames ' 1692 poem "Sylvia’s Complaint of Her Sexes Unhappiness." The damsel in distress theme featured in the stories of the ancient Greeks . Greek mythology , while featuring a large retinue of competent goddesses , also contains helpless maidens threatened with human sacrifice . For example, Andromeda 's mother offended

1326-455: A pipe in the master-at-arms ' office to drown, Rose DeWitt Bukater leaves her family to rescue him and they head back to the upper deck. In Robert J. Harris ' WWII spy thriller The Thirty-One Kings (2017), the chivalrous protagonist Richard Hannay takes time off from his vital intelligence mission to help a beautiful young woman, harassed on a Paris street by two drunken men. She laughingly thanks him though saying she could have dealt with

1428-692: A profit of £251,000. The film opened on March 13, 1981, in 170 theatres in New York City, Philadelphia and the Washington D.C.—Baltimore area. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , The Howling holds a 74% approval rating based on 42 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The consensus reads: " The Howling packs enough laughs into its lycanthropic carnage to distinguish it from other werewolf entries, with impressive visual effects adding some bite". In 1981, Roger Ebert 's 2-out-of-4 star review described The Howling as

1530-544: A resort secretly inhabited by werewolves. The cast includes Dee Wallace , Patrick Macnee , Dennis Dugan , Christopher Stone , Belinda Balaski , Kevin McCarthy , John Carradine , Slim Pickens , and Elisabeth Brooks . The Howling was released in the United States on March 13, 1981, and became a moderate success, grossing $ 17.9 million at the box office . It received generally positive reviews, with praise for

1632-490: A sample of 20-24 markets, the film was ranked number one for the week; however, Back Roads , which opened in 635 more theatres, grossed more nationally, with $ 3 million. The Howling grossed $ 17.9 million in the United States and Canada. According to Scott Tobias of The Guardian , the film played a pivotal role in modernizing classic movie monsters , particularly werewolves, by incorporating graphic practical effects and explicit sexuality while interweaving references to

1734-952: A scream king would be Robert Englund , who played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise . Other notable scream kings include: Devon Sawa (known for Idle Hands , Final Destination , and the television series Chucky ); Patrick Wilson (who appeared in the Insidious and The Conjuring franchises); Evan Peters (for his recurring roles in American Horror Story ); Bill Skarsgård (for his appearances in It , Barbarian and Nosferatu ); Daniel Kaluuya (for his performances in Get Out and Nope ); Dan Stevens (who appeared in Dracula , The Turn of

1836-701: A scream queen and for which she was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress . Elisha Cuthbert starred in the horror film House of Wax (2005) and Captivity (2007), gaining the status by from films. In 2007, USA Today published an article listing on modern scream queens interviewing actresses Sheri Moon Zombie , Jaimie Alexander , Andrea Bogart, Mercedes McNab , Tiffany Shepis and Cerina Vincent . Since 2007 and her appearance in Halloween , Danielle Harris has increased her genre work, being subsequently called "horror's reigning scream queen" by

1938-513: A scream queen herself, wrote in an article originally published in GC Magazine that "a true Scream Queen isn't The Perfect Woman. She's sexy, seductive, but most importantly attainable to the average guy, or so it would seem." Although the earlier scream queens might be women that "just had to look pretty and shriek a lot until the hero of the film got around to save them." The later scream queens showcase women worrying about something other than

2040-426: A scream queen in Alfred Hitchcock ’s The Birds . The success of Halloween revived slasher films during the late 1970s and 1980s. Examples include Terror Train and Prom Night , in which Jamie Lee Curtis would again play the scream queen; Friday the 13th , the first entry to have both a female antagonist ( Betsy Palmer ) and protagonist ( Adrienne King ); and A Nightmare on Elm Street , now considered

2142-401: A slasher classic, which introduced supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger , and whose leading actress, Heather Langenkamp , was dubbed a scream queen, and went on to become one of the most influential. Linnea Quigley was a scream queen during the 1980s, appearing specifically in low-budget and cult-classic films such as Graduation Day , Silent Night, Deadly Night , Return of

SECTION 20

#1732802061062

2244-565: A slew of 80s horror performances, including Hell Night . She would continue making horror films into the 1990s, with a cameo in Wes Craven's Scream . In 2008, at the Malaga Fantasy & Horror Film Festival, Blair received a lifetime achievement award for her work in the horror genre. During the 1990s, Debbie Rochon starred in dozens of Troma Production horror films and was voted by Draculina magazine as its "Scream Queen of

