Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism, 1968-1980

by Eleanor Johnson

A compelling, intelligent, and timely exploration of the horror genre from one of Columbia University’s most popular professors, shedding light on how classic horror films demonstrate larger cultural attitudes about women’s rights, bodily autonomy, and more.

In May of 2022, Columbia University’s Dr. Eleanor Johnson watched along with her students as the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. At the same time, her class was studying the 1968 horror film Rosemary’s Baby and Johnson had a sudden horror cinema engages directly with the combustive politics of women’s rights and offer a light through the darkness and an outlet to scream.

With a voice as persuasive as it is insightful, Johnson reveals how classics like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Shining expose and critique issues of reproductive control, domestic violence, and patriarchal oppression. Scream with Me weaves these iconic films into the fabric of American feminism, revealing that true horror often lies not in the supernatural, but in the familiar confines of the home, exposing the deep-seated fears and realities of women’s lives.

While on the one hand a joyful celebration of seminal and beloved horror films, Scream with Me is also an unflinching and timely recognition of the power of this genre to shape and reflect cultural dialogues about gender and power.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Feminism, History, Film, Audiobook, Essays

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

Professor Johnson specializes in late medieval literature and culture. Her first book, Practicing Literary Theory in the Late Middle Ages: Ethics and the Mixed Form in Chaucer, Gower, Usk, and Hoccleve, was published in 2013 (Chicago). Her second book, Dramatizing Contemplation: Participatory Theology in Middle English Prose, Verse, and Drama, was published in 2018 (Chicago). Her Third book, Waste and the Wasters, about ecosystemic thought in medieval England, came out in 2023 (Chicago). Her newest book, Scream with Me, on horror films in the 1970s, is forthcoming with Atria Books in 2025. She is also the Poetry Section editor at Public Books

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an era of "it's not that deep" Johnson invites us to think about the fact that maybe it IS that deep and to consider the distance between intended message and meaning within larger cultural and historical context.

Scream With Me is very readable and enjoyable even if, much like me, you don't watch movies. The author does an excellent job of setting the stage so that even if you have not watched the movies or only have a vague recollection of them you never feel lost. The tone is conversational without coming across as amateurish, so it never gets dry or boring while also achieving its goal looking at beloved movies from the angle of what they say about women's conditions. I could have taken another 200 pages of this.

I was especially taken with Johnson's take on The Exorcist for its departure from the takes I've read about that movie before. Maybe I'm ageing myself by saying this, but it is what it is.

4.5 rounded up.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me a digital review copy of this book.

[Lancakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black women did not exist in the 6 films referenced, and, according to Eleanor Johnson Black women did not exist in the second wave of feminism. The film analysis and cultural critique was an enjoyable combo but it was DISTRACTING that not only did Johnson not mention Black women in the context of the American feminist history she was writing about, she didn't even address that they were not being addressed. A devil's advocate could say that Johnson was writing about all women and issues that affect all women, but that's a pretty willfully naive reading of American feminist history.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published September 30, 2025.

4.5 stars

A professor at Columbia looks at the women’s movement through six horror movies that were released between 1968 and 1980: “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “The Exorcist” (1973), “The Stepford Wives” (1975), “The Omen” (1976), “Alien” (1978) and “The Shining (1980).

This was incredibly interesting in a “why didn’t I write this?” kind of way (although I certainly wouldn’t have thought about including “The Omen” and enjoyed reading the rationale for doing so.) Johnson summarizes and takes a long look at each movie and what it means to the movement. She also discusses what happens when bad men make good horror movies (obviously looking at you, Polanski, but you aren’t the only one.)

Next, Johnson examines some more recent movies that those interested in feminism should see (I’ve seen two of them, “Paranormal Activity” and “Creep” and I’m putting “Creep 2” on my short list.) I was a little surprised to see “Creep” here, no spoilers here, but iykyk, but, again, I was interested in the author’s explanation. Then Johnson covers some films released post-Dobbs that I must see. Since she summarizes the movies I skipped the sections where she discusses these, but they are “Immaculate” (2024), “The First Omen” (2024) and “Apartment 7A” (2024).

