women in the 'slasher' movie

opinions needed - i am doing a thesis on the representation and evolution of women in such films as Halloween, Friday, Nightmare on elm street to postmodern classics like scream and cherry falls. Please give me your opinions on the way women have been presented in the genre

[avenger00soul]

You should compare the Barbra in the original Night of the Living Dead to the Barbra from the remake then. There is a definite evolution of the female genre character taking place there.

[WalkingDead]

females have evoled, and i knwo Alien isnt really horror, but it hink it can be called horror. if you like look at ripley, you cant go wrong. a lot more women are becoming the hero, and are doing less screaming

[Ritualistic]

To tell you the truth I dont think women have evolved from the old senerio "dumb blonde running upstairs to a bedroom to in the closet to get her cut ripped out" but look at the 50`s horror flicks compared to the present day horror flicks and YES there is a difference. Like Avenger said the best example to use is the Barbara in the original NOTL compared with the remake NOTL Barbara character.. That is the best one I could think of as well.. But today you still see dumb ass women running around in circles wondering what to do when a killer comes after them.. But that is what the public wants.. Well not me though.... Riply is badass, but that is more sci-fi.... But I have to say I love that scene where her baby alien in alien resurrection gets sucked through that small hole.. very cool...anyone seen the movie "blood sucking freaks" ?? there is one scene where the woman is running from that midget and she all of a sudden stops and runs in tiny circles.. that was sooooooooooo funny I would rewind that part a lot...