Molly Celaschi got her start when she was hired for the Creature Feature
In the Cellar for Comcast.
Molly has worked on the feature films
RetarDead,
The Spook Show,
Mass Acre Hill, and the upcoming
Don’t Let’s Start. Her biggest role to date was for the feature film
PocaHauntus as Assistant Director/ Producer with a cameo. The film is available on DVD on Amazon, NetFlix, Vudu, and more.
Molly has contributed writing and videos for publications like HorrorYearbook.com, FearZone.com, 2Snaps.TV, and
Ultra Violent magazine.
She has made appearances at the Spike TV Scream Awards, Fuse Fangoria
Chainsaw Awards, EA Games Studio, and the Screamfest Film Festival.
Other contributions include running the SiliCon Short Film Festival 2007
and managing the Horror Division for the SiliCon convention. She has
also assisted in writing for the Another Hole in the Head film festival
and the Dead by Dawn film festival.
Molly attended Kent State University studying English with a minor in Psychology.
Fatally Yours: How and when did you fall in love with horror?
Molly Celaschi: I think I fell in love twice. It
was love at first sight when I was a young kid and then a more mature
appreciation as an adult. One of the first movies I ever saw was
Squirm,
and I ran around trying to scare people and calling them “worm-faces.” I
think I was about 5 then. And my dad didn’t stop me; in fact, he
encouraged me to watch more! Friday night was our movie night, so I’d
get my pizza and 3 movie rentals. I think at one point I rented out the
entire stock at my local family video store. This is partly explains why
I have branched out into foreign horror and out-of-print titles. I’ve
seen just about everything now. I took a bit of a break during the
college years when I was drunk and stupid, but came to my senses when I
rediscovered horror in my mid-twenties and haven’t stopped since.
Fatally Yours: What does horror mean to you?
Molly Celaschi: I think the beautiful thing about
the horror genre is that it means different things to different people
and yet has an amazing way of connecting everyone. For me especially, it
depends on my mood and type of horror. Sometimes I view it simply as
mindless entertainment. Sometimes it makes me laugh, like with horror
comedies or trashy B exploitation films. Sometimes they genuinely scare
me (a rarity now). Other times it is a means of confronting something I
wouldn’t be able to otherwise deal with. So if I have a bad day, I can
watch people get taken out and their blood spray across the screen,
which is really no different than watching an action film or playing
video game. Or if I want to confront something I cannot in real life,
like certain fear I may have, this is the way to go.
Fatally Yours: What are others’ reactions when you tell them you are involved in the horror genre?
Molly Celaschi: Shock mostly, then confusion, then
disgust. Part of that is based purely on my looks. I’m a chick and a
cute one at that. I don’t have a goth or punk look. I look like the girl
next door, so to have someone like me say I watch extremely violent
bloody films; it makes people scratch their heads. It isn’t even a
matter of “Why?” but now “Why would someone like you?” So I have to
explain what I like and what I do and all the “Whys” behind it. When
they finally understand it, they are just grossed out. They probably
think to love horror is to have a mental problem. I am “normal” in every
other aspect of my life. But I like entertainment, I love movies, and I
have no problem confronting my fears. I think it takes a strong person
to acknowledge what scares them. I’m not going to hide from it or
pretend it doesn’t exist. In fact, I want the ability to laugh at some
of these frightening things and the absurdity behind it all.
Fatally Yours: Why do you think the horror genre has primarily been a man’s domain?
Molly Celaschi: Because they have penises. I’m
kidding. You know, one would guess that it is because men like horror
more, but I don’t think that is true. Most of a woman’s life revolves
around her being constantly horrified, usually by the mystery of their
own bodily functions. If anything, a woman knows a hell of a lot more
about blood than a man does. Most men can’t even stand to hear a
conversation about a woman’s period and we have to live it! And I’m not
going to even get into childbirth, pain, transformation, etc.
