Heidi Martinuzzi

When it comes to Women In Horror, there are some names that come up over and over again. Women who have long fought for gender equality in the horror industry. Have I written about this woman before? Oh, hells yeah! But when you speak about WiH month, this woman simply needs to be paid her dues. She is known by all as a champion in the independent film scene. She is a disgustingly talented horror and cult journalist. She has appeared in numerous indie films. She was featured on E!: Entertainment Television is a series of episodes on Scream Queens. She is the co-founder and co-head of the Viscera Film Festival alongside Shannon Lark. She is the woman behind Fangirltastic.com. She has written for numerous publications including Fangoria, The Dark Side, and Femmes Fatales and she's written for Bloody Disgusting and Film Threat.

Of course, there is only one woman I could be talking about. A woman who truly needs no introduction...

HEIDI MARTINUZZIA woman whose collective accomplishments more than speak for themselves. However, it's this woman's genuine "say-whatever-the-fuck-I-feel-like-and-I-don't-give-a-shit-what-you-think" attitude has won her a legion of loyal followers, unparalleled respect for her honesty, and cult classic status.

"I never do anything because of how people perceive me - I gave up on that a long time ago. If there's a bit of 'whore' in me or what I do it's because it's genuinely there - maybe I'm a whore that day. If I express a desire to enjoy gore, it's because it feels right at the moment. Women need to stop pretending to be something they're not to impress people who don't give a fuck who they are. I genuinely just try to be myself, which is why there are people who don't like me!" ~ Heidi Martinuzzi

It's not only her refreshing honestly that has captivated the masses, but her trademark sense of humor as well. Often, she appears in films where the horror gives way to moments of that delicious brand of inappropriate humor. Some titles include Retardead, Come Get Some More!, Fistful of Brains, Slaughter Party (featuring a special appearance from Seymore Butts as he tried out his acting chops), and the upcoming Amateur Porn Star Killer 3D: Inside The Head.

But horror is where this femme fatale really shines. Her film, WRETCHED, her directing debut alongside of Leslie Delano. The piece which she also wrote features a woman who is trapped in an abusive marriage. She struggles to cope by controlling her food intake, with the focus being on purging.

The most incredible aspect of this short is that Heidi opens herself up in a very personal and commendable way as she based the story on her own personal experiences with bulimia, depression, and abusive relationships. It is a rarity to see this level of honesty in anyone's work, especially in regards to experiences that are so clearly painful and scarring. This is another place where her honest self expression excels and furthers the respect her peers and her legions of loyal fans have for the woman.

Heidi, also, makes an appearance as a Junkie in the film giving an unexpected moment of levity in this disturbing short.

Bulimia, depression, and abusive relationships are things that plague the lives of so many women and men, as well. In the US alone, between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of girls and women (i.e. 5-10 million people) and 1 million boys and men suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other associated dietary conditions.

"Wild and Gutwrenching!" - Lucky McKee (director of May)

"It's a disturbing portrait of a serious subject. Bloody in the best sense of the word. The acting was excellent. Joe Bob Briggs is terrific. It's really a different kind of horror." - Don Coscarelli (director of Beastmaster and Phantasm)

“Extraordinarily well written, Wretched is a cerebral treat for fans of quirky dialogue and unique storytelling. Intelligent viewers looking for something different won’t want to miss it.” - Art Ettinger, Ultra Violent Magazine

You can see Heidi appearing as a performer in the short film BOX, which has now been completed, and in the upcoming AMATEUR PORN STAR KILLER 3D: INSIDE THE HEAD.

As I've mentioned earlier and many of you in the know already, well, KNOW, Heidi also runs Fangirltastic.com (formerly known as PrettyScary.com) and holds the Viscera Film Festival annually in LA with the sensational Shannon Lark. The festival is the only of it's kind and they is no submission fee.

"Viscera specifically focuses on women gaining self confidence, knowledge, and growth through the creation of horror films.

This process is to achieve equality in the film industry, not domination.

Specializing in short horror films made by the female gender, the Viscera Film Festival hosts an annual bloody carpet event in Los Angeles for the selected Filmmakers, Special Celebrity Guests, and a live audience. Each Filmmaker receives a hand crafted Viscera Statue, along with promotional materials and the option to be distributed on the next Viscera DVD Compilation. Throughout the year, Viscera is continuously working to get the Viscera films screened and promoted all over the world."

And they are currently taking submission RIGHT NOW. Submit here. I know we will be and we most sincerely hope to see you all there.

