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Feeding the Monster: Why Horror Has a Hold on Us
Zombies want brains. Vampires want blood. Cannibals want human flesh. All monsters need feeding.
Horror has been embraced by mainstream pop culture more than ever before, with horror characters and aesthetics infecting TV, music videos and even TikTok trends. Yet even with the commercial and critical success of The Babadook, Hereditary, Get Out, The Haunting of Hill House, Yellowjackets and countless other horror films and TV series over the last few years, loving the genre still prompts the question: what's wrong with you? Implying, of course, that there is something not quite right about the people who make and consume it.
In Feeding the Monster, Anna Bogutskaya dispels this notion once and for all by examining how horror responds to and fuels our feelings of fear, anxiety, pain, hunger and power.
Horror has been embraced by mainstream pop culture more than ever before, with horror characters and aesthetics infecting TV, music videos and even TikTok trends. Yet even with the commercial and critical success of The Babadook, Hereditary, Get Out, The Haunting of Hill House, Yellowjackets and countless other horror films and TV series over the last few years, loving the genre still prompts the question: what's wrong with you? Implying, of course, that there is something not quite right about the people who make and consume it.
In Feeding the Monster, Anna Bogutskaya dispels this notion once and for all by examining how horror responds to and fuels our feelings of fear, anxiety, pain, hunger and power.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 15, 2024
141 people are currently reading
7396 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
March 11, 2025
Warning: Do NOT read this book if you don’t want your ever-growing horror to-be-read and to-be-watched list to grow exponentially.
June 27, 2024
This is a collection of essays which focuses on our idea of horror media and looks at a bunch of different horror films through four distinct lenses. I would have liked this collection to be a little more diverse in its type of media like looking more at books and literature rather than film, as it can sometimes feel like discussions in horror movies are oversaturated. But this collection had some really fresh and exciting takes on horror that I was really enthralled to read about and the book really held my attention.
I particularly enjoyed the section called ‘Hunger’ which focused on cannibalism in horror. It mostly talks about Hannibal, Yellowjackets and Bones and All but I felt a bit let down it didn’t have the space to explore further and look into cannibalism’s literary history. It suggests the binary between male cannibalism and class, and female cannibalism and desire, which I absolutely loved. But how do you discuss cannibalism and sex without mentioning Marquis de Sade, and how do you discuss cannibalism and class without mentioning Jonathan Swift? Just feels strange to me to leave them out as they are the glaringly obvious roots of cannibal media. Also not mentioning Tender is the Flesh, even in passing, seemed really odd as this book started the rebirth of the obsession with cannibal books on TikTok. The focus on cannibalism in visual media rather than the books they first came from just wasn’t it for me - cannibalism in horror is first and foremost a literary phenomenon (you could argue all horror is, but cannibalism most prominently). Maybe I was just expecting too much from the chapter but I felt there was more to explore here rather than the movies and tv shows the author did focus on.
The chapter ‘Pain’ was also really striking when it talked about dance horror movies, namely Black Swan, Suspiria and Climax. Climax is one of my favourite films of all time and so was happy to see it mentioned, as well as discussing some non-English speaking media in the collection. It was fascinating to read about the relationship between dancing and body horror, and how the contortion of the body easily moves from the beautiful to the grotesque. The use of Kristeva critical theory here was excellent in marrying the idea of the ‘abject’ not just to the motionless body, but the body with almost too much motion.
This is a collection that is really useful to bringing new ideas to horror and gothic studies and I’ve really enjoyed being able to read some new and fresh takes on horror which I haven’t seen even in the academic sphere before.
I particularly enjoyed the section called ‘Hunger’ which focused on cannibalism in horror. It mostly talks about Hannibal, Yellowjackets and Bones and All but I felt a bit let down it didn’t have the space to explore further and look into cannibalism’s literary history. It suggests the binary between male cannibalism and class, and female cannibalism and desire, which I absolutely loved. But how do you discuss cannibalism and sex without mentioning Marquis de Sade, and how do you discuss cannibalism and class without mentioning Jonathan Swift? Just feels strange to me to leave them out as they are the glaringly obvious roots of cannibal media. Also not mentioning Tender is the Flesh, even in passing, seemed really odd as this book started the rebirth of the obsession with cannibal books on TikTok. The focus on cannibalism in visual media rather than the books they first came from just wasn’t it for me - cannibalism in horror is first and foremost a literary phenomenon (you could argue all horror is, but cannibalism most prominently). Maybe I was just expecting too much from the chapter but I felt there was more to explore here rather than the movies and tv shows the author did focus on.
The chapter ‘Pain’ was also really striking when it talked about dance horror movies, namely Black Swan, Suspiria and Climax. Climax is one of my favourite films of all time and so was happy to see it mentioned, as well as discussing some non-English speaking media in the collection. It was fascinating to read about the relationship between dancing and body horror, and how the contortion of the body easily moves from the beautiful to the grotesque. The use of Kristeva critical theory here was excellent in marrying the idea of the ‘abject’ not just to the motionless body, but the body with almost too much motion.
This is a collection that is really useful to bringing new ideas to horror and gothic studies and I’ve really enjoyed being able to read some new and fresh takes on horror which I haven’t seen even in the academic sphere before.
June 9, 2024
my favourite read of the year so far!
this is an essential read for every horror/film fan. such a well researched, put together exploration of the way horror-based media reflects our society and the reasons which we are drawn towards it.
thank you faber for sending me a copy of one of my most anticipated releases <3
this is an essential read for every horror/film fan. such a well researched, put together exploration of the way horror-based media reflects our society and the reasons which we are drawn towards it.
thank you faber for sending me a copy of one of my most anticipated releases <3
March 12, 2025
This was such an engaging and interesting overview into the history and development of horror (mostly film).
