Blog post to coincide with Shadows at Starlight
As readers, we can often either love or hate movies. Some prefer to read, some refuse to see movie adaptations at all. I am both a reader and an avid film-goer. I’m there at least once a week seeing anything and everything from the latest blockbusters to films that leave me scratching my head. I love it because, like reading, it allows us to get lost in our own world, or rather, the world of the characters on screen.
In Shadows at Starlight, Peyton and Olivia face something they never thought possible and it all stems from a cinema…
I thought a great tie-in to this fifth instalment of the Soul Seekers series would be to talk about my favourite onscreen characters and considering what they have to face, I’ll stay rooted in darkness. These women have made an impact on me in terms of their courage, their loyalty and willingness to put others above themselves.
So here are my top female leads in horror movies…
Laurie Strode from the Halloween franchise
Laurie is the classic Scream Queen from the Halloween series. A young girl who often spends her weekends babysitting, comes up against a masked Michel Myers who comes back on Halloween night to massacre. He targets Laurie through the night, chasing her down, cutting down everyone in her way and despite everything Laurie protects the children in her care and stays strong.
Nancy Thompson from the Nightmare on Elm Street films
For me, Nancy is one of the women who deals with one of the worst things: having something attack in your sleep, a place that you can’t escape. When Freddy comes after her and her friends, she does everything she can to help her friends. And not only that, but she isn’t willing to sit back and let this happen and instead goes after him. Finally realising the only way to defeat Freddy, she turns her back on him and he no longer has fear to feed on.
Imagine turning your back on your worst fear – could you do it?
Ripley from Alien
Ripley is a strong woman for her time. In Alien, she is aboard a spaceship in a male-dominated environment and when they come across something they never expected she fights back. She is even willing to sacrifice her own life in order to save humanity. Her actions are truly altruistic.
Sidney Prescott from Scream
Sidney has to deal with the constant harassment of a faceless person in the Scream series as she’d dogged at every turn and left wondering who would choose to target her in this way on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Sidney is seen to run and fight, continuing on with normal life despite everything she goes through and as the film series goes on, she comes back stronger each time.
Despite everything, Peyton keeps on going. She has battled her addictions, her gift and the people in her life. Now she is strong and ready and willing to deal with whatever comes at her…