2346-399: A valorous prince comes to the maiden's aid, saves her, and marries her (though Rapunzel is not directly saved by the prince, but instead saves him from blindness after her exile) . The damsel in distress was an archetypal character of medieval romances, where typically she was rescued from imprisonment in a tower of a castle by a knight-errant . Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Clerk's Tale of

2448-477: A villain and needing to be rescued by Bond, and this theme continued into a number of the films, produced from the early 1960s onward, including Dr. No , The Spy Who Loved Me , Octopussy and Spectre , all of which show Bond rescuing the female lead, who has been tied up. In some films, Bond and a female character are tied up together (for example, in Live and Let Die and Moonraker ). In other films, Bond

2550-455: A werewolf in front of her. In response, Karen splashes Eddie in the face with corrosive acid and flees. Later, as Chris arrives at the Colony, he is confronted by the disfigured Eddie, who is fatally shot by Chris with a silver bullet when he attempts to transform. However, it turns out all the people in the Colony are werewolves and can shapeshift at will, without the need of a full moon to do so. Karen and Chris survive their attacks and burn

2652-530: A wisecracking feminist heroine (quote: "I've had it with this damsel in distress thing!"). The film Sherlock Holmes (2009) includes a classical damsel in distress episode, where Irene Adler (played by Rachel McAdams ) is helplessly bound to a conveyor belt in an industrial slaughterhouse, and is saved from being sawn in half by a chainsaw; yet in other episodes of the same film Adler is strong and assertive – for example, overcoming with contemptuous ease two thugs who sought to rob her (and robbing them instead). In

2754-457: A witch's evil plan. Scholars have noted the emphasis on youth and femininity in these narratives: with the damsel princess being depicted as youthful and hyperfeminine , while their witch captors are older "evil femme fatales or ugly hags" embodying masculine traits. Frequently cited examples of a damsel in distress in comics include Lois Lane , who was eternally getting into trouble and needing to be rescued by Superman , and Olive Oyl , who

2856-404: A woman rescuing a male figure such as a husband in distress. Examples include: The Howling (film) The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed and edited by Joe Dante . Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless , based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner , the film follows a news anchor who, following a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, visits

2958-414: Is a narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has been kidnapped or placed in other peril. The "damsel" is often portrayed as beautiful, popular and of high social status ; they are usually depicted as princesses in works with fantasy or fairy tale settings. Kinship, love, lust or a combination of those motivate the male protagonist to initiate the narrative. Critics have linked

3060-590: Is given the role of a "princess in peril", requiring the hero, Link , to rescue her, although later games, such as Breath of the Wild , presented her as a more realised character. In 1989, another Nintendo character, Princess Daisy , was cast in the role of damsel in distress in Super Mario Land . In Prince of Persia , an imprisoned princess is the game's objective, necessitating the player character to rescue her. Some modern works of fiction involve

3162-511: Is kidnapped and held captive by a giant ape. In the Dragon's Lair game series, Princess Daphne , the beautiful daughter of King Aethelred, serves as the series' damsel in distress. The first Dragon's Lair game, released in 1983, involves the hero Dirk the Daring facing a series of challenges to rescue Daphne from a dragon named Singe. Jon M. Gibson of GameSpy called her "the epitome" of

Scream queen - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-458: Is menaced by the wicked seducer Lovelace. The phrase "damsel in distress" is found in Richardson's The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753): And he is sometimes a mighty Prince ... and I am a damsel in distress Reprising her medieval role, the damsel in distress is a staple character of Gothic literature , where she is typically incarcerated in a castle or monastery and menaced by

3366-628: Is obviously a cartoon animation. Dante attributed this to budgetary reasons. Due to their work in The Howling , Dante and producer Michael Finnell received the opportunity to make the film Gremlins (1984) for Steven Spielberg . That film references The Howling with a smiley face image on a refrigerator door. Eddie Quist leaves yellow smiley face stickers as his calling card in several places throughout The Howling . Also, Jim McKrell's character as news reporter Lew Landers appears in both The Howling and Gremlins . Pino Donaggio composed

3468-400: Is often rescued by inept Mountie Dudley Do-Right . On the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, the television newswoman April O'Neil was repeatedly held captive by the evil Shredder and often needed to be rescued by the titular turtles. The James Bond novels of Ian Fleming , originally published in the 1950s and 1960s, would sometimes feature the " Bond girl " tied up by