However…
Anna thinking Bedelia cut off her own leg and presented it to Hannibal (signifying a marriage proposal) kind of coloured the rest of the book for me because I haven’t seen most of the movies she was discussing, and I felt like I couldn’t necessarily trust her interpretations anymore 😭
However…
Anna thinking Bedelia cut off her own leg and presented it to Hannibal (signifying a marriage proposal) kind of coloured the rest of the book for me because I haven’t seen most of the movies she was discussing, and I felt like I couldn’t necessarily trust her interpretations anymore 😭
September 13, 2025
"horror, more than any other, is a genre of empathy. [...] horror is not about simple voyeurism, about looking at someone being butchered or haunted; it's about feeling what they're feeling. our fears are constantly in flux, and horror is uniquely positioned to extract and transform them into something fantastical and awesome, but also something that, ultimately, potentially, we can conquer. horror keeps us safe."
November 28, 2024
This was decent, but not what I was expecting considering the title. This was more film summaries (with A LOT of spoilers, fair warning) that briefly explain the themes featured and how they connect to social and political points, rather than a psychological analysis of why people love horror and what keeps people coming back to it. I should’ve figured by the author’s career projects that it would be more casual and ‘pop culture’ but as said, I was mainly going off of the title. While the writing is very conversational, which makes for easy reading, I found the way the author veered into different points rather abrupt and random. That is particularly seen in the ‘Hunger’ chapter, where she starts off explaining how the cannibalism theme is highly connected to loneliness and the need for connection, then all of a sudden we are talking about eating disorders, then all of a sudden back to sealing the chapter off with the loneliness aspect but without any further thought added on.
I think this would be a good read for anyone new to horror (though once again watch out for the spoilers) or for someone who fails to see anything positive about the genre. If you’re looking for something more analytic or even historical, it’s probably best to seek out another book though.
I think this would be a good read for anyone new to horror (though once again watch out for the spoilers) or for someone who fails to see anything positive about the genre. If you’re looking for something more analytic or even historical, it’s probably best to seek out another book though.
February 18, 2025
Actual rating 2.5 stars.
Im honestly a little disappointed with this book. I was so excited to read it and learn why horror has a hold on us, just as the title promised. But while the author included some sentences on why we like horror and monsters, it wasn’t nearly enough! Honestly, most of the book was just summaries and lists of horror movies instead of actual research. Which I found confusing since she did some research but she just didn’t include enough of it and instead jumped from topic to topic 🤷🏻♀️
I’m currently writing my thesis on why/how eroticism is monstrous and horror and the abject is a huge part of it so I was really let down by the book. Maybe it’s more useful for people new to horror/the monstrous but for horror veterans it’s truly not it.
The main plus side for me is that I now have a long list of new horror movies and series to watch and that it was a quick read lol
Im honestly a little disappointed with this book. I was so excited to read it and learn why horror has a hold on us, just as the title promised. But while the author included some sentences on why we like horror and monsters, it wasn’t nearly enough! Honestly, most of the book was just summaries and lists of horror movies instead of actual research. Which I found confusing since she did some research but she just didn’t include enough of it and instead jumped from topic to topic 🤷🏻♀️
I’m currently writing my thesis on why/how eroticism is monstrous and horror and the abject is a huge part of it so I was really let down by the book. Maybe it’s more useful for people new to horror/the monstrous but for horror veterans it’s truly not it.
The main plus side for me is that I now have a long list of new horror movies and series to watch and that it was a quick read lol
August 21, 2024
"Let us be monsters and formidable freaks."
In 'Feeding the Monster: Why Horror Has a Hold on Us', Anna Bogutskaya presents, not a comprehensive look at the history of horror television and cinema (who made and starred in what etc, so don't get annoyed if a film or tv series you love isn't mentioned) or an academic analysis, but, as the title implies, something that always gets missed from discussion of horror cinema and that fans have always been aware of: the emotionality of horror.
Divided into five chapters - fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power - Bogustkaya (mainly focusing on the current era of horror, the 2010s onwards, but classic horror is by no means neglected) explores how horror reflects our fears and anxieties -our 'monsters' - and through that how we're able to face/dispel them; dispelling the myth that there's anything 'wrong' with those who like horror ( we're just as likely to be wearing bright colours emblazoned with rainbows and unicorns than to be goths) torpedoing that loathsome question "what is wrong with you?"
If you're already a horror fan -whether you're a hardcore fan or, like me, a more magpie-like fan who only for the shiny things that interest them (after all, the 'horror' genre is a vast umbrella, with many other sub-genres sheltering underneath it) - you will have so many "oh my god, yes!" moments when the book articulates something you've always wanted to say in response when someone questions why you like horror. If you're not a fan, I'd still reccomend giving this a read - it might not change your mind or tastes but you'll definitely learn some things.
Either way, you're also likely to come away with some new films/tv shows and one or two podcasts to listen to. 😄
In 'Feeding the Monster: Why Horror Has a Hold on Us', Anna Bogutskaya presents, not a comprehensive look at the history of horror television and cinema (who made and starred in what etc, so don't get annoyed if a film or tv series you love isn't mentioned) or an academic analysis, but, as the title implies, something that always gets missed from discussion of horror cinema and that fans have always been aware of: the emotionality of horror.
Divided into five chapters - fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power - Bogustkaya (mainly focusing on the current era of horror, the 2010s onwards, but classic horror is by no means neglected) explores how horror reflects our fears and anxieties -our 'monsters' - and through that how we're able to face/dispel them; dispelling the myth that there's anything 'wrong' with those who like horror ( we're just as likely to be wearing bright colours emblazoned with rainbows and unicorns than to be goths) torpedoing that loathsome question "what is wrong with you?"
If you're already a horror fan -whether you're a hardcore fan or, like me, a more magpie-like fan who only for the shiny things that interest them (after all, the 'horror' genre is a vast umbrella, with many other sub-genres sheltering underneath it) - you will have so many "oh my god, yes!" moments when the book articulates something you've always wanted to say in response when someone questions why you like horror. If you're not a fan, I'd still reccomend giving this a read - it might not change your mind or tastes but you'll definitely learn some things.
