[Editorial] Deadly Duets: The Power of Dance in Horror Cinema

This editorial contains spoilers for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and Fresh (2022)

Horror films and dance… at first glance you might not think these two are hugely connected. But from my experience they’re a gruesome power couple, constantly being combined to convey meaning, depth, and purpose. Not only is there a fun little sub-genre dedicated to the mix; think Black Swan (2010, Darren Aronofsky), Red Shoes (1948, Michael Powell), Climax (2018, Gaspar Noé), Suspiria (1977, Dario Argento), Suspiria (2018, Luca Guadagnino), Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharman) Last Night in Soho (2021, Edgar Wright) to name a few. But the horror genre as a whole is rife with dance, culminating in some of the most iconic moments in film history. I want to tackle just two of these, looking at a specific element of dance in horror, the duet.

From the jaw dropping moment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986, Tobe Hooper) when Stretch and Leatherface dance it out, to that edge-of-your-seat final boogie between Noa and Steve in Fresh (2022, Mimi Cave), I want to argue that these sequences change the course of both films, directing each narrative inexorably towards their end.

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I also want to look at the way these two sequences approach gender norms and power constructs, founding my argument on Carol J. Clover’s analysis of the Slasher that states, “the male and female are at desperate odds, but at the same time masculinity and femininity are more states of mind” (Men, Women & Chainsaws). Gender is obviously a highly contentious topic both in and beyond horror, so I’ll use the well documented tropes of the masculine murderer and the feminine victim as cinematic stereotypes that are able to move and transfer from one character to the next. 

So, with a severe spoiler warning, let’s dive into our first number, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. 

For context, at this point in the film Leatherface has already formed an emotional attachment to our hero Stretch and even gone against type and saved her life. But now she’s back in trouble and trapped in a chamber of mutilation where people are skinned, butchered, and who knows what else. Yeah, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster, but things are about to get even weirder when Leatherface puts a human mask on Stretch from a man he’s just flayed, adds a cowboy hat to the getup and then forces his new crush into a nightmarish dance.

As they move around the room with poor Stretch moaning in terror, you could argue that Leatherface is trying to romance her; he’s shared his favourite hobby (wearing other people’s faces) and then asked for a dance, immediately taking the male lead and forcing their interaction to fit some kind of gender normative courtship. But there’s way more going on here than meets the eye. 

The big hint that something else is happening is the mask and hat given to Stretch, which were both previously owned by a man. She’s not being pushed into a classic feminine role in this scene, she’s taking on a whole new masculine identity… specifically that of the masculine killer… specifically that of Leatherface.

As he spins Stretch furiously around the room, everything about her in the scene conveys her powerlessness and lack of control. But through the strange and unnerving carnival-like music that plays in the background, we sense that something mystical is happening. The sequence then ends with huge tremors as the foundations of the underground den shifts. But in horror, earthquakes and tremors always signify something more than a simple disturbance - remember the earthquake in Hooper’s iconic Poltergeist (1982) and the subsequent events that follow? Well, in this film he pulls the same trick, it’s not just the structure of the subterranean maze that moves, it’s the structure of the film itself; the characters, their roles, the direction of the narrative, everything and everyone are shaken, displaced, and a new balance is established.

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After this scene, Leatherface never kills again, dying ironically at the edge of a chainsaw. He gave away his power, transformed into the victim, and suffered the price. Stretch on the other hand goes on to survive, defeat the dreaded family and become the slasher killer. Nowhere is this more evident than in the final shot where Stretch holds the chainsaw triumphantly above her head as the camera pulls out, mirroring the ending of the film’s prequel where Leatherface does exactly the same thing. The dance wasn’t just a premonition of Stretch’s survival, it was the moment that the role and power of the chainsaw wielding slasher became hers.

On the same macabre lines as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 sits Fresh, a gorgeous slice of a horror that I would suggest everyone see. Similarly, this film contains cannibalism, entrapment, and a disturbing love story with an accompanying dance sequence. But Mimi Cave’s film does something importantly unique with these themes. 

For context, our protagonist Noa has been kidnapped and is being slowly eaten (slice by slice sold on the black market) by a man she was dating, Steve. But after a fairly tumultuous start, he’s beginning to actually like her, and she is starting to use this. He’s cooked her a meal, she’s eaten human flesh and now, they are about to dance. There’s a lot going on here and as Cave says, there’s ‘so much detail in every scene’, so we need to take note. 

Like Leatherface trying to introduce Stretch to his favourite hobby of wearing faces, Steve is showing Noa his own past time of eating people – these guys are just too good to us right girls? And once again, just like Leatherface, Steve has given Noa something to wear… the pink dress. On the surface, it’s a traditional choice; prim, pink, not overly showy or sexual. But at the same time, the colour is a distinctly fleshy shade of pink. He has given her a symbolic skin to wear, revealing his carnal desire to devour her sexually and digestively. It’s both a threat and a come on. 

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But we are immediately shown a distinction from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 when Noa ever-so-sweetly initiates the dance. This also sits in direct contrast with an earlier interaction between Noa and Steve where he asked for a dance, and— oblivious to the danger— she accepted. I see Noa’s duet proposal as a stark parallel, placed to show the viewer that now, it’s Steve who’s oblivious to danger. And from here on out it’s the Noa show.

From the way she points at him to the way she looks straight down the lens of the camera to her controlled and calculated movements, everything reveals her ownership, awareness, dominance, and control of the situation. One visual I want to draw attention to - for the scene’s analysis but also to show Mimi’s awesome attention to detail - is the comparison of her cuffs to his watch. While Noa puts her arms up around Steve’s neck in a seemingly romantic show of affection, we see these two accessories alongside each other, almost identical. The roles of captor and captive are in the balance, Steve is teeteringly-close to peril, entrapment, doom, and he doesn’t have a clue.  

After the dance, just like Stretch in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Noa takes on her captor’s role of masculine killer, but she goes a step further by transforming into a cannibal, taking a big old bite from Steve’s genitals, both de-emasculating him and stealing his power in one chomp. The moment she leans over him and shows her teeth in a carnal display of hunger, we know the tables have turned, the fork is in the other hand, and her transformation from the role of victim to killer is complete.

Steve is now doomed to be the victim, and in his final moments in the forest as Noa stands above him, gun in hand with his blood all over her mouth, she says, ‘come on, give me a smile’. These were his words previously in the film, but now they’re coming from her mouth; Noa has consumed his voice, his identity, his power and turned them on him. It’s an awesome moment, and I love that Mimi gave it to us. 

Both these juicy horrors show a transference of role, allowing our heroes to change from stereotypical feminine victim to the even more stereotypical masculine killer. In one film the power is given and in the other it is unceremoniously and brutally ripped, but both happen within these two deadly dance duets. Dance and horror are naturally imbued with meaning, and in these films that we’ve just sliced open, this is clearly true. These sequences are important, directing the entire plot and ending of each film with pinpoint precision. 

So, if you see a dance moment in any horror worth its salt, sit up and take note, because you’re about to get some seriously tasty insight. 

Digest, enjoy and stay spooky.

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