Editorial: ‘Dog Fight’ to Represent the Best of Women In Horror
by Marc Patterson
Ask what The Soska Sisters, Elske McCain, Shannon Lark, Tara Cardinal, Devanny Pinn, and Deneen Melody all have in common and we’ll tell you Dog Fight. Dog Fight is a new film, still in pre-production, that is slated to begin rolling cameras in early September and represents some of the brightest and best females acting in horror today. The film is centered on an underground fighting circle whose participants are comprised solely of women. The women are victims of human trafficking who have been kidnapped, beaten and psychologically broken before being prepared for the ring.
From the outset thousands of fanboys are likely ready to get their freak on with a fix of highly exploitive cinema. You’ve basically got a who’s who of indie horror hotness together in an ensemble cast that features women fighting each other to the bloody end. It’s a nod towards the late 70′s WIP films, and while I’m sure we’ll get our fill of sexy busty babes throwing down I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised to find more at play. If one were to take a step back and take notice they’d find the script is written by The Soska Sisters and that Tara Cardinal and Devanny Pinn co-produce. That’s four strong female women at the helm. Now THAT’S something not seen before. Exploitation cinema, especially of this variety, is dominated by male writers, producers, and directors. The sleaze has always been pure male fantasy from a man’s point of view and targeted towards a male dominated audience. Clearly there’s an intent to change all that.
For the first time in horror history a new page is being turned. There’s no denying that women have been more and more outspoken as of late in a genre long dominated by men. Just over the past two years we’ve seen a slew of female written horror blogs emerge, and more frequently women are taking the helm shooting their own films, and now many of them are rolling out into full features. (Hell, I like to parade about the fact that half of our writers are female). Take a look at the Viscera Film Festival, which annually celebrates the best in female helmed horror. Shannon Lark, of The Chainsaw Mafia, and Heidi Martinuzzi of Fangirltastic.com joined forces to create Viscera Film Fest in 2007 to bring attention to female filmmakers, and each year the event has grown in size and scale. Could it be that “Scream Queen” is already an outdated term of yesteryear as more and more of these leading ladies aren’t satisfied to simply sit on the sidelines, but are getting into the filmmaking game themselves?
Lately I’ve had the opportunity to speak to a handful of these women and what’s interesting is that these actresses, screenwriters, directors, and producers are among the hardest working in the business. They understand the challenges facing women in the movie making business, but don’t let that stop them from plowing ahead to make original films that are clearly resonating with a wide fan base. The Soska Sister’s feature film Dead Hooker in A Trunk is receiving some rather positive critical feedback and it’s just one more indication that tides are turning in the genre.
What’s really interesting, and ironic, to me is that this project is rolling into production at the same time a film celebrating The Splat Pack rolls out to audiences. The Splat Pack highlights a group of male filmmakers who re-vitalized the horror genre in the early 2000′s, bringing back the gore, grit, and grime that had gone missing from horror in the 90′s. Where the Splat Pack brought gore back to horror, these women here intend to bring a fresh point of view to the genre, one that’s been lacking in the genre since it’s inception. Being able to watch exploitation cinema from a female perspective like this should be a new and fresh outlook that will hopefully breath some much needed 
new life into the modern torture/grindhouse/exploitation revival. Dog Fight is a film that promises not to be your typical combination of boobs and blood with no brains. Though Cardinal and Pinn certainly don’t mind pouring on the blood liberally, and while they certainly know how to use sex appeal when needed, it is as they deem appropriate. Additionally, by operating outside of a studio system they’ll have considerable more control over the end product. This is called a win/win for horror fans. And while it’s likely not to get the wide release an Eli Roth or Adam Green film might, it’s a film that horror fans will demand to see, which is far more satisfying than that bogus Paranormal Activity marketing blitz.
Having said all this I know I’ve just set the bar high for a film that has yet to roll camera’s, but I’m confident of the skilled hands the film finds itself in. As far as I’m concerned Hollywood can keep Eli Roth and their so-called “Splat Pack”. With these ladies representing the future of horror I’m more than happy to hang with them.