Either way, you're also likely to come away with some new films/tv shows and one or two podcasts to listen to. 😄
September 27, 2024
Horror is emotion and I think connection. It's about how we identify ourselves and relate to others. In this me and Anna Bogutskaya agree. She might never exciting talk about the way we connect to other people, but by talking about power exchanges, our understanding of the villain (who is no longer a monster) - I can't help but think this underlies her thesis.
Discussing the horror films (and sometimes books and tv shows) of the last decade (since 2014), she defines modern horror by its emotions not its tropes or aesthetics. She paints a picture of a genre that reflects the complex morality of our time. There's no clear sense of right or wrong, we're all willing to understand the villain (lots of interesting thoughts about trauma causing villains in here) and horror reflects our uncertainty.
It's no longer jump scares, big iconic monsters, or the final girl; now it's something less tangible, it's fear, dread and anxiety.
With great chapters comparing cannibalism to loneliness, the monster to modern power dynamics and the haunted house to the decline of stable housing; I could talk about this book for hours and hours.
I was reading this while thinking about a phd, and yep, it feels more and more like a direction I want to go in.
Discussing the horror films (and sometimes books and tv shows) of the last decade (since 2014), she defines modern horror by its emotions not its tropes or aesthetics. She paints a picture of a genre that reflects the complex morality of our time. There's no clear sense of right or wrong, we're all willing to understand the villain (lots of interesting thoughts about trauma causing villains in here) and horror reflects our uncertainty.
It's no longer jump scares, big iconic monsters, or the final girl; now it's something less tangible, it's fear, dread and anxiety.
With great chapters comparing cannibalism to loneliness, the monster to modern power dynamics and the haunted house to the decline of stable housing; I could talk about this book for hours and hours.
I was reading this while thinking about a phd, and yep, it feels more and more like a direction I want to go in.
December 30, 2024
So why do you like Horror films, hmm? Is it all the blood and gore? The violence, the scares, the chills? If you've ever had these questions posed to you, always accompanied with some judgement, then Feeding the Monster might be as useful to you as it was to me. Anna Bogutskaya may not be able to provide all the answers, but she will help you take multiple steps towards answering those questions. Thanks to Faber and Faber and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am a Horror fan, something I frequently have to explain to others, but also occasionally to myself. Why am I, someone who has solidly identified as a Feminist since she learned what that is, so obsessed with a genre which seems to thrive on violence against women? Well, I am very glad to report that Anna Bogutskaya has had similar thoughts and explains them better than I can in Feeding the Monster. In this book, Bogutskaya dives into Horror from a Feminist perspective, asking not just why women, or people in general, might enjoy the genre, but also what it can do for us. Bogutskaya focuses specifically on Horror films from 2014 on, films which have been considered part of the "elevated horror"-genre, a label Bogutskaya criticises. I agree that the idea of "elevated horror" diminishes the genre overall, but I did also enjoy how Bogutskaya traced the trends of the last decade of Horror. While I think most people by now accept that Horror has a place in our culture, there is still a certain stigma attached to it, but books such as Feeding the Monster, which so thoughtfully and intimately dissect our obsession with it, will hopefull change that.
Feeding the Monster is divided into five chapters on fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power. In the Introduction, as mentioned above, she explores her own love for Horror and what a Feminist Horror might mean. Each of the chapters then explores the theme through various films, and the occasional TV show, linking, for example, the haunted house and its changing forms in cinema to the housing crisis, or motherhood as an ever-changing focal point for Horror. The chapter on 'Pain' was very intriguing, considering aspects of body horror, which I have always found fascinating. It is Horror, yes, but it also the body made something different, new, and other, which can be a form of freedom. It also looks at dance, especially the Suspiria remake, which I adore, and Black Swan. This chapter also used Julia Kristeva's concept of the abject, which I am quite fond of myself as well, despite not being very into psychoanalysis as a theoretical framework. But it worked here, looking at all those things that disturb us and our boundaries as a form of grotesque and painful beauty. The chapter on 'Hunger' explores, as I had hoped, cannibalism. I have become more and more intrigued by cannibalism, even in my work on medieval literature, and how it can be seen as a form of (quite obsessive, sure) love. Bogutskaya explores the decadence and romance of the Hannibal show (a favourite of mine) and women devouring one another and the world in the likes of Yellowjackets and Raw. My favourite, however, was the final chapter on 'Power', where Bogutskaya questions why we no longer create capital-M monsters, like Freddy Krueger or Leatherface. A fascinating conclusion she draws is that we have come to a point where it might be easier to join the system than fight it, become one of the monsters that drains others, exploits others, than fully resist it. It's not the most optimistic of conclusions, but it gives a whole lot of food for thought.
Feeding the Monster is as much a depiction of Bogutskaya's personal journey with Horror as a book of analysis. It is definitely angled more towards popular audiences than academic ones and this is reflected in the tone. Bogutskaya includes not just personal anecdotes about her own life, but also has delightful little footnotes which made me feel like I was in a direct conversation with a funny and knowledgable friend, rather than sitting in class. However, Bogutskaya does bring in scholarship and history, reaching beyond modern Anglophone cinema to explore French and occasional classic films, etc. She will bring in monster theory, gender and queer theory, and talk about cinema, meaning you will walk away from this book with new insights into the films she discusses. I appreciated the strong focus on Feminism throughout, especially as a woman still wondering why she likes Horror at times. It is worth saying here that Feeding the Monster goes into plot details extensively, which makes sense. So if you want to keep a film unspoiled for yourself, you might need to skip certain sections. Overall, Feeding the Monster is a great insight into Horror films of the last decade, with insightful takes and, surprisingly, quite a few laughs!
