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#9 P.J. Soles



https://imgur.com/XgJcOD1
There are horror films that get under your skin. They make you question if thats a figure in the darkness of the corner of your room or if its your imagination. Other movies dare you to unpack the taboo themes theyre loaded with, to push you into forbidden territories in an effort to make you squirm. Then there are the fun, surface level, no thinking required body count flicks. These are the movies in which audiences find excitement in watching the cast whittled down to but a handful. They contain all different archetypes---jocks, nerds, and the girl next door. Each has a specific purpose to fulfill.

Enter the bimbo. Shes fast to drink, slow to think, quick to fuck and unlikely to duck. Shes only interested in having a good time. Clothes are optional. For many male audiences hoping for the full B&B treatment (blood and boobs), the bimbo is essential to the experience. Ever watch a PG-13 slasher? Its like a neutered dog. Its less than what it could be. Although if a PG-13 horror movie brings in enough cash, it spawns imitators and sequels. A neutered dog is a bad analogy. Lets move on to the star of today.

Here comes P.J. Soles in the role of Lynda in the classic 1978 slasher, Halloween, to show everyone how the bimbo character is done. Halloween is the template of slasher movies that would follow in its wake. Its the blueprints of the kind of films that would litter the 1980s and after. Sure, little tweaks here and there would be added like an emphasis on gore but its still the same playbook. The character of Lynda hasnt changed. Shes a high school girl only interested in getting laid by a guy named Bob who drives the most boring van during the height when it was somehow cool to drive a van. Lynda drinks, she smokes, has awkward sex and uses the word totally to the point it becomes a catchphrase. Shes Gretchen but with bell bottoms and Billy Beer. Thats so fetch. The bimbo character is still the same: smoke, drink and show off some skin and become some boys first glimpse into the glory of the female body.

I know Soles is more known to some as Norma from 1976s Carrie. I get it. That red hat just draws you in like the little girl from Schindlers List. You cant help but not to look. If Im being honest, my favorite character played by Soles is Riff Randell in Rock N Roll High School. Thats my feel-good movie. No matter the kind of day Ive had, I can watch it and, instantly, my existence becomes better. Dey Young is partly the reason why. The other is hearing Dee Dee Ramone utter the only line the writers felt he could handle---Alright, pizza! Its the equivalent of God appearing before you and explaining the meaning of reality. It must be how Einstein felt when solving the equivalence between mass and energy. Totally.

Selected Horror Filmography:
Carrie (1976)
Halloween (1978)
Blood Bath
The Devils Rejects

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Reading up on the Bat-Family: https://bit.ly/2Us5RhG