3570-409: Is safe, she suffers amnesia . Her therapist, "Doc" George Waggner, recommends sending her and her husband, Bill Neill, to the "Colony," a secluded resort in the countryside where he sends patients for treatment. The Colony is filled with strange characters, and one, a sultry nymphomaniac named Marsha, tries to seduce Bill. When he resists her unsubtle sexual overtures, he is attacked and scratched on

3672-649: Is shown tied up and in peril (examples include Goldfinger , You Only Live Twice , The World Is Not Enough , Casino Royale and Skyfall ) and in some cases is rescued by the female lead (such as in Licence to Kill and Spectre ). The protagonists of the Disney Princess franchise are often depicted as damsels in distress, with the leads of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty requiring rescue by Prince love interest from

3774-524: Is the would be rescuer who is in very big distress; fortunately, his friends show up in the nick of time to save him from the clutches of the femme fatale . Conversely, Jo Nesbø revives a classical Damsel in distress trope in his 2007 crime novel The Snowman . Nesbø's protagonist Harry Hole is faced with his beloved Rakel having been bound and forced to sit on a fast-melting seat of ice; once it has melted she would fall into an infernal device and be torn to pieces. Harry Hole manages to save her, though at

3876-535: Is used to analyze why such plot devices are used disproportionately on female characters. It refers to an incident in Green Lantern vol. 3 #54 (1994), written by Ron Marz , in which Kyle Rayner , the title hero, comes home to his apartment to find that the villain Major Force had killed his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt , and stuffed her in a refrigerator. Simone and a number of collaborators created

3978-647: The NY Daily News . Erica Leerhsen has been called a scream queen because of her roles in films like Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007). Bipasha Basu has been referred as "Bollywood's Scream Queen" due to her contributions to horror in India with her blockbuster horror movies like Raaz (2002) and Raaz 3D (2012), as well as films like Aatma (2013), Creature 3D (2014), and Alone (2015). In 2016, Screen Rant listed

4080-596: The Scream film series . Jennifer Love Hewitt was labeled a scream queen after starring as Julie James in the I Know What You Did Last Summer films . The first film of that trilogy also had a starring role for Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen Shivers , who went on to appear in other horror films made during the 1990s and new millennium, including Scream 2 and The Grudge film series. In 2005, Shauna Macdonald starred in The Descent , which established her as

4182-601: The Marvel Cinematic Universe , Kim Possible from the series of the same name , Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise , and Veronica Mars , also from the series of the same name . Reflecting these changes, Daphne Blake of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series (who throughout the series is captured dozens of times, falls through trap doors, etc.) is portrayed in the Scooby-Doo film as

Scream queen - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-468: The Nereids and Poseidon , who sent a beast to ravage the land. To appease him Andromeda's parents fastened her to a rock in the sea. The hero Perseus slew the beast, saving Andromeda. Andromeda in her plight, chained naked to a rock, became a favorite theme of later painters. This theme of the princess and dragon is also pursued in the myth of Saint George . The homosexual variant is also present in

4386-481: The " princess and dragon " genre, particularly with Dr. No's dragon tank. The damsel in distress theme is also very prominent in The Spy Who Loved Me , where the story is told in the first person by the young woman Vivienne Michel, who is threatened with imminent rape by thugs when Bond kills them and claims her as his reward. The female spy Emma Peel in the 1960s television series The Avengers

4488-682: The "15 Greatest Scream Queens in Horror History", which includes Linda Blair , Danielle Harris, Lisa Wilcox , Vera Farmiga , Janet Leigh, Marilyn Burns , Veronica Cartwright , Neve Campbell, Naomi Watts , Heather Langenkamp, Eva Green , Chloë Grace Moretz , Sarah Michelle Gellar , Barbara Steele and Jamie Lee Curtis . Indonesian actress Tara Basro has been described as a "scream queen" for her roles in Joko Anwar 's films Satan's Slaves (2017) and Impetigore (2019). Australian actress Samara Weaving began her contribution to

4590-454: The "damsel in distress" pattern. Films featuring an empowered damsel date to the early days of filmmaking . One of the films most often associated with the stereotypical damsel in distress, The Perils of Pauline (1914), also provides at least a partial counterexample, in that Pauline, played by Pearl White , is a strong character who decides against early marriage in favour of seeking adventure and becoming an author. Despite common belief,