Feeding the Monster was exactly what I wanted it to be: an insightful and personal take on Horror, which leaves room for further thought. I picked up some film recommendations and even new favourite podcasts (shout out to Academy of Horror!). I look forward to reading more by Anna Bogutskaya in the future.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
I am a Horror fan, something I frequently have to explain to others, but also occasionally to myself. Why am I, someone who has solidly identified as a Feminist since she learned what that is, so obsessed with a genre which seems to thrive on violence against women? Well, I am very glad to report that Anna Bogutskaya has had similar thoughts and explains them better than I can in Feeding the Monster. In this book, Bogutskaya dives into Horror from a Feminist perspective, asking not just why women, or people in general, might enjoy the genre, but also what it can do for us. Bogutskaya focuses specifically on Horror films from 2014 on, films which have been considered part of the "elevated horror"-genre, a label Bogutskaya criticises. I agree that the idea of "elevated horror" diminishes the genre overall, but I did also enjoy how Bogutskaya traced the trends of the last decade of Horror. While I think most people by now accept that Horror has a place in our culture, there is still a certain stigma attached to it, but books such as Feeding the Monster, which so thoughtfully and intimately dissect our obsession with it, will hopefull change that.
Feeding the Monster is divided into five chapters on fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power. In the Introduction, as mentioned above, she explores her own love for Horror and what a Feminist Horror might mean. Each of the chapters then explores the theme through various films, and the occasional TV show, linking, for example, the haunted house and its changing forms in cinema to the housing crisis, or motherhood as an ever-changing focal point for Horror. The chapter on 'Pain' was very intriguing, considering aspects of body horror, which I have always found fascinating. It is Horror, yes, but it also the body made something different, new, and other, which can be a form of freedom. It also looks at dance, especially the Suspiria remake, which I adore, and Black Swan. This chapter also used Julia Kristeva's concept of the abject, which I am quite fond of myself as well, despite not being very into psychoanalysis as a theoretical framework. But it worked here, looking at all those things that disturb us and our boundaries as a form of grotesque and painful beauty. The chapter on 'Hunger' explores, as I had hoped, cannibalism. I have become more and more intrigued by cannibalism, even in my work on medieval literature, and how it can be seen as a form of (quite obsessive, sure) love. Bogutskaya explores the decadence and romance of the Hannibal show (a favourite of mine) and women devouring one another and the world in the likes of Yellowjackets and Raw. My favourite, however, was the final chapter on 'Power', where Bogutskaya questions why we no longer create capital-M monsters, like Freddy Krueger or Leatherface. A fascinating conclusion she draws is that we have come to a point where it might be easier to join the system than fight it, become one of the monsters that drains others, exploits others, than fully resist it. It's not the most optimistic of conclusions, but it gives a whole lot of food for thought.
Feeding the Monster is as much a depiction of Bogutskaya's personal journey with Horror as a book of analysis. It is definitely angled more towards popular audiences than academic ones and this is reflected in the tone. Bogutskaya includes not just personal anecdotes about her own life, but also has delightful little footnotes which made me feel like I was in a direct conversation with a funny and knowledgable friend, rather than sitting in class. However, Bogutskaya does bring in scholarship and history, reaching beyond modern Anglophone cinema to explore French and occasional classic films, etc. She will bring in monster theory, gender and queer theory, and talk about cinema, meaning you will walk away from this book with new insights into the films she discusses. I appreciated the strong focus on Feminism throughout, especially as a woman still wondering why she likes Horror at times. It is worth saying here that Feeding the Monster goes into plot details extensively, which makes sense. So if you want to keep a film unspoiled for yourself, you might need to skip certain sections. Overall, Feeding the Monster is a great insight into Horror films of the last decade, with insightful takes and, surprisingly, quite a few laughs!
Feeding the Monster was exactly what I wanted it to be: an insightful and personal take on Horror, which leaves room for further thought. I picked up some film recommendations and even new favourite podcasts (shout out to Academy of Horror!). I look forward to reading more by Anna Bogutskaya in the future.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
May 19, 2025
it's given me a million things to add to my watchlist/reading, always a win.
i liked the focus on the emotionality of horror rather than the nitty-gritty oft hypercritical cinematographic analysis of horror movies that so often (but not ALWAYS) completely kills the fun.
4 stars not because it was bad, but because it approached areas of horror the author was clearly familiar with but not sufficiently confident to speak on (queer, trans and POC horror) with a bit too much trepidation. i know for a FACT this lady has more thoughts on the topic than she dared voice, and her nervousness at getting it wrong was noticeable, making the BRIEF touches on the topic feel unfinished and uncertain.
otherwise though genuinely really fun
i liked the focus on the emotionality of horror rather than the nitty-gritty oft hypercritical cinematographic analysis of horror movies that so often (but not ALWAYS) completely kills the fun.
4 stars not because it was bad, but because it approached areas of horror the author was clearly familiar with but not sufficiently confident to speak on (queer, trans and POC horror) with a bit too much trepidation. i know for a FACT this lady has more thoughts on the topic than she dared voice, and her nervousness at getting it wrong was noticeable, making the BRIEF touches on the topic feel unfinished and uncertain.
otherwise though genuinely really fun
June 25, 2025
widziałam większość wspomnianych filmów i seriali #absolutnykinomaniak
September 16, 2024
horror really is such an undervalued genre
… & she’s right - nominate toni collette you cowards!!!!
… & she’s right - nominate toni collette you cowards!!!!
October 29, 2024
I really did not enjoy this book, which is a shame as I liked “unlikeable female characters”
The title just seems so misleading, it felt like each chapter was just a spoiler filled compilation of different film synopses, the contents of each chapter had virtually nothing to do with the titles of each chapter, and I really just didn’t get the point. It felt like a university dissertation that had been done the night before. Very disappointing.
The title just seems so misleading, it felt like each chapter was just a spoiler filled compilation of different film synopses, the contents of each chapter had virtually nothing to do with the titles of each chapter, and I really just didn’t get the point. It felt like a university dissertation that had been done the night before. Very disappointing.