But this question ties into the couple below. It is mainly because
men control everything else. Why would horror be any different?
Fatally
Yours: As a woman, do you think you are viewed differently than your
male counterparts in the horror genre? If so, how and why?
Molly Celaschi: Yes. As a journalist writing for
websites and magazines, I think it actually took reading a review or
interview or article for some to even believe I did this. You wouldn’t
believe how many times I was asked if I was dating the editors. That
happened a lot when I first started, before people really knew me.
Doesn’t happen anymore. But I was extremely offended by that. Not only
was this implying that I had to sleep with a guy to get a job, but that I
couldn’t possibly have any interest or talent in this genre whatsoever.
Beyond that? I worked on the horror feature
PocaHauntus.
I helped produce that damn thing from start to finish 100%. But the
only part that people notice is that I was onscreen for about 2 minutes.
And that is fine. But I worked my ass off and expect credit for making
that film, which is about 5 cents worth for those that have actually
seen it! But seriously, I have had some people interested in that film
when they heard that it was directed by a female and produced by a
female. But I have also had some men say “Directed by a woman? Produced
by a woman? No thank you.” And as ridiculous as that quote sounds, it
was actually uttered to me by a man as he visited the
PocaHauntus table at my first
Fangoria
show to promote it. Oh and if I mention I’m at all related to the movie
biz, the first question I get from males is, “Are you an actress?”
Fatally Yours: Even though women seem to be getting more and
more involved behind the scenes in horror, why do you think there are
less female horror directors, writers, producers, etc. in the genre than
males?
Molly Celaschi: Because there are less female
directors, writers, producers, etc. in all genres. It isn’t horror that
is sexist; it is Hollywood in general. I could write a novel based on
that alone.
And, the sad part is, I feel there are more men in horror willing to
give women a chance than there are in other genres. But because horror
is the Black Sheep of the bunch, we are all already typecast. It is easy
to say, “Horror is bad, you are bad, women cannot get a job in this
genre because it is demeaning to women…” But I don’t think that is it at
all. The majority of the people claiming horror is sexist are the ones
that generally do not like the genre to begin with. It is just one more
reason to hate it.
You need women for horror period. One of the selling points of a
horror film is that it has women in it. So we are a commodity and a
necessity. But not necessarily in the way we want or have complete
control of. We are not going to be offered the director seat or a
writing gig right off the bat, but we would be offered an acting role
without even auditioning easily.
Take films like
Carrie,
The Descent, or
Grace.
All of those were written and directed by males, but they had extremely
strong female characters dealing with female-centric issues. Carrie was
an outcast with momma issues and a severe lack of tampons.
The Descent was an all-female trip to reconnect with one another and do manly things like fall down holes and swing on ropes.
Grace
was about a woman raising a problem baby on her own after her idiot
husband died. These were all great films, the first two of which are
classics at this point. Now flip the script. Say those 3 films were all
written and directed by females and marketed as such. How popular do you
think they would have been? How pretty would the reviews have been? Men
(and even some women) would have torn them apart. They would have hated
them upon reading the first 2 lines of the synopses alone. But
Carrie is cool because it is Brian F’ing DePalma and Stephen F’ing King.
The Descent is cool because Marshall’s
Dog Soldiers rocked.
Grace is cool because it has a bloody baby and is directed by a man covered in tattoos.
What about
Jennifer’s Body? I swear I was the only
person on the planet to give that a glowing review. I loved it. It was
written by a female and directed by a female and was about mostly
females and their lady issues. It was exceptionally well-written and
tons of fun. And what happened? It did poorly at the box office and got
terrible reviews for the most part. That is a shame. Flip the script
again. Say men wrote and directed that and it was marketed as such. I
think audience attendance would have been double the number. Why?
Because a man writing and directing Megan Fox sounds like a much better
idea.
Fatally Yours: I loved Jennifer’s Body
too! What elements can female filmmakers/authors/journalists/etc. bring
to the horror genre that are lacking in males’ perspectives?