4692-399: The "quintessential damsel in distress" and her repeated abductions as a running joke and pop culture reference by Time . Princess Zelda in the early The Legend of Zelda series has been described by Gladys L. Knight in her book Female Action Heroes as "perhaps one [of] the most well-known 'damsel in distress' princesses in video game history ". In most games in the series she

4794-423: The "silliest film seen in some time", but Ebert also said the special effects were good and the film was perhaps "worth your money, IF you get it two for one". Gene Siskel liked the film and gave it three and a half stars out of four. In his Movie Guide , Leonard Maltin wrote that The Howling is a "hip, well-made horror film" and noted the humorous references to classic werewolf cinema. Variety praised both

4896-584: The "ultimate 'scream queen'". Curtis went on to star in several other horror films after that, including The Fog , Prom Night , Terror Train , Halloween II , and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later . Dee Wallace appeared in Wes Craven 's 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes before going on to establish herself as a scream queen in the 1980s by appearing in The Howling (1981), Cujo (1983) and Critters (1986). Daria Nicolodi played

4998-461: The 17th century English ballad The Spanish Lady (one of several English and Irish songs with that name), a Spanish lady captured by an English captain falls in love with her captor and begs him not to set her free but to take her with him to England, and in this appeal describes herself as "A lady in distress". The damsel in distress makes her debut in the modern novel as the title character of Samuel Richardson 's Clarissa (1748), where she

5100-587: The 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. These serials sometimes drew inspiration for their characters and plots from adventure novels and comic books. Notable examples include the character Nyoka the Jungle Girl , whom Edgar Rice Burroughs created for comic books and who was later adapted into a serial heroine in the Republic productions Jungle Girl (1941) and its sequel Perils of Nyoka (1942). Additional classic damsels in that mold were Jane Porter , in both

5202-696: The 1970s became seminal examples of a "scream queen" for the decade: Sandra Peabody , who portrayed Mari Collingwood in The Last House on the Left (1972), Marilyn Burns , who portrayed Sally Hardesty in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Olivia Hussey , who portrayed Jess Bradford in Black Christmas (1974), and Jamie Lee Curtis , who portrayed Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978). After The Last House on

SECTION 50

#1732802061062

5304-426: The Colony to the ground. As they drive away, however, one werewolf breaks into their car and bites Karen before being shot by Chris, turning back into Bill as he dies. Karen resolves to warn the entire world about the existence of werewolves and begins a special worldwide broadcast announcement to the people around the world. Then, to prove her story, she transforms into a werewolf. She is shot at by Chris in front of

5406-648: The Decade". Sheryl Lee played murder victims Laura Palmer and Maddy Ferguson in the TV series Twin Peaks (1990–91) and spin-off film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) and has been described as a "scream queen", in particular for scenes in the otherworldly Black Lodge . Neve Campbell 's first American feature film was the cult horror classic The Craft (1996). She later starred as Sidney Prescott in

5508-467: The French demoiselle , meaning "young lady", and the term "damsel in distress" in turn is a translation of the French demoiselle en détresse . It is an archaic term not used in modern English except for effect or in expressions such as this. It can be traced back to the knight-errant of Medieval songs and tales, who regarded protection of women as an essential part of the chivalric code , which includes

5610-761: The Left , Peabody went on to appear in the horror films Voices of Desire (1972), Massage Parlor Murders (1973), Case of the Full Moon Murders (1973), and Legacy of Satan (1974). Burns followed her performance in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with roles in Helter Skelter (1976) and Eaten Alive (1977). In Halloween , Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Psycho actress Janet Leigh , had her first film role. Portraying Laurie Strode in Halloween , Curtis has been called

5712-683: The Living Dead and Night of the Demons . British actress Catriona MacColl became a scream queen after appearing in three Italian horror films directed by Lucio Fulci , City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981) and House by the Cemetery (1981). Following her Saturn Award-nominated performance in Exorcist II: The Heretic , Oscar-nominee Linda Blair parlayed her classic 1973 The Exorcist role into

5814-981: The Screw , The Rental , Apostle , Abigail , and Cuckoo ); Kyle Gallner (whose appearances include The Haunting in Connecticut , Nightmare on Elm Street , Scream , and Smile ); Finn Wolfhard (for his roles in It and the Netflix series Stranger Things ); and Shawn Roberts (who has appeared in zombie films such as Land of the Dead , Diary of the Dead , and the Resident Evil franchise). Mark Patton , star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), has been touted at horror conventions as mainstream horror's first "male scream queen". Damsel in distress The damsel in distress

