How the female gaze may differ in both films due to the social context of what is happening e.g. Alien is filmed at a time where Mulvey had just conceived her idea so would be used as an early representation

‘Females are represented as the object of a male’s desire and fear whilst watching horror films through the use of the female gaze. Alien shows this idea through the extended 10 minute clip of Ripley walking around in her underwear which suggest that female characters only exist for male pleasure. Since the film was released during the early era of second wave feminism, the idea of female characters standing alone and representing strength was only recently introduced. Therefore, it is justifiable that Alien would still represent elements of the male gaze because the theory had not been implemented for long.

Whereas Happy Death Day neglects to show such scenes and keeps sexual focus at a minimum, to represent the development of strong female characters but also the removal of the male gaze. This is shown when Tree is an embodiment of a sarcastic, rude yet strong and emotionally developing character as we follow her journey rather than a sexual object for male desire to be projected on throughout the film.