November 17, 2024
interesting and enjoyable read which I struggled to out down at times. But I don’t think I learned much more about “why horror had a hold on us” as the title suggests. This feels more of an exploration into the female horror experience, and I feel I would like it more had it been marketed that way.
also how does Tender Is The Flesh not get a mention in the cannibalism chapter?
also how does Tender Is The Flesh not get a mention in the cannibalism chapter?
Read
September 8, 2024“you can't have a truly terrifying monster without earnestness” !
December 20, 2025
This book covered many areas of horror and film theory by analysing a wide range of different films and TV shows. It was well written with a solid opening and conclusion, and divided nicely into chapters which related the media to different feelings. Probably my favourite was the 'Hunger' section, though the 'Pain' section did explore some interesting aspects of body horror.
There were definitely some intriguing points made throughout, especially regarding women's experiences both within and of horror media. I also liked how it focused on contemporary films through a modern lens, incorporating the views of established theorists to build on their ideas. However I felt the author didn't go into much depth on each film or series mentioned, instead listing examples or sticking to commentary on plots, bringing up broader ideas and comparisons. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of discussion when it jumped quickly between thoughts on different media, especially things I hadn't watched.
Not a bad book by any means, but as it gives a wide tour of the genre and current topics with mostly surface level criticism, it might be more enjoyable for new horror fans. Beware of lots of spoilers though!
There were definitely some intriguing points made throughout, especially regarding women's experiences both within and of horror media. I also liked how it focused on contemporary films through a modern lens, incorporating the views of established theorists to build on their ideas. However I felt the author didn't go into much depth on each film or series mentioned, instead listing examples or sticking to commentary on plots, bringing up broader ideas and comparisons. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of discussion when it jumped quickly between thoughts on different media, especially things I hadn't watched.
Not a bad book by any means, but as it gives a wide tour of the genre and current topics with mostly surface level criticism, it might be more enjoyable for new horror fans. Beware of lots of spoilers though!
November 22, 2025
3'75
Really entertaining!!! Loved how non-pretentious the author's writing was, and I got so many recommendations for movies, books, articles and podcasts. (I do think the pandemic was overly mentioned though...... I don't think every piece of art post 2020 is necessarily impacted by the pandemic, even if unconsciously. It can be, of course, but I really felt like the author went a bit overboard with it)
Anyways, some parts I liked:
Horror may have always had women at its beating heart, but while our fears remain, it's our names that get forgotten.
---
Trauma is a trapped memory, experienced over and over again as if it were happening right now. What is a haunting, if not a trapped memory?
---
This is contemporary horror's fracture: the absence of a home. Our home isn't ours; it is a poisonous space, inflecting us with nightmares, it is the monster that swallows us whole.
---
Hunger is everywhere in horror [...] the protagonists we find on screen are either devouring or being devoured.
---
The entry fee of being embodied is the certainty - not the risk, the certainty - that eventually, something will go wrong with it.
Really entertaining!!! Loved how non-pretentious the author's writing was, and I got so many recommendations for movies, books, articles and podcasts. (I do think the pandemic was overly mentioned though...... I don't think every piece of art post 2020 is necessarily impacted by the pandemic, even if unconsciously. It can be, of course, but I really felt like the author went a bit overboard with it)
Anyways, some parts I liked:
Horror may have always had women at its beating heart, but while our fears remain, it's our names that get forgotten.
---
Trauma is a trapped memory, experienced over and over again as if it were happening right now. What is a haunting, if not a trapped memory?
---
This is contemporary horror's fracture: the absence of a home. Our home isn't ours; it is a poisonous space, inflecting us with nightmares, it is the monster that swallows us whole.
---
Hunger is everywhere in horror [...] the protagonists we find on screen are either devouring or being devoured.
---
The entry fee of being embodied is the certainty - not the risk, the certainty - that eventually, something will go wrong with it.
March 16, 2025
As much as I liked Anna Bogutskaya’s previous book, and as much as I enjoy her podcast content, this ended up being quite a big disappointment.
I didn’t actually feel as if it came close to approaching the main thesis of the book, the writing style was too similar to being a podcast transcription, and the only thing I really kept thinking about was how much Bogutskaya clearly loves Mike Flanagan, Julie Ducournau, the film Nanny, and the people championed by A24.
It also doesn’t help that Bogustkaya seems to be starting from an incorrect/flawed initial premise, deliberately ignoring many other movies and film-makers that would repeatedly undermine her arguments.
There’s still a lot to enjoy here though, specifically when it addresses the different way horror films are presented or viewed through the female experience. But it may have been better to just call this The Final Girls Podcast Book Of Modern Horror.
I didn’t actually feel as if it came close to approaching the main thesis of the book, the writing style was too similar to being a podcast transcription, and the only thing I really kept thinking about was how much Bogutskaya clearly loves Mike Flanagan, Julie Ducournau, the film Nanny, and the people championed by A24.
It also doesn’t help that Bogustkaya seems to be starting from an incorrect/flawed initial premise, deliberately ignoring many other movies and film-makers that would repeatedly undermine her arguments.
There’s still a lot to enjoy here though, specifically when it addresses the different way horror films are presented or viewed through the female experience. But it may have been better to just call this The Final Girls Podcast Book Of Modern Horror.