5916-652: The United States, What Happened to Mary? (1912), was released to coincide with a serial story of the same name published in McClure's Ladies' World magazine. Empowered damsels were a feature of the serials made in the 1930s and 1940s by studios such as Republic Pictures . The " cliffhanger " scenes at the end of episodes provide many examples of female heroines bound and helpless and facing fiendish death traps. But those heroines, played by actresses such as Linda Stirling and Kay Aldridge , were often strong, assertive women who ultimately played an active part in vanquishing

6018-499: The Victorian stage melodrama featured a limited number of stock characters: the hero, the villain, the heroine, an old man, an old woman, a comic man and a comic woman engaged in a sensational plot featuring themes of love and murder. Often the good but not very clever hero is duped by a scheming villain, who has eyes on the damsel in distress until fate intervenes to ensure the triumph of good over evil. Such melodrama influenced

6120-415: The arm by a werewolf while returning to his cabin. After Bill's attack, Karen summons her friend Terry Fisher to the Colony, and Terry connects the resort to Eddie through a sketch he left behind, having previously discovered that Eddie's body disappeared from the morgue . Karen begins to suspect that Bill is hiding a secret far more threatening than marital infidelity . Later that night, Bill meets Marsha at

6222-650: The bandsaw (and then, and then...!) ... During the First World War , the imagery of a Damsel in Distress was extensively used in Allied propaganda (see illustrations). Particularly, the Imperial German conquest and occupation of Belgium was commonly referred to as The Rape of Belgium - effectively transforming Allied soldiers into knights bent on saving that rape victim. This was expressed explicitly in

SECTION 60

#1732802061062

6324-494: The beginning of this phenomenon as coinciding with the introduction of the " sawing a woman in half " illusion. In 1921 magician P. T. Selbit became the first to present such an act to the public. Steinmeyer observes that: "Before Selbit's illusion, it was not a cliche that pretty ladies were teased and tortured by magicians. Since the days of Robert-Houdin , both men and women were used as the subjects for magic illusions". However, changes in fashion and great social upheavals during

6426-527: The current owners of the AVCO Embassy library) on August 26, 2003 as a Region 1 widescreen Special Edition DVD. There have been seven sequels to The Howling . In May 2015, a newly formed production company bought the rights to the original film and were working on a ninth film, a remake of the original. In 2020, Andy Muschietti was hired to direct the remake for Netflix . A comic book series by Space Goat Productions entitled The Howling: Revenge of

6528-452: The damsel-in-distress scenario. One exploration of the theme of the persecuted maiden is the fate of Gretchen in Goethe's Faust . According to the philosopher Schopenhauer : "The great Goethe has given us a distinct and visible description of this denial of the will, brought about by great misfortune and by the despair of all deliverance, in his immortal masterpiece Faust, in the story of

6630-429: The darker aspects of human nature. The plot and characters of the film deviate from the original novel in many ways: Shout! Factory re-released The Howling on DVD and Blu-ray on June 18, 2013 through their Scream Factory imprint. The film was previously released to DVD by MGM (owners of the video and TV distribution rights to The Howling due to the distribution deal with StudioCanal and Sony Pictures ,

6732-432: The film does not feature scenes with Pauline tied to a railroad track and threatened by a buzzsaw, although such scenes were incorporated into later re-creations and were also featured in other films made in the period around 1914. Academic Ben Singer has contested the idea that these "serial-queen melodramas" were male fantasies and has observed that they were marketed heavily at women. The first motion picture serial made in

6834-469: The film was full of in-joke references. Roger Corman makes a cameo appearance as a man standing outside a phone booth, as does John Sayles, appearing as a morgue attendant and James Murtaugh as one of the members of the Colony. Forrest J Ackerman appears in a brief cameo in an occult bookstore, clutching a copy of an issue of his magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland . The Howling was also notable for its special effects, which were state-of-the-art at

6936-499: The film's climax, it is Adler who saves the day, dismantling at the last moment a device set to poison the entire membership of Parliament. In the final scene of the Walt Disney Pictures film Enchanted (2007) the traditional roles are reversed when male protagonist Robert Philip ( Patrick Dempsey ) is captured by Queen Narissa ( Susan Sarandon ) in her dragon form. In a King Kong -like fashion, she carries him to

