Long before other genres caught up, the horror genre was presenting strong, complex central characters who happened to be female, from Laurie Strode in Halloween to Ellen Ripley in Aliens. Over the years, horror has consistently been the place to find great female characters, which is one of the big things that has drawn Jessica Chastain to the genre.
Chastain, who starred in Mama and is re-teaming with director Andy Muschietti to play Beverly Marsh in IT: Chapter 2, dishes out some praise for horror in a chat with Indiewire.
“I actually love the horror genre,” Chastain told the site. “The horror genre really has great female characters. I’m very happy to work again in a genre that actually has empowered women. And in that genre, you usually see the person surviving at the end being the lady.”
The actress continued, “Do you know what I mean? She conquers the monsters or the bad guys, and she walks away at the end.”
Chastain is for many reasons the perfect actress to play Beverly Marsh, who certainly fits the bill of being a great female character, one who is no doubt empowered and empowering. For all the flack horror has gotten over the years for looking down upon women, you’ll find no shortage of characters that fit that same bill in the horror genre. Go figure, eh?