Heidi is a truly inspiring Woman In Horror and it would be impossible to speak of Women In Horror without taking the time to look at the astounding achievements of this bold and strong woman. She is genuine and it is more than simply a breath of fresh air in this business. It's something we can all aspire to be more like. When a man is strong in business, confident, and not afraid to speak his mind, he's just being a man. No one even bats an eye. When a woman does the same, she is often labeled a bitch, a cunt, or even a dyke. That is beyond disgusting. It's intolerable. Women like Heidi who so tirelessly fight for equality amongst the genders is a true champion. It is impossible to not admire this strong business woman and who she encourages women everywhere to be fearless and stand strong. And united.

With women like Heidi and events like WiH month, I firmly feel that future generations will be able to see a day where there is equality and gender will not be a basis for discrimination. The work deserves to speak for itself. Regardless of whether it be by a man or a woman.

Thank you, Heidi, for being such a strong voice not only in horror, but for women everywhere.

~Jen

Guest Writer for KillingBoxx

This month, as everyone well knows, is the second annual Women In Horror recognition month started by Ax Wound's Hannah Neurotica. In just ONE year, the event has grown tremendously! But, what gives? What is Women In Horror month?

KillingBoxx.com is a HUGE supporter of this very worthy month long celebration. They were kind enough to feature one Sylvia Soska as one of their special guest writers for the month. Sure, I am totally biased, but it really is quite incredible.

Got some questions about Women In Horror month? Here is her article.

~ Jen

Alice Guy

"In many respects she was a nineteenth century person. She believed in the family structure. And yet, she had strong feminist views. She was enthused by everything she saw and heard that was feminist in any way” -Simone Blache (on her mother)

Who is the first film director? You might be surprised to know that the very first narrative director was originally a secretary for Gaumont-Paris, a company that manufactured cameras. That secretary was Alice Guy. She was born to French parents whose work was located in Chile. Her mother returned to Paris on July 1st, 1873, to give birth to Alice, but returned shortly afterwards to Chile to continue her work. She was raised by her grandmother in Switzerland, with a brief two years with her parents in Chile before she was sent to a boarding school in France. She was a teenager when her parents finally returned home. Tragically, her father and brother dies shortly thereafter.



In 1897, a year after she joined the company, Gaumont went from making cameras to producing movies and it was Alice's creativity and imagination that put the company on the map with her films. Her first film was an adaptation of an old French story where a fairy that grows children in her cabbage patch, LA FEE AUX CHOUX - translated to The Good Fairy and The Cabbage Patch. She chose the story because it was familiar as a fairy tale. It was one minute long and was filmed on the Gaumont’s 60mm. Her career started more out of amusement with using an invention that was deemed futureless by a disenchanted Leon Gaumont, its inventor. At the time, neither of them probably realized that she was developing early cinema.

"I thought I could do better…Gathering up my courage, I timidly proposed to Gaumont that I would write one or two short plays and make them for the amusement of my friends. If the developments which evolved from this proposal could have been foreseen, then I probably never would have obtained his agreement. My youth, my lack of experience, my sex all conspired against me." -Alice Guy

No there wasn't some magical bubble of sexual equality in France. Had Leon Gaumont known the imaginative and financial possibilities the invention held, he would have most likely kept it for himself. It was because the camera seemed useless that it was passed on Alice who ingenuitively saw an instrument that had huge story telling abilities and mass appeal. At the same time, she was a woman living in a time where gender roles were an issue. Alice didn't let that dissuade, even though that meant she would be fighting for the rest of her life, and used gender stereotypes to her advantage.


She focused on the traditional role of women while portraying the female characters in her work in a very strong, sometimes almost masculine, role that was still nurturing. Alice would recognize the traditional gender assessment and use that in her arguments promoting female film makers. She was excited by feminism and it inspired her for the future. Though she didn't fight tradition, she was always an advocate that women are capable of accomplishing so much more.

"Not only is a woman as well fitted to stage photodrama as a man, but in many ways she has a distinct advantage over him because of her very nature and because much of the knowledge called for in the telling of the story and the creation of the stage setting is absolutely within the province as a member of the gentler sex. She is an authority on the emotions. For centuries she had given them full play while man has carefully trained himself to control them. She has developed her finer feelings for generations…and she is naturally religious. In matters of the heart her superiority is acknowledged, her deep insight and sensitiveness in the affairs of cupid…it seems to me that a woman is especially well qualified to obtain the very best results, for she is dealing with subjects that are almost second nature to her…There is nothing connected with the staging of a motion picture that a woman cannot do as easily as a man, and there is no reason why she cannot completely master every technicality of the art." -Alice Guy

Gaumont was so impressed with her that they made her the head of production where she would systematically continue to develop narrative film making. She would work for the company from 1896 to 1906, her career would span over twenty five years where she would write, direct, produce, and/or oversee over seven hundred movies. In 1906, she made THE LIFE OF CHRIST which was extremely ambitious at the time - with scenes requiring over three hundred extras.