7038-627: The film's context; it also, loosely, referenced the Jonestown incident, as the lead character, Karen, retreated to a forest community known as ‘The Colony’. According to The New York Times , The Howling introduces themes of indulgence of primal, animalistic desires, particularly focusing on the sexual aspects of werewolves . It also offers a satirical commentary on television and the media, with its sensationalistic approach, focusing on personalities like Dr. George Waggner. The film also critiques how television sensationalizes violence and focuses on

7140-542: The film's sense of humor and its traditional approach to horror. Kim Newman , in his 1988 book Nightmare Movies , called The Howling "a brisk chiller that effortlessly revives the prowling-through-misty-forests genre", and called Picardo's transformation sequence "the movies' most impressive werewolf monster". The film won the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film . This film was also #81 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments . The film grossed $ 1,160,172 in its opening weekend. Per Variety' s weekly chart, based on

7242-503: The film's success. A remake is in development, with Andy Muschietti set to direct. Karen White is a Los Angeles television news anchor who is being stalked by serial killer Eddie Quist. In cooperation with the police, she takes part in a scheme to capture Eddie by agreeing to meet him in a sleazy porn theater . Eddie forces Karen to watch a video of a young woman being gang raped, and when Karen turns around to see Eddie, she screams. The police enter and shoot Eddie, and although Karen

7344-531: The first decades of the 20th century made Selbit's choice of "victim" both practical and popular. The trauma of war had helped to desensitise the public to violence and the emancipation of women had changed attitudes to them. Audiences were tiring of older, more genteel forms of magic. It took something shocking, such as the horrific productions of the Grand Guignol theatre, to cause a sensation in this age. Steinmeyer concludes that: "beyond practical concerns,

7446-526: The fledgling film industry and led to damsels in distress being the subject of many early silent films , especially those that were made as multi-episode serials . Early examples include The Adventures of Kathlyn in 1913 and The Hazards of Helen , which ran from 1914 to 1917. The silent film heroines frequently faced new perils provided by the Industrial Revolution and catering to the new medium's need for visual spectacle. Here we find

7548-441: The helplessness of these women to societal views that women as a group need to be taken care of by men and treated nicely. Throughout the history of the trope , the role of the woman as the victim in need of a male savior has remained constant, but her attackers have changed to suit the tastes and collective fears of the period: " monsters , mad scientists , Nazis , hippies , bikers , aliens ..." The word "damsel" derives from

7650-543: The heroine tied to a railway track , burning buildings, and explosions . Sawmills were another stereotypical danger of the Industrial age, as recorded in a popular song from a later era: ... A bad gunslinger called Salty Sam was chasin' poor Sweet Sue He trapped her in the old sawmill and said with an evil laugh, If you don't give me the deed to your ranch I'll saw you all in half! And then he grabbed her (and then) He tied her up (and then) He turned on

7752-479: The horror genre by starring in the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead (2015), before landing the lead role in the black comedy horror The Babysitter (2017). Weaving solidified her status as a scream queen with her performance in the commercially and critically successful Ready or Not (2019), and in 2023 served as the opening kill in Scream VI . Melissa Barrera has starred in the slasher Scream (2022),

7854-436: The illusion of transformation. Variety claimed that The Howling ' s biggest flaw is that the impact of this initial transformation is never topped during the climax of the film. The film also features stop-motion animation by David W. Allen , and puppetry intended to give the werewolves an even more non-human look. Despite most of the special effects at the time, the silhouette of Bill and Marsha having sex as werewolves

7956-412: The image of the woman in peril became a specific fashion in entertainment". The damsel-in-distress continued as a mainstay of the comics, film, and television industries throughout the 20th century. Imperiled heroines in need of rescue were a frequent occurrence in black-and-white film serials made by studios such as Columbia Pictures , Mascot Pictures , Republic Pictures , and Universal Studios in

8058-496: The lyrics of Keep the Home Fires Burning mentioning the "boys" as having gone to help a "Nation in Distress". A form of entertainment in which the damsel-in-distress emerged as a stereotype at this time was stage magic . Restraining attractive female assistants and imperiling them with blades and spikes became a staple of 20th century magicians' acts. Noted illusion designer and historian Jim Steinmeyer identifies

8160-527: The makeup special effects by Rob Bottin . The film won the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and was one of the three high-profile werewolf-themed horror films released in 1981, alongside An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen . Its financial success aided Dante's career, and prompted Warner Bros. to hire Dante and Michael Finnell as director and producer, respectively, for Gremlins (1984). A series consisting of seven sequels arose from

