Murderess of the Night
This is my final film still. It is from an untitled horror film in which a female serial killer is victimizing young men. For this project I focused on the gaze, specifically the female gaze and the power she holds. I also focused on the concept of the final girl, which we did not discuss in this class, but we did focus on in the Horror class. The woman is played by Joelle Montoya and the male is played by John (Alex) Wood.
I love this shot. I think it works well under the lens of feminine/monster gaze that we discussed in class. I think it challenges it a bit too though considering the woman isn't projecting her monstrosity onto another but embodies the monster herself. The weapon as a symbol of phallic power suggests that she has taken control of her own agency as phallic woman. Huge castration anxiety! Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThere are no words for this. This is amazing. Love how the woman is so non-chalant about her murder. It's a killer femme fetale deviation, without being too true or too hokey.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I've got to say that the photographic composition of your shot is fantastic. The lighting is spectacular, the makeup and props are intricate, and your canted angle communicates a "world out of balance" sensation very effectively. You obviously put a lot of thought, time, and effort into it, and you definitely deserve acknowledgement for that. Formally, your shot also touches on our theories nicely. I like that you chose to incorporate a mirror into a discussion of the female gaze - applying Mulvey's analysis of male psychosexual narcissism to a female subject is an interesting prospect, to say the least. What does our killer see when she looks in that mirror? Would she see something different if she was a man? Heavy questions.
ReplyDeleteThe lighting really grabs my attention here. The uncaring and self-obsessed look on the face of the killer is just great. I also find the black top with white polka dots an interesting choice.
ReplyDeleteI really like the aspect of the female gaze that you portrayed in this shot. I also really enjoyed the stark contrast in the colors from blood stained white sheets and her black dress with red lipstick. I also enjoy that the woman was responsible for such a violent murder rather than a man which would be more common playing nicely on Mulvey's theory of the female gaze.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautifully composed shot, Taryn. As you point out in your explication, it allows for a reversal of the gaze that poses some interesting problems for the notion that the gaze is exclusively masculine. The imagery and iconongraphy certain suggests both the Final Girl as described by Williams and a classic femme fatale of the type we've come to expect in film noir. Excellent work. And what fun to see both Alex and Joelle appear in your image!
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