Alice was also a pioneer for sound recording in conjunction with the images on screen through the Gaumont Chronophone System. The System used a vertical-cut disc synchronized to the film to join the sound with the picture. Her creativity made her innovative. She would use special effects to bring her fiction works to life using double exposure masking techniques or even running the film backwards to tell her stories. Her inventive films made her realize the vast marketability of the cameras, even though Gaumont dismissed the invention. Crowds came demanding the camera once they saw her work. Her imagination opened a world of cinematic possibilities.

"In experience acquired day by day, by mistake, by change, I discovered small tricks such as film turned inside out allows a house to collapse and be reconstructed again like magic. A person can tumble from a roof and go back up again instantly." -Alice Guy

Her film work includes titles: A CHILD'S SACRIFICE, HER FATHER'S SIN, A MIDNIGHT VISITOR, A TERRIBLE LESSON, HUBBY DOES THE WASHING, THE REFORMATION OF MARY, THE BLOOD STAIN, THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MAN, A TERRIBLE NIGHT, THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK, THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL, THE VAMPIRE, VAMPIRE, and TARNISHED REPUTATIONS.


In 1907, Alice met and married Herbert Blache. He became appointed Gaumont's production manager for their American operations. The two moved to the US and, in 1910, they decided to open their own studio with partner, George A. Magie. Historically, they created the largest pre-Hollywood studio in America - The Solax Company. The film studio was established in Flushing, New York, and within two years were so successful that they were able invest over a hundred thousand dollars in advancements. Alice opened an impressive film factory in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where her vision could reign.

For a time, there was a thriving film business on the east coast, but that ended with the establishment of 'Hollywood' on the west coast. The five major film studios - Famous Players (Later Paramount Pictures), RKO, Fox Film Corporation (later 20th-Century Fox Productions), Warner Brothers, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) - would bury The Solex Company and end Alice's American film making career. In 1922, Alice returned to France to start anew but her welcome was far from the warm reception that she was expecting. She and Herbert divorced at this time.


In 1927, she would return to America, but the travels and fall of her company would make her lose many of her works. Despite the coldness she was receiving from the industry she pioneered, she decided she would be a speaker on feminine psychology and film making at several universities. Her voice would not be silenced and she hoped to inspire other female film makers. Despite her strong voice, she was still living in a time where women were not valued in the same way men were. She fought hard to fight these misogynistic attacks, but even fell prey to them herself. For the person who is responsible for so much, she has not been given proper recognition. Many of her works were credited to male coworkers. Because of the lack of coverage or promotion of her accomplishments, some even question her contribution at all.

"Many of her films were cited as works by others. No one realized and tried to correct published errors more assiduously than Mme. Blaché herself. She anticipated that directing and producing credits for her films would be falsely assigned to her co-workers. She knew that her name, unintentionally or purposefully, would be omitted, or ignored, or demoted in the histories of French and American film." -Louise Heck-Rabi (on the injustices Guy faced)

Alice would return to the United States in 1927 with her daughters. This time not as a film maker, but as a speaker for feminine psychology and film making to inspire future generation film makers. She would speak at universities and share her experiences and knowledge. It was her greatest ambition to inspire, encourage, and promote women in film. It is sad to think how much she did for the film industry and how difficult it is to find any information on her or her work. Even though she was a pioneer feminist and advocate for women in film - she faced the exact same injustices as the women she fought for.

At 78 years of age, Alice was finally recognized by the French film industry as the first female film maker by Cinematheque Francais. She fought her entire life to inspire, encourage, and promote women's role in cinema. It is very sad that it is difficult to obtain much information on her as it was her words and her work that she spoke so clearly through. She passed away at the age of 95 with her daughters in Mahwah, New Jersey - only a few miles from where her studios once proudly stood.


The first film maker who developed the craft technically and creatively was a woman named Alice Guy. Be inspired, ladies. You are working in an industry made for you. Just remember to stay strong, focused, and be prepared for a fight.