Molly Celaschi: A filmmakers and authors, they can
at least give their female characters a voice and some personality. They
are not just pin ups and screamers. I think females in general are more
intuitive and sensitive; they would probably bring more personality to
the male characters as well. As female journalists, we would probably
cover a broader range of films as well as have a broader prospective.
When I was reviewing horror movies, I was complimented most by my male
counterparts; mainly because I love a dirty movie just as much as they
do, but I also have the ability to point out things they may have missed
during their viewing.
Fatally Yours: Do you think it’s harder for women to be taken seriously in a genre that seems to be dominated by males?
Molly Celaschi: Yes, for the most part. To get the
start, it is hard for women. But if the genre is dominated by males, and
then a female makes a great film/novel etc., wouldn’t it garner more
attention? In some ways it almost benefits females. But I guess if that
were really the case there would have been a huge shift a long time ago.
Horror actresses probably have an advantage over actors. I think
female journalists probably have an advantage as well if not just for
the novelty. But female writers and directors get the short end for
sure.
Fatally Yours: Since you’ve been involved with the horror genre, have you noticed a change in women’s roles in the industry?
Molly Celaschi: I think the percentage of female
directors, authors, journalists, etc. is increasing. Just look at the
surge of vampire fiction by female authors. There were not too many
female journalists but now they have Pretty-Scary.net, which is
female-run and written. Even yourself, with Fatally-Yours, was started
by a female. I think the actresses have it better too. The majority of
female roles in horror films in the ‘70s were relegated to the woman who
takes her clothes off, the innocent good girl that needs a strong man
to protect her, or the negligent/ evil mother. That is pretty
depressing. But I think the roles have at least branched out beyond
that, even though those roles are still plentiful these days too. And in
addition to the acting, some actresses get the chance to write or
produce the production as well. A good friend of mine acts in dozens of
movies, but her main passion is music. This gives her the opportunity to
score the films she stars in.
Fatally Yours: Do you ever get annoyed at how women in horror
movies always end naked or with their clothes ripped off? Do monsters
not like men’s abs?!
Molly Celaschi: Yes and No for different reasons. I
like nudity, male and female. The issue I have is not with nudity. It is
more that it is typically females getting naked, and for no particular
reason. It depends on different factors. If I am watching an
exploitation flick, I would expect gratuitous pointless nudity. But I
hate watching a fairly good movie where I am attempting to follow the
plot and a woman just stops by to say Hi and get naked. That aggravates
the shit out of me. And no, it is not fair either. It is rare to have
male nudity in any genre of film.
Fatally Yours: What are your top three movies with gratuitous sex scenes?
Molly Celaschi: Oooh what a fun question! First and foremost,
The Perils of Gwendoline.
I love that movie. It is hysterical and brilliant and just all around
ridiculous. It is a love story at its core, but it also happens to have
about 100 naked bald ladies utilizing strange apparatuses and, what I
can only describe as, futuristic treadmills.
Barbarella. Okay so there are not what you would
call “gratuitous” sex scenes, but she does float in outer space naked,
make it her mission to have sex with any man who helps her, and then
gets raped by a giant piano. Awesome film.
91/2 Weeks. Okay so this one catches a lot of flack
for being, well, not so good. But that is beside the point. Some of the
scenes are hot. Mickey Rourke doesn’t have his infamous busted face yet.
And after all the male-domination, it is the woman who comes out on
top. He declares his love for her. She tells him he is pathetic and then
walks away. A happy ending!
Fatally Yours: What horror movie would you say is equally
fair in terms of men being objectified or at least, losing the same
amount of clothes?
Molly Celaschi:
Slaughter High was a good one. You see full frontal male business.
