Film studies: How the horror heroine turned into the ultimate survivor
In the 21st century, a transformation has come over the horror genre in which the ageing process is no longer a hindrance but has become empowering for women of a ‘certain age’ who are literally and figuratively still killing it
It’s been almost 50 years since we last encountered one of the most seminal film heroines of the 20th century: Sally Hardesty in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
For horror fans, few heroines are as memorable as Sally and few scenes are as seared into the mind as when our blood-soaked heroine, played by the late Marilyn Burns, grips the back of a flatbed Ford pick-up, screeching hysterically because she has just avoided the snarling ...