8262-436: The men by herself. Hannay has no suspicion that she is herself the dangerous Nazi agent he had been sent to apprehend, and that she recognized him and knows his mission. Unsuspectingly he drinks the glass of brandy she offers him - whereupon he loses consciousness and wakes up securely bound. Gloating and jeering, the girl mocks Hannay for his sense of chivalry proving to be his undoing. Destined to an ignominious watery death, it

8364-547: The novel and movie versions of Tarzan , and Ann Darrow, as played by Fay Wray in the movie King Kong (1933), in one of the most iconic instances. The notorious hoax documentary Ingagi (1930) also featured this idea, and Wray's role was repeated by Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts in remakes. As journalist Andrew Erish has noted: "Gorillas plus sexy women in peril equals enormous profits". Small screen iconic portrayals, this time in children's cartoons, are Underdog 's girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred and Nell Fenwick, who

8466-404: The phone with Chris, Terry looks for files on Eddie Quist. When she finally finds the file in the filing cabinet, she is attacked by Eddie in werewolf form and is killed when she is bitten on the jugular vein . Chris hears this on the other end and sets off for the Colony armed with silver bullets . Karen is confronted by the resurrected Eddie Quist once again, and Eddie transforms himself into

8568-428: The price of suffering some mutilation himself. In computer and video games, female characters are often cast in the role of the damsel in distress, with their rescue being the objective of the game. An early example of the damsel archetype in video games is Pauline , a Nintendo character in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong . The gameplay involves Mario rescuing her from the top of a construction site after she

8670-463: The repeated trials and bizarre torments of patient Griselda was drawn from Petrarch . The Emprise de l'Escu vert à la Dame Blanche (founded 1399) was a chivalric order with the express purpose of protecting oppressed ladies. The theme also entered the official hagiography of the Catholic Church —most famously in the story of Saint George who saved a princess from being devoured by

8772-476: The rights to Warner Bros. , who'd done nothing with them in the two years since acquiring them, he discovered they had resold the rights to director Jack Conrad. Lane partnered with Conrad on The Howling with the two getting the film set up at Avco Embassy Pictures . After drafts by Jack Conrad (who left the project early after disputes with the studio) and Terence H. Winkless proved unsatisfactory, director Joe Dante hired John Sayles to completely rewrite

8874-620: The role of the scream queen in most of her films ( Deep Red , Inferno , Phenomena , Terror at the Opera ). Director Mario Bava also called on Nicolodi for Shock (1977). In 1982, Nicolodi played Anne in Dario Argento 's Tenebrae . Veronica Cartwright was also a prominent scream queen of the 1970s, appearing in the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as well as Alien in 1979. She began her career as

8976-427: The score which featured classic orchestral horror melodies with minimal synth sounds. Waxwork Records released the full soundtrack on a double LP in 2017. The album art was done by Francesco Francavilla . International Film Investors (IFI) agreed to provide 50% of the finance. Goldcrest Films had a partnership with IFI. They ended up providing £145,000 to the budget of The Howling and receiving £396,000, making

9078-552: The script. The two had collaborated before on Dante's 1978 film Piranha . Sayles rewrote the script with the same self-aware, satirical tone that he gave Piranha , and his finished draft bears only a vague resemblance to Brandner's book. However, Winkless still received a co-writer's credit along with Sayles for his work on the screenplay. The cast featured a number of recognizable character actors, such as Kevin McCarthy , John Carradine , Kenneth Tobey and Slim Pickens , many of whom appeared in genre films themselves. Additionally,

9180-409: The sequel Scream VI (2023), the horror thriller Bed Rest (2022), the horror comedy Abigail (2024), and the romantic comedy -horror Your Monster (2024), establishing herself as a scream queen. Mia Goth having started in several horror movies previously before her breakout roles in the X trilogy (2022–2024), cemented her as a scream queen to a wider audience. Jenna Ortega starred in

9282-743: The slasher films X and Scream (both 2022) is also known as a scream queen. Ortega reprised her Scream role for the sequel, Scream VI (2023). Scream Queens Illustrated magazine featured pictorials, interviews, reviews, and other content concerning such Hollywood scream queens as Barbara Bauer, Becky Sunshine, Tina Krause, Julia Hayes, Julie Strain , Monique Gabrielle , Brinke Stevens , Linnea Quigley, Rhonda Shear, Xenia Gratsos ("Brioni Farrell"), Lorissa McComas , June Wilkinson , Debbie Rochon , Sherri Frazer, Melissa Wolf, and Cassandra Peterson ("Elvira"). The term "scream king" has been used to refer to male leading actors who have made their name through taking on leading roles in horror movies as

