Women in Horror: Featuring Maria Olsen

As you may know, February is "Women in Horror" month. To celebrate, PromoteHorror.com asked women from different professions if they would like to answer some questions about being a "Woman in Horror." One of the women, who was kind enough to answer our questions, was the talented actress Maria Olsen. Lets see what she said about being a “Woman in Horror”…

-When did you first become a horror fan?

I first became a horror fan when I was very young as my mother took special care to share her love of horror films and books with me. I distinctly remember lying next to her on our big double bed when I was about five years old and listening to her telling me about the Lady Vampires from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I even remember asking her what color their hair was! And, no, at no stage was I ever frightened! Learning about the world of horror at my mother’s knee has had the effect that I now associate the genre with feeling loved, safe and special...yes, I get that that’s not what you’re supposed to feel when you delve into this world, but that’s how it is for me!

-Was there a specific moment when you realized that you wanted to go from being a fan of horror to a woman who contributes to the genre, or did it just kind of happen naturally?

Books: I remember reading one of Stephen King’s books on writing and desperately wanting to become a horror writer. That is still to come, apparently, although it might not be too far off now as I’ve recently signed a multi-book deal with an up and coming publishing firm!

Film: I’ve watched horror films for as long as I can remember, and I’ve also been interested in acting on screen for as long as I can remember. It was, however, only after I arrived in Los Angeles in 2005, started working in the industry and realized I had an extremely intense on-screen presence that I realized I had a good chance of being successful if I tried to work in the horror genre. I took my own advice, and I’ve never looked back!

-What does having a "Women in Horror" month mean to you?

It means that the work of highly talented women in the genre will be spotlighted and celebrated. It means that work that might otherwise be lost in the crush of the overwhelming number of horror film projects will be given a chance to shine. It means that a minority will take another slow, bloody step towards equality.

-Is there a woman in horror who you consider a role model?

There are many actresses that I look up to, and most of them have had their moment on the horror stage. Who could forget Jodie Foster in The Silence of The Lambs, Sigourney Weaver in Alien (yes, scifi-horror but still horror) and Alice Krige – a fellow South African! – in Ghost Story?

-How do you think the role of women in horror has changed over the years?

To me, at least, it seems that many more women are making their way behind the camera than there were decades ago.  More and more women are directing and producing in horror, Paranormal Activity 3 had a female DP (who I also worked with on another horror feature, The Levenger Tapes) and I’m seeing more female grips and gaffers than ever before. Far too many of the scripts that come across my desk feature women in traditional roles, though, and it’s about time more screenwriters decide to take the chance of featuring women in non-traditional and powerful roles. Here, I think, Indiewood leads Hollywood as it isn’t quite so dependent on the box-office draw of male name actors.

-What do you think the future holds for women in horror?

The Babadook took the horror world by storm last year, and it’s refreshing to see that it was helmed by a woman (Jennifer Kent). Hopefully those women who, up until now, have been content with waiting in the wings will follow her lead and take the reins more often.

-Being that this is PromoteHorror.com, please feel free to plug your current/next horror project.

I was lucky enough to have two horror features that I’m in come to DVD/Blu-ray within days of each other this year:
Hansel vs Gretel came out on January 20^th, and Starry Eyes on February 3^rd. Here are links to the trailers:

Hansel vs Gretel: http://youtu.be/3wTntmXYE1c

Starry Eyes: http://youtu.be/WuLNiy7nBCE

Maria Olsen came to America in January 2005 and hasn't taken time to breath since she got here. In five short years she has performed in 15 stage plays (including one Off-Broadway), directed 3 plays, written and directed her own play and first feature film, shot at least 40 feature films, 70 shorts, 10 web series, 10 music videos and recorded 5 voiceover gigs. She has also won four awards (including awards for both acting and directing), had two short films appear at the 2009 Cannes Short Film Program, one at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and became a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild in March 2009. Best known for her appearances as Mrs. Dodds/The Fury in Fox’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief – where Chris Columbus directed and Pierce Brosnan and Uma Thurman starred - and as one of the Paranormal Activity 3 witches, Olsen’s features and shorts have also screened at other international festivals such as Sundance (Renegades), the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors (Justin Paul Ritter’s A Gothic Tale), HorrorFest (Patrick Horvath’s Die-ner (Get It?) - where she won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Rose the Waitress - and the International HBO Latino Film Festival (Sam Benavides’ Mansfield Path). Features IJE: The Journey, Vile, The Mudman and Blue like the Morning are currently collecting awards on the festival circuit, while Dragonquest, Sam Hell, Die-ner (Get It?), Alone Together, Darkening Sky, Shellter, Embers of the Sky and Humanity’s End are now all available on either DVD or VOD. She has also recently completed shooting on several further features, including Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, Mark Edwin Robinson’s The Levenger Tapes, Justin Calen Chenn’s Folklore, Carl Lindbergh’s Bunnyman 2, Claudia Damasceno’s Feed Me and Jose Figueroa’s San Francisco 2177. (bio from her FB page)

For more information about Maria, please visit her IMDB page!

You can also find more on Twitter, and Facebook!

We thank Maria Olsen for taking the time to answer our questions, but more importantly for her contribution to horror!