Even at the beginning of September, the dark shadow of Halloween falls upon us all. October 31st draws near, and with it comes the annual binge of horror movies. From monster movies to psychological thrillers, the horror genre covers plenty of ground in terms of subgenre, theme, and even character representation. Though the genre might follow others in a lack of racial and gender diversity, even an analysis of 7 critically-acclaimed horror films in the past 30 years, from 1990 to 2020, can reveal something different. For the question of representation still looms in the midst of vampires and witches.
Each film was either selected using the RottenTomatoes Top 100 Horror Movies page (linked below), or by using Movieweb’s list of horror movies released in a certain year (for this article, only the years 1995 and 2005 were researched on the website; also linked below). Only those who specifically listed “horror” within their genre descriptions were chosen. If there were various top horror movies for a particular year, the movies were compared according to their combined rating from the Tomatometer (RottenTomatoes critics) and the audience score. Those with the highest combined scores were then further analyzed.
For each film included, the cast/crew roles included in the data analysis include director, writer, lead actors, producers, and executive producers. The data is also formatted into the racial categories of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern, as well as the gender categories of Male and Female. This was all sorted into 2 separate pie charts for each movie analyzed.
Hailed as one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date, Misery (1990) is one film that you shouldn’t watch with the lights off. Centering on a claustrophobic cabin in the middle of nowhere where writer Paul Sheldon is held hostage, the film drew a 90% rating from critics and a 89% rating from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. Within its leadership, 100% of the cast/crew roles of Misery were occupied by White members. In its gender diversity, 20% of the cast/crew is made up of female members, including award-winning lead Kathy Bates, with a remaining 80% of male members.
From John Carpenter’s twisted mind came In the Mouth of Madness (1995), another film about a missing writer. The film received a 58% rating from RottenTomatoes critics and a 73% rating from viewers for its trek into a supernatural town in New Hampshire. Even though it was set on the East Coast in the 90’s, 20% of its leadership roles went to Hispanic individuals, while 80% went to White individuals. The film displays a slightly different gender distribution, as 40% of its cast/crew is made up of female members and 60% are made up of male members, like the famous Sam Neill.
Following the hand of fate, Final Destination (2000) drifts away from the usual direction of most horror films. After cheating death, 7 teens are haunted by what should have happened on a plane trip, a storyline that earned the movie a 35% rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a 68% rating from viewers. The modern horror film does display a greater racial diversity, as 78% of the cast/crew members are White, 11% are Black, and 11% are Asian, with James Wong serving as director/writer. But there is less inclusion in its gender diversity, as only 11% of its cast/crew are female and 89% are male.
A gore-infused film from 2005, The Descent displays the power of an all-female cast and claustrophobia in horror. The movie received a 86% rating from critics and a 76% rating from viewers on RottenTomatoes for its depiction of an expedition into monster-filled caves. The leadership of the film is made up of 20% Asian individuals and 80% White individuals, though vastly different numbers feature within its gender composition: 40% are female, and 60% are male, a shift away from the usual cast/crew gender distribution.
Let Me In (2010), the Hollywood remake that doesn’t put the original to shame, hits all the essential marks of a vampire story. The film surrounds the friendship between 12-year old Owen and Abby, and the secret between them. It received a 88% rating from RottenTomatoes critics and a 76% rating from viewers. Though based on a traditional narrative, the film does lack diversity in other areas: 100% of the film’s leadership is White and 14% is female, with the remaining 86% being male.
The breakout film for both director-writer Robert Eggers and lead Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch (2015) has all the elements of a traditional witch story, but a much different ending. The film received a 90% rating from RottenTomatoes critics and a 59% rating from viewers for its depiction of colonial New England terror of the unknown and the known: witches. The film has a racial distribution of 5% Hispanic cast/crew members, 5% Asian cast/crew members, and 90% White cast/crew members, not surprising for its historical setting. But there is more inclusion within its gender distribution, as 32% of the cast/crew is female and 68% is male.
A surprise hit among both critics and audiences, The Invisible Man (2020) takes a modern twist on the classic horror movie villain with successful results. Set in the already terrifying reality of an abusive relationship and the refusal of others to believe, the film received a 91% rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a 88% rating from viewers. Though the film has a racial distribution of 100% White cast/crew members, it is the first within the films analyzed both in this genre/article and in previous genres to have an equal gender distribution: The Invisible Man boasts a 50% male/female cast/crew.
Though not perfect in its representation, the racial and gender diversity statistics of the horror genre have proved remarkably greater than others. Even in the past 30 years of film, the general trend towards more diverse casts and crews is made clear in the horror genre in only 7 films; films like Final Destination (2000) and The Invisible Man (2020) make it clear that the best frights are delivered by different voices both in and behind the scenes. It seems that even with the addition of a monster, diversity can be triumphed within a film.
Sources
“Horror Movies: 1995.” MovieWeb, 13 Jan. 1995, movieweb.com/movies/1995/horror/.
“Horror Movies: 2005.” MovieWeb, 27 Jan. 2005, movieweb.com/movies/2005/horror/. “Top 100 Horror Movies .” RottenTomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_horror_movies/.
