Final Girls Horror Duo Tour UK With Special Halloween Screenings

This is a peice I recently wrote for my third year magazine module assignment. I had an incredible time at We Are The Weirdos, and chatting to them afterwards was a great experience. Below is the final page layout, and the original text in full. Enjoy!

Manchester is a city rich in scary Halloween delights, but a highlight in 2017 was horror loving duo The Final Girl’s screening of their favourite feminist horror shorts, at independent cinema HOME.

We Are The Weirdos is a collection of feminist short horror films, put together and taken on tour by Final Girls Olivia Howe and Anna Bhustkaya, after feeling a frustration towards how women are treated in the horror world.

Howe said: “The Final Girls is a film collective exploring the intersection between horror films and feminism.”

Bhustkaya, the other half of the Final Girls, states that they began due to an anger towards how the horror scene treated women.

She said: “We started it off in a way because of a shared frustration in not being able to participate in the horror scene as much as we wanted to.

“It was a place where we didn’t feel welcome, where it was frankly kind of gross, and we felt we were constantly being kind of questioned, or treated like we weren’t true horror fans, or we weren’t supposed to appreciate horror,” concluded Bhustkaya.
The ten films are all very different, but are accidentally united by the common theme of female directors.

“We didn’t set out for it to be all shorts directed by women, it naturally just happened,” said Bhustkaya.

“The ones we were drawn to and the ones that we thought were most interesting were all directed by women, so we decided to just make that the concept,” she said.

Bhustkaya also said that their goal for the films was to open up horror for women: following in the vision of the Final Girls creation.

She said: “We want to show that it horror doesn’t have to be the way it’s perceived to be; boring, tacky and repetitive.

“It can be interesting and intriguing and surprising, and that it’s a place for everyone to think about and interpret horror in the way that they wish.”
The pair where spoilt for choice when it came to choosing the ten films for the screenings.

“We had over 1,300 submissions, we also had a number of film-makers we had on our radar, and the programme itself is a combination of both of those things,” said Howe.

“We were looking for a very particular thing, so it was quite easy to narrow it down that way,” she elaborated.

The collection of films, titled We Are The Weirdos, visited independent cinemas across the UK in the run up to Halloween.

“We really wanted to speak to independent cinemas rather than chains, it felt the most appropriate with the event,” said Howe.

The pair are very proud of the variety in the ten films chosen for the piece.

“What’s really nice about the program is it’s very balanced: one half of it is film makers that we were aware of, and half of it is people that we had no idea about,” Howe explained.

The women chose HOME for their Manchester venue, as it was one of the first cinemas outside of London for them to put on an event in previous years.

The tour visited twelve UK cities in total, beginning with the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle, and ending with the Genesis in London.

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My Top 5 Cruelty Free Products

As a new comer to the cruelty free scene, I’m still going through and replacing all my old favourites with their cruelty free alternatives, and my collection is almost complete. A lot of the products on this list are things I probably wouldn’t have tried without them being cruelty free, like collection makeup, for example. So if you’re thinking about making the change, just know there’s so much more out there than you think that doesn’t harm animals, and with brands like NYX and elf new to the UK, there’s never been a better time to try and buy more cruelty free! Here are my top five cruelty free products:

NYX Ultimate Warm Neutrals Palette

I was very excited when NYX came to the UK. I knew it as what they used on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and had seen it in American makeup tutorials. I also knew it was cruelty free, and it came to Boots at almost the same time I decided to go cruelty free. Clearly, me and this palette were meant to be. Living up to the name, it has every matte and sparkly neautral shade you’d ever need, as well as a few bolder brown, orangey and pink tones. It’s very pigmented and lasts a long time. I hadn’t had many other eye shadows before I got this palette so I don’t have much to compare to, but I know it is quality none the less. NYX is a high street makeup brand, and at just a little bit more on the pricey side at £18. While this is more expensive than it’s ELF or Revolution competitors, you’re paying for the long wear and pigmentation in the 18 shades.

