March 01, 2025

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Premium

Carry On Screaming!

Whenever I tell someone I love horror, one of two reactions usually follows: “I don't do horror” or “What's wrong with you?” After my very first encounter, with A Nightmare on Elm Street, aged about eight, I immediately went back for more. These films allowed me feelings I had no language for yet, feelings that were too unseemly to discuss with other people, and they validated the wild, volatile and lonely experience of growing up in a woman's skin. So, I watched everything: black and white chillers, such as The Seventh Victim; cosmic horrors, such as Event Horizon; body horrors (in which human biology is distorted), including Society; and hallowed modern classics, including The Exorcist and Halloween.I became adept at hiding this interest until well into my twenties, because, more than almost any other form of entertainment, I have found that horror carries with it a great deal of judgment. What's to like about stories specifically engineered to provoke fear and revulsion? People's knee-jerk reactions are that it is grotesque or demeaning—especially for women. We've spent millennia being billed as “the weaker sex” and are finally en route to equality: How could we possibly enjoy worlds where women are regularly dominated, maimed, seduced, and killed?The answer is to look closer. What the subgenres—slasher, folk, supernatural and gothic—all have in common is the desire to scare, yes, but to do so by probing taboo questions about human existence. They force us to look fear in the eye in a way that romance, drama and even tragedy can't always do. While horror can, and should, send your adrenaline jumping, it also holds up a mirror to your dreams and worst nightmares. This is why it demands complete emotional surrender from the audience.Throughout the past decade, the genre has evolved, with the newest additions to the canon turning more psychologically astute, self-reflective and inching closer to mainstream respectability—particularly after  Get Out received a rapturous critical response and an Oscar in 2018. Fans and experts have stepped out into the light, and my film collective The Final Girls has become a popular podcast that investigates horror's history through a feminist lens. One of the reasons for the genre's sustained popularity, among fan communities and regular cinema-goers alike, is that it provides opportunities for both emerging and established actresses to stretch their emotional and physical range on screen. Last year alone, we've seen the release of Cuckoo starring Hunter Schafer and Sydney Sweeney's Immaculate, while Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley swapped bodies in The Substance. Elsewhere, Cailee Spaeny pivoted from playing Priscilla Presley to fighting space monsters in Alien: Romulus, and a major Nosferatu remake, led by Lily-Rose Depp, released on Christmas DayHelping the genre shrug off its misogynist reputation is the fact that scripts are becoming increasingly nuanced-- which actresses, from aficionados to newcomers seeking interesting projects in the sphere, are delighted to see. "I was in Hollywood for the transition from exploitative films to a more character-driven art form," says Kate Siegel. A Hollywood-horror veteran, Siegel starred in 2016's Hush followed by the series The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. The sentiment is shared by Romola Garai, who is best known for period dramas but is a lifelong horror fan. She returned to the dark fairy tales she loved as a child when creating her 2020 directorial debut Amulet, a claustrophobic tale of an ex-soldier trapped in a nun's rotting house with a screaming invalid living in the attic. "Nowhere else do you have to reveal so much," Garai tells me. "Horror is very exposing." She appreciates the full narrative arcs found in the genre. "Women are forced to exist in a landscape where they're navigating the dreams, desires and expectations of men. Horror allows us to explore our own." Indeed, as well as female fears, horror is a perfect place to explore rage, or hunger for things that are still considered controversial, such as sex, food or success. While the plots edge towards fantastical, they provoke very real responses: Hush turns a safe space into a place of terror when a deaf woman is attacked in her home;

Lights Camera Life

I step into our shoot location—a serene bungalow tucked away in the heart of bustling Bandra. Its charm is understated, much like the woman at the centre of it all. Inside, Alia Bhatt moves effortlessly between roles—one Imoment, a mother playing with her daughter, Raha, rollers still in her hair; the next, a consummate professional, ready for the camera.Bhatt, 32, hardly needs an introduction. From the fresh-faced ingénue of Student of the Year (2012) to the powerhouse performer in Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), she has carved a unique space in Indian cinema. But acting is only one facet of her ever-expanding world. Today, she is a global icon, a fashion muse, and an entrepreneur whose brand equity has placed her on the international stage with Gucci and L'Oréal.As the shoot unfolds, I watch her from the sidelines—composed, precise, and deeply attuned to the process. She isn't one for unnecessary chatter, but when she speaks, it's with quiet certainty. She listens carefully, offers input when it matters, and moves through every frame with remarkable ease.Four hours later, we wrap—a testament to her efficiency. She is known for working at this pace, her transitions seamless, her presence magnetic.The next time we speak, it's a Sunday. She's en route to a shoot while I'm still easing into my day. The conversation turns to time—how she divides it, how she protects it.“Honestly, it's pure mathematics,” she says. “A lot of it comes down to saying no. After more than 12 years in the industry, I've learned to structure my time carefully.”She breaks it down: 150 days for films, 20 to 30 for endorsements, her brands—Ed-a-Mamma and Eternal Sunshine—finance meetings, home organisation. That leaves her with about 185 days for herself and her family.“I take it month by month because no two ones are the same. Some are packed, others slower. But I set boundaries—if a day is for my daughter, it's for her. If it's time off, I don't negotiate. The key is making that decision and not feeling guilty about it.”That discipline extends to her work as well. “I focus on one film at a time, limit events and shoots, and make sure that when I take time off, I'm fully present. Early on, I barely took breaks—there was a year when I had maybe five days off. But that was a different time, a different version of me.” SUCCESS, FAME,AND THE ART OF STILLNESS I ask if her definition of success has changed over the years"My goals are much more specific now,"she says."There was a time when the industry norm was to be everywhere, do everything, say yes to everything. Sleep was a luxury, personal time an afterthoughtWork still remains an integral part of her life,admits Bhatt but adds that she does not let it dictate her life."When I'm on set,I give my 100 per cent--there's no compromise.But I don't think, breathe, live, and eat work 24/7 anymore. I simply don't have that bandwidth.I have a family now that requires more of me than ever before.My aspirations are still there, but they've become quieter, more long-term. It's not about chasing quick wins anymore." The actor says she is past that phase."Now, I approach things with more stillness. Even through the inevitable chaos, my mindset feels steadier." It's a shift in perspective that also informs her work as a producer"I approach my production house the same way I approach my films--as a storyteller first," she explains. "Even if I'm not acting in a project,I focus on the story and its characters.With Darlings (2022), my first production, we built it from the ground up,released it on Netflix,and seeing the love it received was incredibly rewarding. It reminded me of working on a school project--everyone striving toward a common goal and finally seeing it come to life."