Sleepaway Camp,
although I guess you could debate that one. I don’t really believe that
men are objectified in horror films, so this is a difficult one to
answer. Although I do recall that men seemed equally angry at the new
Friday the 13th
as women did. A lot of complaints I heard (not taking into account the
story or the un-Jason-like kills), was the depiction of the males. They
were portrayed as compulsive-masturbators, philanderers, dickheads, and
just all around retards. So I guess men don’t really appreciate being
objectified either.
Fatally
Yours: Do you feel you’ve become desensitized to stereotypical scenes
in horror like the half-naked girl screaming and running for her life in
slow motion? Or are these types of familiar horror tropes still
effective and necessary?
Molly Celaschi: No, I don’t think I could ever be
desensitized to that. An image like that will always get someone’s
attention one way or the other. Nobody is going to look at a naked woman
running and not feel something. Which is why it is still used to this
day. Not only is seeing a jiggling woman sexy, but to see a woman in her
most vulnerable state needing help will illicit some type of response.
It’s like if you saw a baby crying or a dog get kicked. You just want to
help. You know it’s fake, but it works on a visceral level and you just
want the pain to stop.
And I don’t think that a half-naked woman screaming is “necessary.”
If someone feels it is necessary to put that in their film, then I’m
afraid they don’t have much else to offer the audience.
Fatally Yours: Do you feel that other people view women as
being “soft” and not able to endure horror as well as men? How do you
fight this stereotypical view?
Molly Celaschi: I usually fight with my fists, but I
don’t think that’s what you mean. The people that view women as “soft”
are men. And I don’t even think they really believe that. I think they
want to give this image of soft women, so that men can feel more
powerful. You know those scenes where the girl gets scared in a movie
theater and cuddles up to the man and he wraps his arm around her and
smiles? Bullshit. I have never in my life done that. But I can sure as
hell remember the times a man came to me to be held.
The majority of guys I have dated were not horror fans at all.
Getting them to watch one was like pulling teeth. I remember this one
guy in particular let me rent
The Strangers even though
he was terrified of it. During one scene, he ran out of the room
because he couldn’t stand the building tension. He reappeared 5 minutes
later at the side of the TV demanded to know what happened while he was
hiding like a coward. I told him if he wanted to know, he would have to
watch the movie like a big boy and figure it out on his own. Now is that
“soft”?
Fatally Yours: What women in horror do you admire and why?
Molly Celaschi: Kathryn Bigelow because she has a
better career than most male directors. She is inspirational. Debbie
Rochon. This woman is actually a great actress, yet will do low budget
films, sometimes for no pay, just because she loves the craft. And she
is kind. Jill Shoelen because she has starred in so many cool slasher
films and has an adorable look to her. Adrienne Barbeau. Great look,
starred in many cool films, and married John Carpenter. Debra Hill, a
great producer and backed most of the Halloween series and went on to
produce Hollywood box office hits. Mary Shelley. She wrote one of the
greatest gothic tales in history and played with Lord Byron in ghost
story competitions. God, there are probably a dozen more, but these come
to mind immediately.
Fatally Yours: What advice would you give women who want to become involved in the horror genre?
Molly Celaschi: Start. You put one foot in front of the other and you’ll be surprised how fast the other will follow.
You want to act? Then go find something local and do it for the
experience. You might even get paid. Keep your clothes on. Be an extra
in your spare time, collect your $75 for the day. Meet everyone and be
nice and collect business cards. Don’t let them touch you
inappropriately. Audition for main and supporting roles. Show up on
time, know your lines, treat everyone with respect including the garbage
man. Look nice, don’t be bitchy. Be professional and courteous. Expect
long hours, labor through it. But don’t let anyone degrade you, alone or
in public. Don’t starve yourself and don’t do coke. That’s gross. So is
smoking, but I won’t hold that against you.
You want to write? Then write something. If it is a script, register
it with the WGA and then send it to whoever will read it. Get at least 5
varied opinions. Submit your script to festivals. If it is a book,
research publishers and send it to hell and back. Expect to not hear
anything from 99% of the places you submit for a solid 6 months. Cry.