Finally, she spends a chapter on the incredible, Oscar-winning, Sarah Polly-helmed film “Women Talking” which she calls “the first domestic horror of the 2020s. It might not usually be classified as horror, but considering it’s based on a true story, it might be the most terrifying story the book covers; if you don’t know it it’s based on the story of a Mennonite community where the women (some as young as six…SIX) were drugged with veterinary drugs and sexually assaulted, repeatedly, by a group of the men of the community. In the movie the men involved have been arrested and the women are left alone while the remaining men go to bail out those in jail. The women must work together to decide what they should do and there are three options: they can leave, stay and fight or do nothing. The movie covers their meetings. It is staggering.

The whole book is great, especially for horror fans, but the six books at the forefront are so very popular that this book is going to be fairly accessible for everyone. Highly recommended.

[Nev · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - I love horror. I love reading about horror. I love thinking about the ways that horror can reflect and comment on aspects of society. So basically this book was made for me. Scream With Me takes six iconic horror movies from the 60s-80s and analyzes the feminist themes within the stories and connects them to real life events and progress that was being made in the women’s movement.

Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, The Stepford Wives, The Omen, Alien, and The Shining all provide ways to discuss reproductive rights, abusive relationships, the Equal Rights Amendment, and patriarchy in general. Some of the analyses are pretty on the surface, but then other ones are things that I haven’t thought of before. I really appreciated how much historical information was brought in to relate to what was going on at the times that these films were released. It was also cool to see the author’s discussion of some films that have come out more recently and how they connect to the legacy of domestic horror.

This was so close to being 5 stars for me, but I felt like it was a tiny bit lacking in acknowledging how these movies and movements were focusing on a narrow subset of women. I feel like discussions of inclusivity or intersectionality could’ve really elevated the book.

But overall I had such a great time reading this. I’d highly recommend it to people who are interested in horror film criticism and/or the history of American feminism. It’s a very compelling read that connects the history of domestic horror to our present day.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[dessie*₊⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a lot out of this! I’d even reread it. Johnson being a professor makes a lot of sense because this read, to me, like a really good lecture or podcast episode.
I would’ve liked it to be even longer or go even deeper. Mainly by delving into some more intersectional talking points, but I understand the content itself we’re covering is not diverse and limiting. I need a sequel or some recommendations centering different films/time periods. 4.75 stars.

[Pandora]

DNF for now because this is incredibly bad. It's not the light-hearted, pop cultural take of something like Anna Bogutskaya's 'Feeding The Monster': it doesn't have the beautiful reflective writing of memoir based film essays like 'It Came From The Closet' (ed Joe Vallese) or Kier-La Janisse's superlative 'House of Psychotic Women', and it lacks the academic strength of Erin Harrington's 'Gynaehorror' or Barbara Creed's follow up, 'Return of the Monstrous Feminine'.
In the appendix, Johnson calls The Exorcist 3 "the weirdest horror movie [she] has ever seen", which indicates a very shallow knowledge of the American 70s horror canon alone (especially considering that Exorcist I1 is way more nonsensical!)
The idea that "audiences" watching these movies all felt pity/ compassion for the protagonists is so strange. It would certainly be a better world if they did, but remembering the uproarious laughter in the cinema as the female lead was battered and dragged by an invisible force in 'Paranormal Activity' (2007) (which she speaks about briefly) - I'm not as generous in my thinking.
A film might say a lot about feminist concerns - that doesn't make it a feminist film.

[میعاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگر سینمای وحشت رو دنبال می‌کنید، این کتاب نگاه جالبی داره به چند فیلم مشهور ژانر وحشت و تاثیرش بر فمنیسم.

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just stood up and clapped with my hands and my cheeks because this was absolutely brilliant and insightful!!!!!!! johnson changed the way i viewed the horror movies mentioned in this book- and maybe the way i approach horror movies forever!! if youre a huge horror fan like me, i highly recommend this book!

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popular 1970s horror movies were really about women’s bodies and reproductive rights. I love Ira Levin. His novels of Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives are brilliant and the movies too. This book includes the film Alien, where men die in childbirth.

[Sarah Wissinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a fantastic and fascinating read - while I have not seen every horror film referenced in the book, those I have seen I've watched over and over again. Johnson's book made me see parts of them through a totally different lens, and I'm eager to give them another viewing with new eyes. Through each film discussed, we learn about the themes of domestic violence, reproductive control, how these films were perceived at the time, and how they helped to shape the feminism of today. Additionally, we look at some more recent films and see how things have changed post-Dobbs - it's an interesting compare and contrast from 50+ years prior. I highly recommend this to anyone, horror fan or not. Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is 90% basic plot summary and 100% white.

