The Next Wave in 'Chick Flicks': All-Female Horror

Aug. 3, 2006 — -- Women will head to theaters to watch any Harry meet his Sally. They'll watch John Cusack "Say Anything." Now a new brand of chick flick that's descending on theaters shuns the girl-meets-boy template. The fierce females of the "The Descent" don't meet any boys because there aren't any in the film.

While blood-and-guts-slasher action has always been considered the box-office recipe that draws a male audience, Lions Gate -- the studio behind "The Descent" and the "Saw" franchise -- notes that more women under 25 bought tickets for ''Saw II'' than did their male counterparts.

As "The Descent" opens Friday, audiences will see what Lions Gate hopes is a movie that breaks the mold for horror adventure flicks, which have been so successful in recent years.

With the exception of a single scene at the outset, six unknown actresses who play cave-plunging spelunkers carry all the action. They offer blood-curdling screams, which women tend to emit when attacked by slimy, cave-dwelling monsters, but they aren't waiting to be rescued like typical damsels in distress.

Another thing you won't see is the gratuitous sex. Perhaps the only purpose women filled in earlier horror films was as eye candy. But you won't find the camera conspicuously lingering over the bodies of these actresses.

"There's never really been an all-female brutal action horror movie before," said Neil Marshall, who wrote and directed the film. "I thought, 'There's no reason for them to have a token man along.'"

A 'Shining Deliverance' Into All-Female Terror

As the bold, brave sextet of women plunges into an Appalachian cavern, they're imbued with girl power but soon realize they're not the only life form plodding around in the dark.

"You're getting covered in mud and blood and snot and sweat and excrement," said Shauna McDonald, who stars as the troubled Sarah. "But we're physically strong and we're mentally strong and we don't give up."

These women are resilient rock climbers and seasoned athletes but are nevertheless trapped underground. Marshall shows them very little mercy, presenting the ladies with claustrophobic tunnels (among other obstacles) in thick, maddening darkness. The British director subjects his characters to so much distress that a fan at one New York screening jokingly accused him of hating women.

The British director said he's not a misogynist, just a horror buff with lofty goals.

"What I really want to do is to terrify people," he said. "I want to make something ... like 'The Shining' or 'Deliverance.'"

Of course, those cinematic classics feature manly men like Jack Nicholson and Jon Voight, and they were made in the 1970s and early 1980s, an era when horror filmmakers still seemed to believe there was a weaker sex. Token bombshells often played wives and girlfriends, yelping helplessly and providing eye candy for male moviegoers.

"The Descent" eschews the stereotype of horror films past, not only because the men are nonexistent but so is the sex. There is no nudity, no lust and, even with six supple subjects, no gratuitous body shots.

"I think to exploit our sexuality is actually kind of boring," said Natalie Mendoza, who plays Juno, the gutsy leader of the pack. "I think it's so overdone these days, and if you actually ask guys what they find sexy, quite often it's just women being natural."

Mendoza and McDonald said they don't need to shed their spelunking gear to entice audiences.

"It doesn't put men off that it's not all bottoms and legs," McDonald said. "It seems we've enlightened them, if anything. And also their girlfriends aren't angry with them after the end of the film."

Especially since the "girlfriends" seem to be the ones dragging their partners to the gore.

Marshall said the fresh horror film "deals with human nature, not female nature," but the no-nonsense, no-boys-allowed cavers will invariably empower their women fans and perhaps spark a new genre.

"It isn't a regular chick flick, but it's still really appealing," Mendoza said. "I hope it starts a trend."

She guaranteed audiences of both sexes will be "absolutely petrified," as she was at one point during filming.

"I had to just 'man up,'" Mendoza said. "Or 'woman up,' I should say."