November 12, 2025
Tole bi si zaslužilo višjo oceno, ampak me razburi, ko ima knjiga zavajajoč naslov. No, v tem primeru podnaslov. Nikakor ne gre za analizo tega, zakaj nas groza tako fascinira, ampak za tematske, deloma personalne eseje o sodobnih grozljivkah. Zelo zanimive in dobre preglede filmografije zadnjih 20 let, s katerimi se zelo strinjam, ampak čemu potem dati tak podnaslov in opis knjige, ki ni nič drugega kot resno zavajajoč? Anna Bogutskaya je super avtorica, ki je zelo zaslužna za novo "popularizacijo" groze v neakademskem, podkasterskem, a še vedno tudi strokovnem okolju v zadnjih letih, ampak je res škoda za tole marketinško potezo. Zlasti odličen je zadnji esej (zato se naslov tudi nanaša nanj), v katerem premišljuje o tem, kako smo odpustili pošastim, kako jih danes razumemo kot rezultat okolja in kako so pošasti, ki nas strašijo in fascinirajo danes, v resnici ljudje. Skratka, če bi radi razumeli kulturno in filozofsko, tudi politično ozadje groze zadnjih 20 let, je to super knjiga za vas.
January 19, 2025
Really enjoyed this! Found the parts about the use of body horror to discuss feminist/queer messaging super interesting, as well as the cultural shift away from ‘traditional’ monsters like vampires and ghosts to more ‘human’ villains
Would recommend but a word of caution you’ll double your want to watch list
Would recommend but a word of caution you’ll double your want to watch list
January 23, 2025
feels fitting to finish this on oscar nom day with the substance being the 7th horror nominated for best picture
September 26, 2025
4.75 / 5 stars 🌟
November 21, 2025
A love letter to horror from an emotional perspective and why we love it, as it asks us to bring our fears, anxieties and desires along for the ride.
July 16, 2025
ehhh this was decent but didn’t bang as hard as it could have done, and didn’t actually say why horror has a hold on us :-( guess we’re just freaks afterall :-(
October 30, 2024
I knew Feeding the Monster from my youngest sister. She is fans of horror movies. When I read its premise, I get more interested since it also explain about feminism and gender in horror genre.
Anna is a good researcher. She is not only drop the name, movie title, and novel, but also elaborate it with her experience in broadcasting and as horror hand herself.
She explained that our craving to enjoy horror is because human sometimes can not express the uncomfortable feeling. We only address it as “fear” but can not put it into detailed words. Through horror, it makes us easier to share our vulnerability towards something creepy.
Along her book, Anna didn’t forget to put feminism lens as one of her approach to explain this horror phenomenon. Again and again, women and LGBTQ+ community always being objectify by male. That they are always monstrous and so on.
Anna also said that the evolution (or growing?) horror genre both in movies and novels also a sign about what kind of “monster” that being inhabit in society. Is it greed? Is it loneliness? Is it social pressures?
So, anyway, Feeding the Monster is recommended for you who keep asking “why do i love horror movies? is it wrong?” You will get to know what kind of “addiction” you have and the correlation with our society.
Anna is a good researcher. She is not only drop the name, movie title, and novel, but also elaborate it with her experience in broadcasting and as horror hand herself.
She explained that our craving to enjoy horror is because human sometimes can not express the uncomfortable feeling. We only address it as “fear” but can not put it into detailed words. Through horror, it makes us easier to share our vulnerability towards something creepy.
Along her book, Anna didn’t forget to put feminism lens as one of her approach to explain this horror phenomenon. Again and again, women and LGBTQ+ community always being objectify by male. That they are always monstrous and so on.
Anna also said that the evolution (or growing?) horror genre both in movies and novels also a sign about what kind of “monster” that being inhabit in society. Is it greed? Is it loneliness? Is it social pressures?
So, anyway, Feeding the Monster is recommended for you who keep asking “why do i love horror movies? is it wrong?” You will get to know what kind of “addiction” you have and the correlation with our society.
June 23, 2024
Feeding the Monster is a book that explores the horror genre through the feelings it evokes, like pain, hunger, anxiety, power, and fear. Bogutskaya goes on a journey through horror, mostly film but with some TV series and books mentioned too, to consider if and why it might still be seen as something weird, something for people who aren't quite right, and to argue that it works with very real feelings in the audience. Each chapter is centred around one of these feelings, picking out works that connect with these feelings and looking at how they do it.
There's a lot of interesting stuff in this book and it works well as a pop culture analysis that is accessible and broad, whilst citing material like personal and video essays that readers might not have encountered before. I liked that it mentioned a lot of things I like (particularly the part looking at haunted houses) and I appreciate how Bogutskaya touches upon lot of the nuances of horror around marginalised people and outsider experiences, even though it's not the sort of book to go in depth about anything, as it is such an overview. At times I found some of the style a bit annoying, particularly the jokey footnotes which I don't think added anything to the book, but generally this is an approachable way of looking at horror that takes a wide definition of the genre, meaning that it is more tied to feelings evoked in horror than specific genre conventions.
There's a lot of interesting stuff in this book and it works well as a pop culture analysis that is accessible and broad, whilst citing material like personal and video essays that readers might not have encountered before. I liked that it mentioned a lot of things I like (particularly the part looking at haunted houses) and I appreciate how Bogutskaya touches upon lot of the nuances of horror around marginalised people and outsider experiences, even though it's not the sort of book to go in depth about anything, as it is such an overview. At times I found some of the style a bit annoying, particularly the jokey footnotes which I don't think added anything to the book, but generally this is an approachable way of looking at horror that takes a wide definition of the genre, meaning that it is more tied to feelings evoked in horror than specific genre conventions.
January 24, 2025
Read this review on my blog
My love of horror stems from two sources. One, you will not be surprised to hear, was Stephen King. I would suspect that at least 70% of horror enthusiasts came to their love of the genre by picking up a Stephen King novel at an inappropriately young age. For me, it was The Dark Half.
My other formative horror experience was Friday the 13th. I didn’t see it in full at the time; I certainly wasn’t allowed to watch it. I was about ten years old, at my friend’s house, getting ready to go out to dinner with her family. But then her sister accidentally slammed her fingers in the car door, and so instead of a trip to a restaurant it was a trip to the hospital, and a hastily-engaged babysitter arriving to the house to look after my friend and me. The babysitter decided to watch Friday the 13th, and so did we, hiding behind the couch and running out of the room every time she caught us.