~Sylv

Elisabeth and Brenda Fies

"Our mission is to spotlight edgy genre work and their fearless makers, and allow audiences to feel and see through a variety of women’s eyes. We prove to the world that the derogatory label “chick flick” (now applied to ANY film about or by a woman!!) needs to be retired. We want women’s hard work to be talked about and seen, so that there is indisputable proof that talented ladies are creating exciting multi-genre films, and can no longer be ignored." -Mission Statement of the Bleedfest Film Fest

Last year, Jen and I were invited to Bleedfest for the LA premiere of DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK. These lady and sister film makers, Elisabeth and Brenda Fies, were organizing the event - a feature fest in junction with the Viscera Film Fest - and I knew I had met someone special because she invited us into her home to crash. You see these sisters don't only organize the incredible, monthly indie film festival - known as Bleedfest - where independent film makers get a fabulous venue and audience with the best and the brightest in the LA indie scene, but they are independent film makers themselves (hence, they knew we were broke and might not be able to make it). But HA-ZA! we squeezed the last bit of juice out of a credit card and we were on our way! This little girl's dream come true (movie premiere in LA) was brought to you by VISA.

"The holocaust of creativity in modern indie films. With the exception of Lars Von Trier, Crispin Glover and The Short Bus guys, people aren't using the digital revolution to express themselves and push artistic boundaries. Instead they're copying Hollywood films and trying to break into an industry that's already died. Maybe it's a good thing there's no money left in filmmaking and we're all splintering off into niche distribution sources." -Elisabeth Fies

We played with their cult thriller, THE COMMUNE. Elisabeth wrote and directed the film, while Brenda produced. It's evident in every frame of this talented family's work that there is real talent there as well as a seriously dark and fucked sense of humor - you will dig it. There is something beyond impressive about independent film makers like these women - they work their asses off, they spend all their money to back a project, they put their heart into it, and it shows.


Here's an interesting fact for you aspiring film makers, some regions will buy a movie just because there is female nudity in it. Bare breasts. I kid you not. Not wanting to put any of her actresses through such a potentially uncomfortable situation, Elisabeth decided her character in the film would be the one that would take it off.


Now, you might be thinking - 'Oh, God. That poor woman. How awful.' Your own sexuality can be used against you only if you allow it to. Flashback to Bleedfest, we're all sitting in the darkened theater with THE COMMUNE playing. By the by, Elisabeth is a fantastic actress. You uber nerds already know that she's fought the MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS twice. She can play evil. She can also play a sexually liberated mother whose daughter is away from the weekend and wants to get her freak on. It's very sexy and Elisabeth is no victim. She is a strong actress and handles mature themes well. This can also be seen in her directing.

"Twin Peaks is the single biggest influence on me. After it, my two favorites are a tie: Sex, Lies, And Videotape and Terminator 2. Sex was when I realized I could make a movie too, and I could make it very personal and embarrassing and confessional. T2 was when I realized the best way to get a message out into the world was hidden in amazing entertainment value." -Elisabeth Fies

Brenda Fies is a producer and a damn good one. She's already produced four projects - THE COMMUNE, DISTRAUGHT, CONSUMED, and SCREAM QUEEN. DISTRAUGHT is the dark and and disturbing directorial and writing debut for Brenda and it's brilliant.



She is currently working on a new feature called I HATE LA which follows suicide attempts gone wrong - she would know all the gory details, too, as she has twenty five years as a registered nurse. That's right she is actually a hero. She is also incredibly down to earth and generous (as you might have guessed, these ladies are two of the best people on the planet) - there is a lot of medical subject matter in an upcoming project and Brenda was kind enough to see if my medical information was accurate and also, she's a producer, so she can tell you what you can do for the sake of the film and story.


I feel like I know these women and their family intimately and you might too if you have read Mom's Cancer. It is a very real and very beautiful beautiful graphic novel written by their brother, Brian Fies. When their mother in real life is diagnosed with lung cancer, Brian decided to make a comic strip about it. It's insightful, sad, raw, funny, and moving. I mention it now as I was given a copy by Elisabeth during a particularly difficult time and the book was a godsend.


Elisabeth and Brenda are a powerhouse, film making, sibling duo. Their work is edgy, brave, and imaginative. I can't hardly wait to see their new projects. They are so impassioned about independent film making that they put on these Bleedfest Film Festivals at their own expense.


If you are passionate about indie film making and an excellent venue to showcase new talent, then you can join Bleedfest - the community's generosity and support will help keep this festival healthy and alive. Here is the donation link, big spender (insert cheeky wink).

The Fies sisters are an excellent example of what Women In Horror Month is all about - being strong role models that not only make their own fantastic work but also give back to the community by supporting and promoting fellow indie film makers. Brilliant work all around, ladies! Now, get your butts to Bleedfest -- happening today and every first Sunday of the month.

~Sylv