Write something else in the mean time. Now repeat the process.
You want to direct? Don’t buy a camera and don’t spend thousands on
film school. Borrow a camera or make some cute boy shoot your short film
for you. Make it for nothing, but make it look good. Submit it to
festivals for the attention, but more importantly, show it to people
with money. At this point you will have learned that good audio and
lighting make one hell of a difference. Now make a feature. Make it for
next to nothing and make it look good. Send copies to every website and
magazine you can think of. Submit to festivals. Submit to distribution
companies with a press kit including synopsis, cast & crew bios,
full list of credits, quotes, reviews, and anything else you can think
of. Hold a screening somewhere. You can make about 50% profit of ticket
sales, depending on the location. Never stopping talk about your film.
Not in a million years. It has been made. Pat yourself on the back. Now
go make another one.
You want to be a journalist? Write a few sample reviews or articles.
Submit them with a cover letter to whoever will accept them. You will
most likely get hired for nothing, maybe perks. Don’t let that deter
you. Use it to your advantage. Gather as many contacts and freebies as
you possibly can. Interview people. Film yourself interviewing people.
Write original articles. Write “Best of” and “Top Ten” articles. Find
your voice. Every writer has a distinct writing style. Act like a
professional writer even if you are not getting paid. If you are
published, congratulations, you are now a professional. Don’t quit your
day job. Save your best work. You never know when you might need this.
Make a box of 200 business cards for $25 and pass them out to people you
want contacting you later. Ignore the weirdos. Write some more. Travel
to conventions and film festivals. You will get in for free with your
new spiffy press pass. I hope you can pay your rent. Now submit to
places that actually pay.
Fatally Yours: What’s the last horror movie that made you think “this is some effed up shiznit!”?
Molly Celaschi: Well if you mean just disgusting me,
I’d say some Cat III (Hong Kong) films have done the trick. The last
movie I saw that stuck with me for a while was
Martyrs.
I guarantee this is a movie that will make people talk. You cannot
watch that and walk away with no opinion. I recall watching
Lifeforce
recently and being appalled at the depiction of women in it. I don’t
mean nudity. I mean that the basis for the plot is that beautiful women
are evil and make men do bad things. The implications were sickening.
Fatally Yours: What’s one horror movie you think is HIGHLY overrated?
Molly Celaschi: The
Halloween
series. I just never got into Michael Myers at all. He just didn’t have a
face or a voice or anything that interested me at all. He just stood
around looking confused a lot. Even the leading ladies in the films are
pretty boring. Just being a tall man with a knife doesn’t make you
scary. At least Jason moved and had a strange back story and you could
see his face at some points. Freddy, Leatherface, Pinhead? Now that is
what I call character. Oh and
Scream annoyed me.
Fatally Yours: What are your favorite horror films, books, etc.?
Molly Celaschi: For the movies, my absolute favorites are
Dead Alive, the
Evil Dead series, the
Nightmare on Elm Street series,
Psycho (original),
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original),
The Rise of Leslie Vernon,
Let the Right One In,
Martyrs,
Phenomena, and
Deep Red. I have a soft spot in my heart for really goofy films too. I’m proud to say I own these gems:
The Boogens,
Mountaintop Motel Massacre,
Return to Horror High,
The Exterminator II,
The Clown Murders, and
Night of the Demon.
My Favorite directors: Tim Burton, Chan Park Wok, Dario Argento,
David Mendes, Wes Craven, George Romero, and Tobe Hooper. My favorite
horror video games are, of course, the
Resident Evil series,
Silent Hill,
Fatal Frame,
Indigo Prophecy,
Scratches (PC),
Parasite Eve II. Books are
I Am Legend,
Frankenstein, and
The Walking Dead (graphic novel).
You can find Molly’s writings on
horroryearbook.com and find more info on
PocaHauntus on
IMDB.