One of the things I love about horror is how personal it is. Something that terrifies one person can leave another completely unmoved. For years I refused to sleep in a room with a mirror I could look into from my bed, an unnamed fear I could not explain but which mystified my best friend, although she kindly agreed to reposition the furniture to accommodate me.
But equally true, horror is universal. There are certain fears that are found across eras, across cultures, and if there’s something you are afraid of it is certain that there is someone else in the world who shares the same fear.
In Feeding the Monster, Anna Bogutskaya looks at the past decade in horror film, television, and literature, exploring why so many of us love it so much. She divides the book into five categories: fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power. Some aspects offer examples of our worries, and some explanations for our enjoyment.
The book is less dense than similar deep dives like King’s classic Danse Macabre or the recent American Scary by Jeremy Dauber and instead offers a more conversational take on the subject. But this doesn’t take away from its overall thesis. It’s full of academic and cultural analysis, and rife with examples, augmented with casual, often humorous footnotes:
Much has been said about the way vampire stories always seem to experience a renaissance during economic recessions, and there are obvious reasons that there have been a plethora of films about the horror of unwanted pregnancies released over the past few years, but Bogutskaya also makes strong arguments in terms of placing the popularity of other horror tropes into our current cultural context. How cannibalism, for example — from Hannibal to Bones and All to Yellowjackets, often reflects the loneliness and isolation of modern life, as well as the anxieties of capitalism and class struggle. Do we eat the rich? Or do the rich eat us?
Do be warned, as the author makes clear in the introduction, that this book contains copious spoilers for the media she uses as evidence for her arguments. However, I think that she does a solid job of writing about the books, films, and tv shows in a way that does not damper my enthusiasm for reading or watching the the ones I haven’t yet. I didn’t find the amount of spoilers overwhelming, as mostly they teased rather than revealing all.
(I did think it was funny that the only spoiler Bogutskaya redacts is one for Game of Thrones, a show whose cultural cache has sunk so much following its final season that I doubt most people who haven’t seen it yet would care).
While there were a few omissions that I thought deserved a mention (as other reviews have pointed out, for example, it’s surprising not to see Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica included in examining the current popularity of cannibalism stories), overall I found this to be a solid exploration of contemporary horror and why we love it. Feeding the Monster is an ideal pick for those looking for a fresh and readable work that still offers a strong academic thesis on our fears and our favorite fearful fictions.
"Everyone has a foundational horror. It’s the image that seeps under our psyche and won’t let go, transforming the film and the image of horror itself into an avatar for our biggest fear. Take a moment and remember yours."
My love of horror stems from two sources. One, you will not be surprised to hear, was Stephen King. I would suspect that at least 70% of horror enthusiasts came to their love of the genre by picking up a Stephen King novel at an inappropriately young age. For me, it was The Dark Half.
My other formative horror experience was Friday the 13th. I didn’t see it in full at the time; I certainly wasn’t allowed to watch it. I was about ten years old, at my friend’s house, getting ready to go out to dinner with her family. But then her sister accidentally slammed her fingers in the car door, and so instead of a trip to a restaurant it was a trip to the hospital, and a hastily-engaged babysitter arriving to the house to look after my friend and me. The babysitter decided to watch Friday the 13th, and so did we, hiding behind the couch and running out of the room every time she caught us.
One of the things I love about horror is how personal it is. Something that terrifies one person can leave another completely unmoved. For years I refused to sleep in a room with a mirror I could look into from my bed, an unnamed fear I could not explain but which mystified my best friend, although she kindly agreed to reposition the furniture to accommodate me.
But equally true, horror is universal. There are certain fears that are found across eras, across cultures, and if there’s something you are afraid of it is certain that there is someone else in the world who shares the same fear.
In Feeding the Monster, Anna Bogutskaya looks at the past decade in horror film, television, and literature, exploring why so many of us love it so much. She divides the book into five categories: fear, hunger, anxiety, pain, and power. Some aspects offer examples of our worries, and some explanations for our enjoyment.
The book is less dense than similar deep dives like King’s classic Danse Macabre or the recent American Scary by Jeremy Dauber and instead offers a more conversational take on the subject. But this doesn’t take away from its overall thesis. It’s full of academic and cultural analysis, and rife with examples, augmented with casual, often humorous footnotes:
"*Would I eat human flesh if Mads Mikkelsen, clad in a tailored velvet suit, with his sleeves rolled up, served it to me on an elegant, dark porcelain platter, adorned with radishes and romaine lettuce? I don’t know! It’s all very confusing! Don’t look at me."
Much has been said about the way vampire stories always seem to experience a renaissance during economic recessions, and there are obvious reasons that there have been a plethora of films about the horror of unwanted pregnancies released over the past few years, but Bogutskaya also makes strong arguments in terms of placing the popularity of other horror tropes into our current cultural context. How cannibalism, for example — from Hannibal to Bones and All to Yellowjackets, often reflects the loneliness and isolation of modern life, as well as the anxieties of capitalism and class struggle. Do we eat the rich? Or do the rich eat us?
Do be warned, as the author makes clear in the introduction, that this book contains copious spoilers for the media she uses as evidence for her arguments. However, I think that she does a solid job of writing about the books, films, and tv shows in a way that does not damper my enthusiasm for reading or watching the the ones I haven’t yet. I didn’t find the amount of spoilers overwhelming, as mostly they teased rather than revealing all.
(I did think it was funny that the only spoiler Bogutskaya redacts is one for Game of Thrones, a show whose cultural cache has sunk so much following its final season that I doubt most people who haven’t seen it yet would care).
While there were a few omissions that I thought deserved a mention (as other reviews have pointed out, for example, it’s surprising not to see Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica included in examining the current popularity of cannibalism stories), overall I found this to be a solid exploration of contemporary horror and why we love it. Feeding the Monster is an ideal pick for those looking for a fresh and readable work that still offers a strong academic thesis on our fears and our favorite fearful fictions.
