FINAL GIRL explores the slasher flicks of the '70s and '80s...and all the other horror movies I feel like talking about, too. This is life on the EDGE, so beware yon spoilers!

Oct 27, 2015

A Tribute to...

GOTH CHICKS IN HORROR MOVIES!

Don't you just love these scrappy, sassy gals? What, with their pale pale skin and their chokers and lace and fishnettery and their dark lips and their kohl-smeared eyes (the blackest eyes...the Devil's eyes!). You follow in their wake, desperately hoping they'll take notice of you, desperately terrified they'll take notice of you. You'll join a coven, sneer at the squares, whatever it takes to win their approval. You'll tell them you stole that bottle of Wet n Wild Black Creme nail polish from Walgreens when really all it took was a sideways glance from the lady restocking the L'Eggs pantyhose for you to scurry to the counter and dig a dollar seven in change from the bottom of your bag. You'll never be one of the goth chicks, but they'll let you think you are long enough for you to get in trouble, and you know the trouble is coming but you don't care. Once in a blood moon they make it to the end of the movie, emerging victorious from the chaos that they likely created, and come morning they're gone. That bottle of Black Creme sits on your bureau so long the color separates; you think about giving it a go, just to be a bit weird on a whim, but the cap won't turn. You put it back on the bureau top and tell yourself you'll throw it away soon, soon.

Anyway, goth chicks in horror movies are pretty great.



Kim Diamond, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2


Tosh, Urban Legend ("TOSH"!!)


Annabel, Mama


Slack, Land of the Dead






Nancy Downs, The Craft (Queen Goth Chick in Horror Movies Forever and Ever Amen)


10 comments:

The Horrorist said...

I love your picks, but what about Julie Walker from Return of the Living Dead III? I especially love her after her little make-over.

Stacie Ponder said...

Oh I'm sure there are plenty I've left out for one reason or another. Never seen RotLD3, actually, but I'm definitely familiar with the promo pics of her with, like, safety pins in her face or whatever's going on there. I'll have to keep her in mind for a future installment!

The Horrorist said...

You never seen RotlD3? To me one of the better 90's horror pics with lots of practical effects. I can recommend it to you.

Anonymous said...

I saw the title for this post and said to myself 'I really hope this list includes Kim from Blair Witch 2'.

That movie was INSANE! Of all the sequels to a found footage movie, it may be the most bizarre. Now a days they just would of kept sending more film students with cameras in the woods until we got to blair witch: ghost dimension in which the camera can now see the blair witch using special witch vision.

But no, we got the glorious and ridiculous Book of Shadows. Teenage me loved it so much but I fear a decade away will not have been kind to the beautiful hot meta mess.

Stacie Ponder said...

@horrorist - nope, it's in one of the gaps in my history/knowledge/what have you. I appreciate the recommendation for sure...I'll definitely check it out at some point when I'm in the same room with it!

@homodrome - high-five to that. I was talking a bit about it with someone on Facebook and I remember seeing it back in the day and wondering why everyone hated it so much. I thought it was a great idea and pretty well executed. Now I wonder if it was truly too far ahead of its time or not actually that great. One of these days I'll check it out again and find out.

CashBailey said...

Nancy4EVZ!!

Actually, to this day I think I'm permanently attracted to the combo of pale, dark-haired, light-eyed lovelies.

I think it was the one-two punch of having major adolescent crushes on Fairuza Balk and Louise Post from Veruca Salt that locked that in.

Stacie Ponder said...

Louise Post! I met her (and Nina Gordon) after a show back in the day and they were super nice. And the show kicked so much ass.

CashBailey said...

And Veruca Salt are back and their new record is GREAT.

And, yes, I still get a flutter in the stomach from Ms. Post. It's those eyes... :-P

Eliot Blades said...

The Blair Witch 2 commentary by Berlinger is a pretty good listen as he honestly assesses what he thinks went wrong with that film. I saw it at a press screening in London and the audience all seemed to dig it, so was surprised at what went wrong with the general release.

And yes Mindy Clarke is great in ROTLD3 - it's the only sequel in that franchise worth watching.

Unknown said...

i'm pretty sure you're gonna want to add vanessa ives to the next list. though maybe not, maybe she isn't a proper goth chick, i'm not sure if i exactly understand what qualifies as a "goth chick". but i trust that the Mighty Ponder will sort it.