England’s Hammer Films became the new home of gothic horror in the late 1950s when they began remaking the classic Universal monsters movies. Beautifully shot in vibrant technicolor with elaborate sets and period costumes, the studio included many beautiful, scantily dressed women displaying prominent decolletage straining the seams of their diaphanous nightgowns.
SPOILER ALERT!
The on-screen depiction of acts of violence against women, especially rape, and the victim’s response (especially if it resembles revenge) have always provoked powerful responses from the viewing public and critics. One troubling aspect, according to Carol Clover in her 1992 book, “Men, Women, and Chain Saws,” is the male audience’s sadistic and voyeuristic reaction to the suffering of the victim and her turn to avenging hero. She describes how theater audiences, of mostly adolescent males, undergo a curious identification switch during the film - first they watch and cheer at the attack on the victim, depicted in unflinching, graphic displays. Then they “reverse their sympathies to cheer the survivor on as she assaults the killer” (Carol Clover - Men, Women, and Chainsaws, p23).