January 11, 2025
Overall, this was very good, sharply written, full of interesting observations, and focusing on horror (both novels and films, though more of the latter) from the last decade or so, a really welcome look at recent works.
As any good, engaging work of criticism and opinion, you likely won't agree with all that Bogutskaya has to say. For instance, she writes: “The grandaddies of slashers, Carrie (1976), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978)..." Well, I don't think that Carrie really holds up as a meaningful antecedent to the slasher (it lacks a central killer figure, contains no stalk-and-slash sequences, features no premeditation or compulsion for wrongdoing in Carrie herself, who is acting out as a result of mistreatment and trauma, focuses on psychological tension and the notion of a tragic protagonist, and foregrounds its supernatural elements--it's just fundamentally aesthetically and structurally different from slashers. And Halloween itself is less a grandaddy of slashers as much an actual slasher.
To take another example, when arguing that recent horror is very light on monsters, she says: “There’s the multiple-mouthed trauma monster from Smile, which appears only briefly and, similarly to It Follows, draws its real horror from its ability to possess anyone. Megan, the sentient doll with the TikTok dance moves from M3GAN (2022), comes to mind as a possible contender for a true contemporary monster. As does Gabriel from Malignant (2021), he of the backwards karate and the unbrushed hair. But these films were actively marketing their monsters as memes, eliminating any actual possibility of terror. This self-awareness might have increased their box-office chances, but it reduced the monster’s power to scare.” The penultimate sentence is misleading at best: The monster in Smile was not shown in the marketing of that film, which heavily relied on random creepy smiles instead, and neither did the main trailers for Malignant reveal that particular creature. Those elements were kept under wraps pre-release, precisely so audiences would be more shocked (which I think worked). More significantly, the chapter makes no mention at all of Art the Clown or the Terrifier films, which would be a more apt example of a recent iconic monster/villain in the mold of Krueger/Myers/Vorhees, the lack of which Bogutskaya is seeking to establish.
The Watchlist at the end of the book is excellent and I'm excited to have found some cool new recommendations (note: it does look like the book's copyeditor missed that the the film Sleep [Jason Yu, 2023] appears twice in two different spots).
I'm sure that Bogutskaya would dedicate several pages to The Substance in any future updated edition :-)
As any good, engaging work of criticism and opinion, you likely won't agree with all that Bogutskaya has to say. For instance, she writes: “The grandaddies of slashers, Carrie (1976), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978)..." Well, I don't think that Carrie really holds up as a meaningful antecedent to the slasher (it lacks a central killer figure, contains no stalk-and-slash sequences, features no premeditation or compulsion for wrongdoing in Carrie herself, who is acting out as a result of mistreatment and trauma, focuses on psychological tension and the notion of a tragic protagonist, and foregrounds its supernatural elements--it's just fundamentally aesthetically and structurally different from slashers. And Halloween itself is less a grandaddy of slashers as much an actual slasher.
To take another example, when arguing that recent horror is very light on monsters, she says: “There’s the multiple-mouthed trauma monster from Smile, which appears only briefly and, similarly to It Follows, draws its real horror from its ability to possess anyone. Megan, the sentient doll with the TikTok dance moves from M3GAN (2022), comes to mind as a possible contender for a true contemporary monster. As does Gabriel from Malignant (2021), he of the backwards karate and the unbrushed hair. But these films were actively marketing their monsters as memes, eliminating any actual possibility of terror. This self-awareness might have increased their box-office chances, but it reduced the monster’s power to scare.” The penultimate sentence is misleading at best: The monster in Smile was not shown in the marketing of that film, which heavily relied on random creepy smiles instead, and neither did the main trailers for Malignant reveal that particular creature. Those elements were kept under wraps pre-release, precisely so audiences would be more shocked (which I think worked). More significantly, the chapter makes no mention at all of Art the Clown or the Terrifier films, which would be a more apt example of a recent iconic monster/villain in the mold of Krueger/Myers/Vorhees, the lack of which Bogutskaya is seeking to establish.
The Watchlist at the end of the book is excellent and I'm excited to have found some cool new recommendations (note: it does look like the book's copyeditor missed that the the film Sleep [Jason Yu, 2023] appears twice in two different spots).
I'm sure that Bogutskaya would dedicate several pages to The Substance in any future updated edition :-)
January 7, 2025
I think every horror enthusiast should read this book. It made me want to write a thesis on horror movies, it made me want to watch all the horror movies I can remember just to see them in a more complex light. It’s purely informative – it’s strictly pages of references to horror movies and their influences in society, how horror changes along with people and the events of the world. It’s divided in multiple categories like Fear, Anxiety, Power, Hunger and each one refers to hundreds of different films and TV shows and how each one influences how a movie is produced and how it’s received by an audience. I saw this book randomly on a bookshop a few months ago and I have to be honest – it’s not the type of book you read that quickly, as someone who eats books for dinner. I’ve been picking it up here and there and I don’t regret not having read it that fast because it’s the type of book that will put your brain to work for real. There’s also a reading list in the end so don’t mind me if I add some of those books and articles to my to be read. Incredible book, to be honest. It shows horror in this extraordinary light that will make any horror fanatic clap their hands and wish for more. It speaks about gender, sexuality, race, economics, politics, motherhood, all through the perspective of horror. And it also mentions how horror is basically ignored when it comes to being recognised in huge award ceremonies, so it seems fitting to finish it after I watched Nosferatu and came to the conclusion that last year was an insane year for horror movies and there will be little to no recognition about it in the next months.
“Horror responds to what a culture decides is scary, and our culture has decided that we’re scared of female, ageing and trans bodies – so they must be made monstrous.”
“Horror responds to what a culture decides is scary, and our culture has decided that we’re scared of female, ageing and trans bodies – so they must be made monstrous.”
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