get it here

Superdrug Sensitive TeaTree Cleansing Wipes

Something that has been very helpful since I started buying cruelty free was Superdrug- all their own brand products aren’t tested on animals! This is helpful for more obscure things like toothpaste and suncream that are harder to find cruelty free, but my favourite is their teatree makeup wipes. They’re nearly always on offer, and they’re a perfect match for my sensitive spotty skin. They usually cost £3.29, but are almost always reduced, or on 3 for 2. The pore strips from the range are great too. Cheap, effective, and no little rabbits got hurt in the process. What more can I say?

get them here

Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation

Foundation has always been tricky for me. With the two extremes of combination skin, finding something that is matte but won’t dry me out and will be heavy duty enough to cover my spots is pretty tough. Add cruelty free into the mix narrows the search even more. I’d found one that was good enough, but then the search began again for a cruelty free replacement. I tried out a lot and collection was the one! In all honesty I’d written it off as a cheap tacky brand, but I am happy to say I was wrong. It’s oil free which is perfect for my skin but doesn’t dry me out either. At £5.99 I won’t be buying another for a while.

get it here

REVOLUTION Ultra Pro Glow Highlighter Palette

I can’t rave about this palette enough! A teeny tiny swipe of my brush leaves me highlighted, bronzed and beautiful. At only £8 for 8 colours it’s a steal, with a shade to compliment every makeup look you can think of. I’m obsessed. I would even go as far as saying this palette lives up to it’s name and is bloody revolutionary.

get it here

 

Body Shop Seaweed Oil Balancing Mask

This mask is less of a staple and one of the more indulgent items on my list. The Body Shop has been cruelty free since I can remember,  even if it’s swapped hands over the years. I love face masks, but this one is my favourite. It smells amazing, absorbs every bit of oil, and leaves my face feeling smooth. The pot is £11 which seems like a lot, until you realize how long it lasts. I actually prefer it to the more expensive range of masks the shop sells. It does the job without the frills, but still feels like a treat! I honestly don’t know if it makes my skin better or not, I tend to find most products don’t actually do help the way they claim to, but the seaweed mask pulls all the oil out of my face without leaving me feeling dry. Simple!

get it here

 

 

 

Flash Review: Wonder Woman

 In the past few years female lead media has been on the rise, with successes such as Pitch Perfect, Orange is the New Black and most recently GLOW. We are seeing feminist messages in our media more and more, and the phrase ‘strong female character’ has become common place. Wonder Woman took this one step further, in a beautiful representation of every little girls favourite superhero. Grossing a total of $813.4 million worldwide, it is undeniable the film was a success. 

DC hasn’t had an amazing track record in it’s film releases in recent year. Despite the two still making millions, Batman vs Superman was a worldwide letdown, and Suicide Squad has become a joke in it’s own right. Because of this I was nervous for a stand alone Wonder Woman film. It was very important to me that this film succeeded in order to elevate female superheros from sex symbols to actually being taken seriously in the public eye. Don’t get me wrong; we’ve been seeing amazing lady heroes for years now with the likes of various  X-Men and the Black Widow.  But, Wolverine has his own set of films, not Storm, and Natasha Romanoff is one of the only Avengers without her own movie. DC has taken an alternative approach, setting up Wonder Woman before the Justice League film, rather than some of it’s other male counterparts. In summary I was nervous the film wasn’t going to be a success, but it thankfully proved me very wrong.

Wonder Woman follows the story of Dianna, played by Isreali actress Gal Gadot, an excellent choice for the iconic role.  Dianna is an Amazon woman from the fictional island of Themyscira. The Amazons, made up exclusively of women, are a warrior race in constant battle training for the return of Ares: the god of war. Dianna is the child of the Queen Hippolyta, who tells her stories of a weapon left by Zuess to protect mankind: the God Killer. Although her mother tries to protect her from the world of war, Dianna grows up training in secret, to become an excellent fighter. Her skill is tested when a mysterious man washes up on the beach of Themyscira, talking of war on earth. The year is 1918, the final year of the first World War. Dianna, hearing Steve Trevor’s story, steals the God Killer, a magnificent sword. Her plan is to kill Ares and end the war, though Steve is skeptical and looking for a way back to London.