9384-560: The stories of Cleostratus and Alcyoneus , youths who are to be sacrificed to man-eating serpentine monsters before they are saved by their love interests Menestratus and Eurybarus respectively. European fairy tales frequently feature damsels in distress. Evil witches trapped Rapunzel in a tower, cursed Snow White to die in Snow White , and put the princess into a magical sleep in Sleeping Beauty . In all of these,

9486-452: The sufferings of Gretchen. I know of no other description in poetry. It is a perfect specimen of the second path, which leads to the denial of the will not, like the first, through the mere knowledge of the suffering of the whole world which one acquires voluntarily, but through the excessive pain felt in one's own person. It is true that many tragedies bring their violently willing heroes ultimately to this point of complete resignation, and then

9588-480: The time. The transformation scenes were created by Rob Bottin , who had also worked with Dante on Piranha . Rick Baker was the original effects artist for the film, but left the production to work on An American Werewolf in London , which released the same year as The Howling , handing over the effects work to Bottin. Bottin's most celebrated effect was the on-screen transformation of Eddie Quist, which involved air bladders under latex facial applications to give

9690-537: The top of a New York skyscraper, until Robert's beloved Giselle climbs it, sword in hand, to save him. A similar role reversal is evident in Stieg Larsson 's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , in whose climactic scene the male protagonist is captured by a serial killer , locked in an underground torture room, chained, stripped naked, and humiliated when his female partner enters to save him and destroy

9792-626: The trope. Princess Peach throughout much of the Mario franchise is also a paradigmatic example. She is repeatedly kidnapped across the Super Mario series, beginning with her debut in Super Mario Bros. in 1985. In most games in the series she is kidnapped and trapped in a castle by the villain Bowser and his minions in order for Mario to rescue her. Peach has been described as

9894-568: The villain. Still another example is Foxglove Summer , part of Ben Aaronovitch 's Rivers of London series - where the protagonist Peter Grant is bound and taken captive by the Queen of the Faeries, and it is Grant's girlfriend who comes to rescue him, riding a Steel Horse. Another role reversal is in Titanic (1997), written and directed by James Cameron . After Jack Dawson is handcuffed to

9996-415: The villains. C. L. Moore 's short story " Shambleau " (1933) – generally acknowledged as epoch-making in the history of science fiction – begins in what seems a classical damsel in distress situation: the protagonist, space adventurer Northwest Smith , sees a "sweetly-made girl" pursued by a lynch mob intent on killing her and intervenes to save her, but finds her not a girl nor a human being at all, but

10098-754: The website Women in Refrigerators which hosts a list of works which they believe express the trope. Damsels in distress have been cited as an example of differential treatment of genders in literature, film, and works of art. Feminist criticism of art, film , and literature has often examined gender-oriented characterisation and plot, including the common "damsel in distress" trope, as perpetrating regressive and patronizing myths about women. Many modern writers and directors, such as Anita Sarkeesian , Angela Carter and Jane Yolen , have revisited classic fairy tales and "damsel in distress" stories or collected and anthologised stories and folk tales that break

10200-654: The will-to-live and its phenomenon usually end at the same time. But no description known to me brings to us the essential point of that conversion so distinctly and so free from everything extraneous as the one mentioned in Faust" ( The World as Will and Representation , Vol. I, §68) The misadventures of the damsel in distress of the Gothic novel continued in a somewhat caricatured form in Victorian melodrama . According to Michael Booth in his classic study English Melodrama ,

10302-426: Was in a near-constant state of kidnap, requiring her to be saved by Popeye . Coined by Gail Simone in 1999, " women in refrigerators " is a literary trope where female characters are injured, sexually assaulted, killed, or depowered (an event colloquially known as fridging ), sometimes to stimulate "protective" traits, and often as a plot device intended to move a male character's story arc forward. The phrase

10404-419: Was often seen in "damsel in distress" situations. The character and her reactions, portrayed by actress Diana Rigg , differentiated these scenes from other film and television scenarios where women were similarly imperiled as pure victims or pawns in the plot. A scene with Emma Peel bound and threatened with a death ray in the episode From Venus with Love is a direct parallel to James Bond's confrontation with

#61938