‘Bystanders’ Director Mary Beth McAndrews on the Power of Her Female-Directed Rape Revenge Film: ‘No More Male Gaze’
variety.comWilliam Earl Mary Beth McAndrews is determined to make art that wakes people up. “There’s always been strong women in horror, incredible female characters,” she says. “I think what’s shifting in the horror of the last decade is more and more women are being given budgets by people to make movies that are much more of a sledgehammer, rather than a delicate little way to needle it, subtextually talk about women’s issues.
Now we’re coming in with sledgehammers and saying, ‘It’s time, you’ve got to listen. We’re going to shove glass in your eyes and say no more male gaze.'” McAndrews is smashing onto the scene with her directorial debut “Bystanders,” now available on VOD via Dread.
The film is about Abby (Brandi Botkin), a young woman who visits a frat party with her friends, who are drugged, raped and chased by men.
Yet Abby meets a couple (Jamie Alvey & Garrett Murphy) who are willing to help her fight back against her captors. The rape revenge horror subgenre has always had a fascination for McAndrews, who is the editor-in-chief of the genre news site Dread Central. “I’ve written about this a lot before, but I am a sexual assault survivor,” she says. “I’ve been raped several times, which is rough to talk about, but also like I think it’s an important perspective.
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