With the back story out of the way, lets fast forward slightly. Not to give too much away Dianna’s venture into the world eventually leads her and Steve to form a group fighting back against the Germans, with Dianna getting closer to who she believes is Ares. The hijincks of Dianna in a 1918 London lead to funny moments of her trying on clothes that work with her armour, but also facing the limitations of being a woman in that oppresive time. While her ignorance of the world often makes her a voice of simple reason, Steve’s superiors ignore her aspiration to protect as many as possible in the war, leading to a team of rebels lead by Steve.What follows is an utter delight. I don’t wish to give away any more of the plot than I already have, but there are finer details I need to discuss.

Highlights: My first highlights of the film were the fight scenes. This is not something I normally enjoy in a film at all, and in superhero flicks there are many to be expected. But I personally found these scenes in Wonder Woman really enjoyable. They were well choreographed, and also short enough that they didn’t drag. When a films entire third act is made up of fighting, I tend to nod off. But the films big climax had fights interspersed with dialogue and action with the side characters, as well as just being a more interesting fight in general, for reasons I will not divulge.

My second highlight was Dianna’s belief in herself. Throughout the film, Steve Trevor and his team quietly think Dianna is ridiculous in her belief Ares is real, yet she keeps her faith and perseveres, even when Steve tells her Ares is not real. She believes in herself and the knowledge she was raised on even though everyone else is telling her different, and does not doubt herself for a moment. I believe this to be a fantastic example to young girls.

My third highlight of the film was Chris Pine’s performance as Steve Trevor. Despite ending up a love interest for Dianna, he only helps her in the sense he takes her where she needs to go. Everything else is done by her alone, and Steve and his men don’t actually affect the plot too much aside from being a love interest. But his character is likable, and the two make a perfect odd couple. Their on-screen chemistry is excellent, providing the romance in the background from the main plot: Dianna’s mission.

Let-downs: This film met every one of my personal expectations; there is not much I can say in terms of let-downs. If I had to pick my least favourite part, it would be the climaxing fight between Dianna and Ares (spoiler alert.) The fight bordered on too ridiculous while the rest of the film was believable enough. Despite following a fictional race of god-women with super powers, the final fight scene pushed the film into the realms of ridiculous. But is this not what we expect from superhero films these days?

Another final let down was the casting of Ares. David Thewlis will always be most well known for his performance in the Harry Potter series as Remus Lupin- the definition of a good guy. This made it difficult to take him seriously as the villain of the film, especially combined with his large almost comical mustache. I will concede however that this fed in to the surprise reveal of Ares’s true identity- you never expect the good guy.

Rating: 9.5/10

 

Killer Crazy: the Mental Health Horror

I’m a recently converted avid horror fan. My love began with the likes of The Shining and rages on to this day with films like It Follows and Lights Out. I think this love can be boiled down to one thing: the best horror films are just really fucking clever. Jump scare upon jump-scare doesn’t impress me now I’m a seasoned horror watcher: I crave something more. Something better. Don’t get me wrong, jump scares can be excellent, when built up effectively and used sparingly. I’ve found what scares me the most is surprise and sustained fear, not little spooks when the ghosties jump up in front of the camera. This lack of clever plot to me however extends further than just shitty jump scares. It’s a problem that’s been in the back of my mind for a really long time, and that is mental health in horror films. I’m almost certain that in the majority of your favourite horror films, there will be at least one person with a mental health problem. This could be the person who sees ghosts so is ‘crazy,’ or the ‘pshycho’ killer who says the voices made him do it. I am in no way innocent here; nearly all my favourite horrors feature one of these characters. It’s hard not to argue that no matter how people with mental illnesses are featured in these films, they are meant to scare us.

