DULUTH — Jade Thompson started watching horror movies earlier than she should have.
When she told her dad she wanted to delve into the genre, she rented “The Shining” and “Friday the 13th.”
Despite the movies scaring the living daylights out of her, she was drawn to woman-led films, something she hoped others would want to explore.
She and her friend, Dana Engstrom, created Femme Frights Film Club, a space where women, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent people could examine feminist themes in the horror genre.
“We just knew we wanted an accessible space to talk about and highlight women in horror, feminism in horror, the way that women are portrayed in horror, the positives and negatives,” Thompson said.
Founded over a year ago, the club meets on the first and third Saturdays of every month at 7 p.m. at Waterstop Infoshop, a community artist space at 20 N. Second Ave. E. They set up a projector, speaker, chairs and posters to screen horror films that center on women. At the end, attendees discuss their thoughts.
Everyone is welcome to share deeper themes or something as simple as enjoying the costumes.
The Femme Frights Film Club uses physical DVDs and Blu-Ray discs for each screening. Movies, like their screening of “Cat People,” are displayed on a projector.
Contributed / Dana Engstrom
It’s intimate, with groups of five to 20 attendees. Movies range from tame to truly unsettling. They label their posters with a panther symbol when the material can be difficult. No one is judged for covering their eyes.
It’s also easier to find movies like “Ginger Snaps” and “American Mary,” where female characters are more than punching bags.
“I love horror so much,” Thompson said. “I love women enjoying horror. I love women in horror.”
Engstrom always loved getting scared. Her first DVD purchase was “Jennifer’s Body,” which she and Thompson would later bond over and which is a popular screening with the club.
“There is no shortage of horror films where the horror is simply happening to the woman, where it’s a voyeuristic view of her suffering,” Engstrom said. “We really value films where a woman is a part of the horror, not simply a victim of it.”
The club selects films beyond the cult classics. They’ve spotlighted short, foreign and vintage films.
The first screening consisted of Engstrom and Thompson, their partners and two friends. Now, some attendees show up for every screening. The screenings are free to attend, but they encourage donations for Waterstop.
Femme Frights Film Club collaborated with the Zinema at Zeitgeist for a screening of “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.”
Contributed / Jade Thompson
Io Anderson and their partner have attended nearly every screening. The club introduced them to films beyond the popular reruns that double when Halloween comes around. Their first screening was for “Alien,” but they’ve enjoyed others like “Shedevils on Wheels,” “Suspiria” and “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.”
“You come for the horror, and you stay for the community,” Anderson said.
While the group is mostly Generation Z, a couple of Generation X attendees have enjoyed the films. They particularly like learning about things they may have missed and noticing differences between male directors’ choices and those of female or BIPOC directors.
It can be intimidating, but Anderson compared it to a rule they had growing up — the one-bite rule. Folks should try one screening to decide whether they truly like it.
“There’s so much real scary stuff going on that it’s really nice to be around people who are just here to have a little fun, maybe jump in our seat, but then we can chat about it,” they said.
Celia Philips is a fan of scary games but fell down a horror rabbit hole on YouTube. The club screened her favorite horror film, the 1977 Japanese film “House,” last year, and she’s been going ever since.
“Seeing a horror movie through the perspective of a woman helps everyone become more vulnerable and get in touch with their morals, their beliefs and their sense of nuance,” Philips said.
She’s unfazed by most things in horror but appreciates that the club doesn’t platform movies where women are assaulted for shock value. Because of the pair’s specific curation, she’s seen the organization grow to the point that the collaboration with Zinema for the screening of “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” drew over 30 guests.
“We’re constantly being told that we’re too sensitive, even at the doctor’s office,” she said. “So we’re kind of expected to not trust ourselves. Watching these horror movies, we’re more encouraged to trust our instincts.”
Femme Frights Film Club will host a double feature starting at 7 p.m. on Halloween night. Attendees can watch “Raw” and “In My Skin” — films Engstrom admits are pretty visceral but are a perfect goodbye for the spooky season.