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[Editorial] ‘Dragon Age’, ‘Haunting Ground’, And The Horror in The Intrusion of Female Bodies

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Fertility in the horror genre usually ends up going terribly wrong for a lot of reasons. Either an individual end up giving birth to Satan and live the rest of their days running for their life, or they are infertile and are therefore twisted into something horrific that often leads to them being perceived as insane. It also has the potential to lead to two disturbing, yet fascinating narratives that I can’t help but love: the intruder and body horror.

In both BioWare’s fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins, and Capcom’s PS2 survival horror Haunting Ground, fertility, and infertility holds a pivotal role for both men and women throughout the game. But more importantly, fertility is a daunting, controversial subject, as unlike intruders in your home, the intruder in both games refer to the invasion on female bodies by men and women alike, as well as becoming a prisoner in your own, tormented body.

Fiona, the main protagonist of Haunting Ground, is kidnapped and taken to Belli Castle due to her holding the key of ‘eternal life’ called ‘Azoth’ in her womb. Her punishment for merely existing is her ancestor and uncle both want to take the Azoth away from her by any means necessary. The disturbing, incestuous desire aside, there is also another character who wishes to take Fiona’s womb from her. Her maid, Daniella.

What makes Daniella’s desire for Fiona’s womb so different is what she is: a prototype gone wrong. Daniella’s story is that she was created by Fiona’s uncle to be the perfect woman, yet according to him she’s incomplete due to one reason: she cannot reproduce.

It is this ‘missing part’ that drives Daniella to insanity as she chases Fiona throughout Belli Castle to rip her womb from her body and paints a terrifying, and to be frank, sexist picture of being infertile and the horrific consequences of that. Daniella intrudes on Fiona’s body again and again as the game goes on, grabbing her vagina multiple times and in one instance if she kills you, succeeds in removing Fiona’s womb from her body.

Daniella’s desire to be the ‘perfect woman’ means she must become the intruder and tear Fiona’s body apart as though she’s cracking open an egg to get at the yolk. It plays on a fear that I assume we all have had once or twice: the fear of being out of control in your very own body. Fiona is awake, but out of control as the denizens of Belli Castle have the opportunity to rape and destroy her from the inside out.

Of course, this all depends on what ending Fiona gets as Haunting Ground has multiple alternative endings, but the underlying message is clear: Fiona is not seen as a human being, but a live experiment that is perceived as nothing but a doll.

This brings me to the topic of another character who becomes trapped in her own body, but unlike Fiona, there is no happy ending.

Dragon Age: Origin fans will remember Hespith, a dwarven-woman who they encounter in the Deep Roads. Hespith’s poem about Broodmothers and how they are created will most likely go down as one of the disturbing moments ever to happen in Dragon Age history, but for those who don’t know: switch the light on, grab a cuddly toy. It’s about to get disturbing.

“First day, they come and catch everyone.
Second day, they beat us and eat some for meat.
Third day, the men are all gnawed on again.
Fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate.
Fifth day, they return and it’s another girl’s turn.
Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams.
Seventh day, she grew as in her mouth they spew.
Eighth day, we hated as she is violated.
Ninth day, she grins and devours her kin.
Now she does feast, as she’s become the beast.”

Broodmothers are created through darkspawn kidnapping and violating women by vomiting into their mouths, raping them and forcing them to eat their kin. It’s a grotesque process that drives the women insane as their bodies transform into a tentacle monster that gives birth to dozens and dozens of darkspawn that end up repeating the process.

While Hespith does not become a monster, she tells the tale of Laryn who the player ends up fighting later in the game. This scene is particularly disturbing if you’re playing as a female Grey Warden, as while Grey Wardens are infertile, the potential of what awaits them when they go to the Deep Road is something that is just too difficult to ignore.

The existence of the Broodmother in Dragon Age shows that, once again, female bodies are often intruded on in horror and how fertility, particularly through rape, is used to strike fear into the heart of the player through the threat of the gruesome and grotesque treatment of the body.

Both Haunting Ground and Dragon Age have two very different takes on invading the female body, with the first focusing on scientific enlightenment through the experimentation of the womb, whilst the latter uses a personal threat of the obscene against female bodies to both cower and fascinate the player.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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