I wanted to express these thoughts a while ago, particularly inspired by the film Lights Out, among others, but I felt like I was being too picky. To put it simply, the main characters’ mother only sees Dianna, the monster/ghost in the film, when she doesn’t take her medication. I was worried I was  finding problems where they don’t exist, and taking things too far. So I let it be. But let me make one thing clear, if I doubted how I felt then, I shouldn’t have, because I have watched a lot of horror films, and continued to feel the same way. A few days ago I watched the James McAvoy thriller Split, and I can’t keep my big mouth shut any more.

Split, if you don’t know, is a very recent thrillerish nail biter about a man with multiple personality disorder who kidnaps a group of teenage girls. There are spoilers ahead, so don’t say I didn’t warn you! Basically, three of the Kevin’s twenty-four different personalities believe in ‘the beast,’ another of Kevin’s personalities that is essentially a higher evolved human, with advanced super-strong abilities. He can climb up walls, and alter his body chemistry with his mind to make him big and strong. This personality needs to feed on ‘impure’ flesh to grow stronger, and believes those who haven’t suffered in life are weaker in the evolutionary chain. The pure ones are the ones who have suffered, eventually saving the protagonists life. He doesn’t eat her when he sees her self harm scars and learns she has suffered and is thus pure. In summary, these three personalities kidnap the girls to feed to the beast, but first hold them hostage for a while to keep the spooks going.

Already, this sparks a lot of red flags for me. The trailer revealed most of this information, but I still went to see it, knowing it’s probably very dodgy. Why? Because it looked damn good, and it was. Looking at this film as a horror, regardless of the problems it could create in the stigmatisation of Dissociative Personality Disorder (split personality disorder,) it was a damn good horror. It came with clever and subtle suspense, with deliciously disturbing scenes to boot. But I can’t detach myself from this problem, and I don’t think I should have to in order to enjoy a film. I don’t believe it’s exactly easy writing, like jump scares- but I think there are other options that can be taken. The film was incredibly clever, and the idea of using this disorder created some highly unsettling scenes. But I still can’t quite let it go. For a lot of people, this may be the first time they ever encounter Dissociative Personality Disorder- a violent unhinged kidnapper, cannibal, and somebody who can supposedly alter his own body chemistry to make a monster? I’m no expert, but I’m 99.9% sure that isn’t possible.

Pictured: James MacAvoy as ‘Kevin’

I wanted to get a proper opinion, so I found an article in which a proper doctor, Cathy Kezelman, describes the film as ‘stigmatizing,’ and I can’t help but agree. The article also says that studies have found only 3% of people with DPD have done anything criminal: “the soon-to-be published research paper, Mental Illness and Violent Behaviour: The Role of Dissociation, which found that out of 173 people treated for the disorder, only three per cent reported having been charged with an offence in the past six months.” Basically, it’s pretty darn uncommon.

This is all getting a bit complicated, so let’s explore a more simple example. In The Ring, Samara is a creepy little girl who is seen either as a creepy ghost, or a little girl in a mental hospital. With her forever wet looking hair covering her face, in her white gown in her white room, Samara personifies all these things we associate with creepy. But why? It’s clear that Samara’s supernatural abilities are much more than her being a little ‘crazy.’ Then there’s the mental asylum scenes in Insidious 2, the ‘monster’ being a tortured and evil transgender person? Seriously?

Asylum horror has somehow become an entire genre too, and it grinds my bloody gears. With the likes of Grave Encounters and The Ward, these scary representations not only of mental illness, but also how the mentally ill are treated, are repeated over and over. How much media is out there to combat it? When I’m watching this stuff I can’t help but sit and wonder why mental illness is so scary to us as viewers, but the answer of course is obvious: it is scary. As someone who’s grappled with dodgy mental health personally, and watched people close to me grapple too, of course it’s scary. It’s fucking terrifying. But not in the way we see in horrors. Mental hospitals are not filled with ghosties and demons and torturous surgeons. The vast majority of mentally ill people are just living their every-day lives, just the same as any neuro-typical person. A pretty fucking big majority, actually. Not murderers, or kidnappers, and definitely not people with supernatural abilities to alter their own body chemistry etc etc.

