Film, photography, dance, theater, painting, graphic design, you name it. These women are part of the independent horror world who are mastering the art of celluloid and extending past it to bring creativity and expression to the genre.
Please check out their work, honor them, and keep a watch on their progress. These are the women who are making a difference in the genre and enriching the experience of it by their presence.
Rachel Grubb appeared as Amy in Shadow Creek Studio's "The Monster Of Phantom Lake." Since then she has acted in numerous independent feature films such as "Unholy Reunion," "The Horror Vault," and "Cave Women On Mars." She played a ghost in Dav Kaufman's "13 Hours In A Warehouse" and she played roles in three different segments of Haunted Autumn Productions' "Tales Of The Dead."
She recently finished directing her first feature film "Why Am I In A Box?" from Silent-But-Deadly Productions, the all female production company she runs
with her friend Brooke Lemke. She is acting in "Terror Overload: Tales From Satan's Truckstop" by Jason Stephenson from NFTS Productions, and next year, she will be appearing in Dav Kaufman's next film, "The Psychology Of Ghosts." Rachel has her own Scream Queen poker chip, available at ChainsawChips.com.
Viscera Women Archive
Sallie Smith is a seasoned photographer and filmmaker who is currently getting her well deserved degree at the San Francisco Art Institute. Her art explores in depth the link between childhood and the experience of death. Sallie's film "I'm a Little Teapot" can be seen on the VISCERA 2007 DVD, which is available here.
Sallie is a major contributor of the Mafia, having her work appear in the San Francisco Chronicle for the theatrical parody of A Nightmare on Elm St and several photos used for promotional material to promote the Mafia.
A very recent newcomer to the world of filmmaking Victoria Waghorn has trainer wheels firmly attached as she looks through the world with an eight year old's eyes in a thirty something year old body.
With an innate love for words and images she had previously delved in the heady realms of advertising, content development, web and magazine production before finally planting herself in the cinematic realm.
A New Zealander living in Australia she only graduated from Sydney Film School in 2005 as one of their wrinklier students: her plans are to continue making films, developing her craft and share stories until she simply cannot. It is a passion which keeps her blood warm on cold winter nights.
Heidi Martinuzzi is a Los Angeles-based film journalist and the owner/editor of the only website for and about women who love horror movies, www.pretty-scary.net. Her articles on horror, fantasy, and sci-fi movies have appared in Fangoria Magazine, Rue Morgue Magazine, Cinefantastqiqe, Femme Fatales Magazine, Sirens of Cinema Magazine, Dark Side Magazine, and on www.filmthreat.com, www.moviesbywomen.com and www.bloody-disgusting.com. She has appeared on E!, SpikeTV, and G4 as a horror film expert and executive produced two low budget horror films for Troma Studios that are just terrible..
She completed her first short horror drama Wretched (part of the Viscera Film Festival) in 2007 as writer/director, and producer and is currently writing a book on female horror film directors called Pretty/Scary.
In Late 1974 Brandy was found by Texas Ranger Malachi Matson. He found her at a Ranch Camp between Marfa, Texas and Ojinga, Mexico. She was the sole survivor of the Family Reunion Massacre. Brandy for those three days alone, survived on scraps from the picnic table and was befriended by a pack of feral dogs.
Ranger Matson went to the camp when a Border Patrol station reported smoke. He was so shocked at the scene when he arrived that he let his guard down and was nearly killed by the feral dogs, and in the ensuing fight Brandy saw yet another family of hers killed before her eyes, her new now deceased four-legged family. Still clutching her mother’s locket and a tuft of fur from the pack leader, the ranger lifted her with his remaining good arm and carried her to the pickup.
During the nearly two hour ride back to the main road, Brandy sat silently rocking back and forth with the motion of the truck as she braided the fur into the locket Chain then put it on her neck. On and off all the while she was humming the tune, Waiting Around to Die By: Townes Van Zandt.
Having spent time in Austin, the ranger knew the song and found it unsettling and dangerous such a young girl would know such brutal lyrics and wondered what kind of upbringing she must have had to be familiar with those lyrics. That coupled with the bloody horrific sight of the Family Reunion was not a good combination and he knew it would be difficult for anyone to get past, much less a child at such a tender age.
