Every time I tell someone that my favorite movie genre is “blood & guts”, I get this really weird look. It’s kinda like a “WTF” look mixed with a whole lot of judgment. Then comes the statements like, “Eww, but you’re a girl!” and my all-time favorite, “Stephanie, that is very unbecoming of a young woman” - but I don’t get what the big deal is.  After all, it is 2012 – are women still presumed to be delicate, squeamish and breakable? In the event of the zombie apocalypse, will the men rise up to protect and conquer while the women-folk are left to bake cookies and tend to the children? Umm, how about NO?

Gone are the days where our only job as women is to be Betty Homemaker! We’re independent, we’re strong and we’re badass. Badass enough to kill our own zombies then go get our nails done!

I love a good horror flick and if you don’t or you won’t pretend to, then we probably can’t be friends. I’ve ended a relationship for this very reason. We were watching this ridiculously low-budget zombie movie and within the first 20 minutes this guy literally jumped on my lap. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt that maaaaybe he was just trying to cop a feel, but turns out he was just a baby. Wasn’t hard to let that one go. Speaking of zombies, though, I love them! When I say I love them, I don’t mean I am attracted to them – and if you ever find yourself attracted to a zombie, maybe investing in those extra therapy sessions isn’t such a bad idea. Vampires, on the other hand… vampires might make the perfect spouse. They’re gorgeous, and I’m not even talking about those glitter fairies from Twilight. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas in Interview with the Vampire – now those are vampires! So well-dressed and refined, romantic and really good at foreplay (vampires love necking) and the best part is that they require absolutely no commitments during the day. I could definitely get used to that.

Perhaps the real reason women love horror movies is the thrill of the ride. It’s a rush. We love suspense. Truth be told, if you take the time to look beneath horror’s gory surface, you’ll often find a slew of empowering messages. I came across this quote from Bob Weinstein from an interview – “The appeal is in watching women in jeopardy and most importantly, fighting back,” and as the head of Dimension Films, he has overseen a bunch of horror franchises, including the Halloween reboots and the Scream movies. He continues with, ”It’s all about women. You have a female at the center of the story – that’s what works”.  Susan Downey said: ”When we put a woman through this mythological journey and have her come out at the end kicking ass, the guys get the eye candy they want and the girls get the sense of ‘I can face my demon’.” Sounds legit, right? Maybe!

For me, it doesn’t matter…empowering messages or just good ol’ chainsaw massacres, my love for horror flicks will never go away. So, with Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to share a couple good ones.

Here we go!

• 30 Days of Night
• Dawn of the Dead
• The Grudge
• Rosemary’s Baby
• Ginger Snaps
• The Blair Witch Project
• Silence of the Lambs
• The Shining
• The Descent

Enjoy!

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