The monstrous-feminine : film, feminism, psychoanalysis / Barbara Creed.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Kristeva, femininity, abjection -- Horror and the archaic mother : Alien -- Woman as possessed monster : The exorcist -- Woman as monstrous womb : The brood -- Woman as vampire : The hunger -- Woman as witch : Carrie -- 'Little hans' reconsidered : or 'the tale of mother's terrifying widdler' -- Medusa's head : the Vagina Dentata and Freudian theory -- The femme castratrice : I spit on your grave, sisters -- The castrating mother : Psycho -- The Medusa's gaze -- Introduction : the nonhuman turn an women's horror of the new millennium -- Coming of age : the monstrous-feminine as Virginal Dentata : Ginger Snaps : (2000), Teeth (2007), Jennifer's Body (2009). -- The monstrous-feminine as avenging zombie : The girl with all the gifts (2016), The dark (2018), Atlantics (2019). -- The monstrous-feminine as uncanny creatrix : Border (2018), Little Joe (2019), Titane (2021).

"This is a timely update of a seminal text which re-interprets key films of the horror genre, including Carrie, The Exorcist, The Brood and Psycho. Although a projection of male fears and fantasies, the monstrous-feminine is a nonetheless a terrifying figure. In the first edition, Creed draws on Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection, to challenge the popular view that women in horror are almost aways victims by arguing that the prototype of all definitions of the monstrous is the female sexual and reproductive body. She holds that patriarchal ideology constructs woman as monstrous in relation to her sexuality and reproductive body to justify her subjugation. Although a projection of male fears and parsanoid fantasies, the monstrous-feminine is nonetheless a terrifying figure who assumes at least seven faces: archaic mother, monstrous womb, vampire, possessed monster, witch, devouring mother and castrator. Creed's argument contests Freudian and Lacanian theories of sexual difference to offer a provocative rereading of classical and contemporary horror. This updated edition includes an entirely new section examining contemporary feminist horror films in relation to nonhuman theory. Creed proposes a new concept of radical abjection to reinterpret the monstrous-feminine as a figure who embraces her abjection by reclaiming her body and re-defining her otherness as nonhuman--while questioning patriarchy, anthropocentrism, misogyny, and the meaning of the human. This edition proposes further faces of the monstrous-feminine: creatrix, woman-wolf, machine, mermaid, chimera, zombie, and troll. Films discussed include Ginger Snaps, Teeth, Atlantics, Little Joe, The Girl with All the Gifts, Border and Titane. Barbara Creed's classic remains as relevant as ever and this edition will be of interest to academics and students of feminist theory, nonhuman theory, critical animal studies, race, and queer theory"-- Provided by publisher.