Misogyny & Murder: An Examination of the Portrayal of Women in 1980’s Horror Films: “Nymphomania”, Stupidity, Exploitation, and Violence

Abstract

Horror films in the 1980s, specifically the slasher sub-genre, often showed women being put into vulnerable positions, often due to various behaviors like pre-marital sex, along with drug and alcohol abuse. Due to this presentation on film, there was a wholly misogynistic treatment of women. My research methods consisted of viewing various slasher films and involved the analysis of both the script and certain scenes. I also read contemporary reviews from various film critics as well as watched in-depth interviews of various film scholars, actors, and actresses involved with the production of those films.

In order to build a basis for exploring the slasher sub-genre, I started by reviewing some early iterations of what the slasher would become, along with certain exploitation films that showed an excruciating brutality towards women. What I then observed as I watched slasher films from the 1980s was a huge juxtaposition in these films: the promiscuous, misbehaving, unintelligent girls/women were punished in some horrific way by some sort of crazed killer, whereas the unlikely survivor was a virginal, intelligent girl/woman who somehow manages to survive the entire film and outsmart the killer. Ultimately, this heroine would be known colloquially as the “final girl.” While there was some degradation and mistreatment of women on screen, there arose a strong, feminine character creating a positive portrayal to offset the negative.