Q: How has female representation in horror films changed over time? Using the films Friday the 13TH Part 2 1981 (Miner, US) and The Cabin in the Woods 2011 (Goddard, US)?

Steve Miner’s 1981 film Friday The 13th Part 2 and Drew Goddard’s 2011 The Cabin In The Woods are two well-known horror films. They are both staples in the Horror genre from Friday 13th’s masked killer Jason Voorhees to The Cabin In The Woods’ collection of killers ranging from Werewolves to Zombies. These films have been chosen due to their different representations of female characters and their roles within the films. Lionsgate and Goddard have stated that the Friday 13th franchise heavily influenced The Cabin In The Woods as the settings are similar as are some other aspects. Miner’s film Friday 13th Part 2 is a sequel to the first and follows Sandra, her boyfriend Jeff, Scott, Terry, Mark, Vickie, Ted, and Paul’s assistant Ginny as they enlist in a school for Counsellor’s at Crystal Lake where they are attacked by the masked killer Jason Voorhees. The Cabin In The Woods follows American college students Dana, Jules, Curt, Holden, and Marty who are spending the weekend at Curt Vaughan’s cousin’s cabin in the forest. From the lab below the cabin, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students and send killers after them in order to satisfy ‘The Director’.