Young Brandy nearly killed Ranger Matson four years later, after overhearing him laughing about how he had found her to a colleague. She fled the small town of Marathon and lived off the desert for the next 9 years. All the while collecting the dark things from that desolate place... …And saving them to be unleashed upon the world; a world that had taken so much from her and replaced it with the hot desert sun, snake venom, and desire for the finer things like peeling the skin from a Ranch hand’s body or roasting a pack mule alive.
Years later, Brandy has managed to find ways to repress her anger and has learned to mingle and blend with society. The emergence of the love for the horror genre has given her an outlet for her darkness and a new audience to appreciate her torment. She is now in Austin, Texas working as a producer/writer/director with numerous projects in various stages of development unleashing her stories to the world one by one. You can find out more about Brandy and her work by visiting http://www.setitoffproduction.com/film/bios.html
Reyna Young, 24, was bornand raised in Northern California.
She is currently working in independant horror
as a director, producer, writer, model, and actress in San
Francisco. Ever since she was a little girl she remembers seeing her first
horror movie: John Carpenters
"Halloween." It was at that moment she fell in love with being
scared.
She created her production company Last
Doorway Productions in
hopes of bringing a little more horror to the world (never a bad thing).
Since then she has written feature scripts, and created a series of short
films, which she has produced, written, and directed.
Aside from her film projects, she has also created a show for independant horror in the Bay Area. The Last Doorway Show, which she hosts under the pseudonym Miss Misery, can be viewed online through her website.
myspace.com/lastdoorwayproductions
Michelle Fatale is a producer/writer/director based out of Northern California, currently owning her own horror production company Chopping Block Films, alongside her partner Craig McGee.
Michelle's first independant horror film Dead Line became a camp favorite through copies sold online, and was featured as an official selection at the IFFNTX.com film festival, and the Pretty-Scary.net film festival. Michelle's latest short film The Cleaner, won a best film award at the Northern California Film Festival, and is currently screening at festivals all across the U.S.
Michelle has also appeared on screen in such films as 'Monkey V.S. Hooker,' and 'Werewolf in a Women's Prison,' directed by Jeff Leroy. She also writes for horror sites such as Horror Fanatics, Pretty Scary, and her company site, Chopping Block Films.
Director, Choreographer and Featured Dancer
Founder of the nationally acclaimed zombie dance theater troupe,
LIVING DEAD GIRLZ, Amber Steele has been onstage as an actress, singer and dancer since the age of ten. She is currently working on multiple projects merging dance, film and performance art.
Steele graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a Double Major in Dance and Comparative Literature and is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Choreography at Mills College. Her research focuses on technology's impact on bodies and body image in our voyeuristic, commercialized modern culture.
Steele toured Germany and performed at the Cannes Film Festival as the featured dancer in TRIP - Remix Your Experience, a multimedia exhibition of film, live music and art. Steele has also performed as a featured dancer for RJ Reynolds (CAMEL) promotional events and managed the go-go dancers of "Poor Impulse Control," who perform frequently in San Francisco's industrial, alternative, and rock venues.
As is the CEO of the Steele Dance Company, Steele handles artistic direction, storyline creation, rehearsal facilitation and choreography as well as teaching the company's master classes. Steele has been teaching dance classes and private lessons since 1997.
For teaching inquiries, please contact her at
queenzombie@livingdeadgirlz.com
Lena
Toney : Special FX / Makeup ArtistWith over six years of experience in the film, theatre, and spa makeup industry Lena Toney is well rounded in the industry. Utilizing makeup she has created grotesque nightmare effects to simple relaxed beauty. As a California licensed esthetician and having created FX, beauty, theater, film, fashion and photography looks; Lena brings a skilled level of knowledge to all of her projects. Her goal is to bring the creations of our dreams to reality with the comfort and safety of the model or actor of utmost importance.
Contact Info:
Lena Toney
415-722-6616
Lenanyx@gmail.com
http://lenatoney.com
Niki Pretti photographs many different subjects, but her passion lies in horror. She is greatly influenced by Italian horror, specifically the work of Dario Argento. What makes her work so profound is her use of color and attention to detail. Niki works to make her photos look as real and horrific as possible, adding in a dash of humor when appropriate. Each series of photos is elaborately scripted to tell a story, creating a perfect combination of photography and film.
www.myspace.com/nikiprettiphotography
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