The conundrum of ‘a feminist take on a horror classic’ – Feminism and the Horror Distribution Landscape

The aim of this paper is to analyse two films, Rabid (Soska Sisters, 2019) and Black Christmas (Sophia Takal, 2019), which pose as two contrasting ends of the rich discussion around film distribution and reception, to explore specific problems regarding the distribution landscape of horror films. Despite the fact that these two films differ greatly in terms of how they were marketed, released and received, they have one thing in common: they are both remakes from horror classics from the 70s. Indeed, both films were described by critics as being ‘feminist takes on horror classics’, and here is the source of the problem. Much of the backlash around Black Christmas was primarily rooted on its feminist agenda, the same thing which was applauded in Rabid. This backlash raises many questions, but most importantly it interrogates the impact of the distribution and reception on the idea the horror is a safe space for feminist films. This paper will then turn to the differences in how the films were distributed, marketed and received by both critics and fans, as well as to the career of the filmmakers to ask whether the horror genre offers a positive space for women filmmakers.