On the other hand, there is the obvious thing to consider: these films are fiction. They’re not real, and they’re made to entertain, not to educate. It may also be important to note that murder and mental stability don’t exactly go hand in hand. Portraying a completely sane serial killer in a slasher wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. But for me, that doesn’t take anything away from how important representation is. As long as we have these scary portrayals, we need something good alongside them. As I said I’m in no way innocent when it comes to watching and loving these films. A lot of the films I’ve mentioned today are my favourites, and I’ve seen all of them. I’ve seen Split even though I knew what it was about. I love Lights Out and the Ring and so many others that pose the mental health problem, whether in subtle ways or not. I’m also not a film maker, and I wouldn’t have a clue where to begin when it came to writing something genuinely scary. I wanted to come to some kind of conclusion with this but I’m not sure what the answer is. Only to recognise that the world is moving forward, and it’s vitally important to show this in representation. Shows like My Mad Fat Diary and films like Silver Linings Playbook pave the way towards a better view of mental illness in the media. Am I just being too picky? Regardless of what I think, we still have a long way to go.

Am I being too picky or do you agree? Let me know what you think! Help end the mental health stigma with Bell Lets Talk.

 

Manchester homeless group fight eviction from unused Pizza Express

A group of homeless people launch an appeal against their eviction from an abandoned building.

Manchester Activist Group describes themselves as  “A group of 30 formally homeless individuals living and working together whilst trying to make legislative change.” The group currently includes two autistic people, and Chris Blaine, a new but very active member.

Blaine is a part of the occupation of an unused Pizza Express in Manchester city center, which although abandoned still has a working kitchen, toilets and hot showers. “I don’t see why we can’t stay throughout the winter months,” said Blaine. “We are gonna lose the building, were gonna get thrown out eventually, but our campaign is that this building is empty.” The building is set to be renovated and re-opened in 18 months, but will remain in disuse until that point.

According to the homeless link charity, in the year 2015 homelessness levels rose across the UK by a huge 30%, with approximately 3,569 people counted sleeping rough in 2015. Out of the North Western cities counted, Manchester had the highest rate of homeless people, peaking at 70. The second highest group was Salford at 16, still in the greater Manchester area.

The group occupy unused buildings in the Manchester area, previous locations including the Ducie Bridge pub,from which they were evicted.

In spite of this fact, the group launched an appeal to stay in the building, which has successfully lead to their eviction being postponed. However, their appeal was returned to them due to some paperwork mistakes, and is to be lodged today. Blaine said: “Until the government accept that austerity is killing people, a lot more people will inevitably end up on the street.”

Upon their eviction, the group will have nowhere else to go. Blaine explained that no extra support will be provided for the group upon their eviction. “Nothing’s been offered to us,” he said. “We’ve got one or two people going through the system at the moment using different charities, different organisations, but Manchester council are making no offers of accommodation.”

He has been part of the group for the past seven months. After his release from Strangeways prison, he was homed in Blackburn, where he had no connections, friends or family. Blaine said: “They’ll put you in a hostel anywhere in Greater Manchester, you don’t get a say in anything, you’re just banged into a home and forgotten about.”

Having experienced both prison and the Manchester City Council hostel system for the homeless, Blaine said: “The hostel system is, in my view, more dangerous than the prison system. Your exposure to drugs, violence and abuse is just off the charts, and people just don’t want to live there. They claim that all these places are supporting shared housing but they’re just not. The only support you get it you get told the rules.”

Blaine described, in his words, that the ‘only solution’ to Manchester’s homeless problem is the Manchester City Council providing housing, not shared hostel spaces for those without a home, as they are unsafe and often completely unideal for their tenants. Whether this be location, space available or even simply the ability to feel safe.

“You get a house first and then you move on with the rest of your problems,” Said Blaine. So far, Manchester City Council has made no attempts to speak with or work with the group. He explained: “The help you get it what the help is for everyone: you come and sign on.”

Manchester Activist Group are currently waiting for a response to their newly lodged appeal.