[Ristretto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book, horror movies and feminism should have been right up my alley. And it does make some interesting points, especially in connecting the release of certain films to the cultural and legal battles of their time. I think sometimes for people who weren’t around at that time it’s difficult to imagine what it was like then and taking for granted what we had until very recently.

My main issue with this book, though, is the author’s very deliberate choice to focus solely on white cis women. That framing makes sense when discussing films from the 1960s to the 1980s. But there is a section on films in the modern era, and you would think women of color and queer women don’t exist, in horror, of all genres. It’s kind of wild.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. This review was written voluntarily.

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best books I have read so far this year. With the dumpster fire that is the current state of the world, this book is a timely, important and fascinating read.

[Scout Senyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This further cements my claim that horror as a genre is one of the best tools for exposing injustices in society. In Eleanor Johnson’s *Scream with Me,* she covers six major horror films from the late 1960s to 1980s and how they commented on the second wave feminist struggle at the time. At the risk of being repetitive she goes into great detail on the feminist undertones of these movies. As someone who has seen a majority of the films she discusses in the novel (as a note, after the six major films she goes on to detail six more contemporary movies), I enjoyed the deep dives into their themes and details.

Its clear she put a lot of emotion into this novel, **citing the repeal of *Roe v. Wade* as the impetus for writing it. As a woman I do often find myself refusing to acknowledge what a backslide the repeal was, so this book definitely reignited that fire. Plus, learning about the amount women had to fight to have that right and many more back in the 70s and 80s helped me realize that the fight is far from over. The history she covers is too recent and infuriating, like how marital rape wasn’t outlawed until the 90s and the overall failure of the ERA. The usage of horror films as a backdrop really serves to detail how the public was feeling at the time and the realities that these women faced in their homes. I’ll probably end up rewatching many of them with this new lens.

As I mentioned though, Johnson's analysis of the films felt very surface level at times, and there are blind spots, the lack of intersectionality being one. As I mentioned earlier she discusses a lot of the movies, and much of the time it feels like she’s simply summarizing them, and not really expounding on her previous arguments. Thus, I'm probably going to give it 3.5 stars. I think if Johnson had expanded her arguments a little more she could’ve easily eliminated the repetitiveness problem and given the audience a bit more to chew on. By the end of the novel I didn’t feel like I was getting much more new information. Personally it was worth the read, but your mileage may vary, depending on your interest in these horror films.

[esztereszterdora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Szórakoztató és szerintem a szokásosnál mélyebbre menő írások a nagy klasszikus horrorfilmekről, és arról, hogyan tükrözték ezek az 1960 és 1980 közti nőjogi küzdelmeket az Egyesült Államokban. Mint mindkét téma iránt érdeklődő olvasó, voltak benne ismerős meglátások, de sok újdonság is akadt, és több új gondolkodnivaló is került belőle a fejembe, amit azóta is forgatok idebent. A téma iránt érdeklődőknek kifejezetten ajánlom, jól megírt és könnyen hozzáférhető szöveg. Aztán persze mindenki nézze újra az Alient.

[Fedezux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un horror non è solo un horror, se scegliamo di andare più a fondo.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 is a very generous star rating but I did see the effort here so a 1 star feels unfair.

First and foremost this was way too academic, I understand that this is nonfiction but it felt like I was reading someone’s dissertation.
One of my biggest irritations here though was that the author had nothing new to say. I felt like I was being mansplained to honestly. If you’ve ever even heard the plots of these movies and the main scenes and have literally even the tiniest knowledge of the 60-70s feminism, you already know everything that’s been said here. I think there was so much more digging and analysis that could’ve been done and it just kept repeating the same thing, this woman was violated, abortion was illegal, she has a baby, women deserve rights, like there’s so much more to these movies than that?

Also I felt that a lot of this was very reductive to the movies and especially the female main characters - in particular the part about the Shining. There’s so much more to Shelly Duvall’s character, and the plot of the shining is so much more than just a “domestic horror”. In addition I think that it’s super lame that she didn’t integrate anything about the books that several of these movies are based on? They make a HUGE difference in how the movies are watched. I think the lack of commentary until the brief bit at the end, about the directors of these movies in relation to the greater message of the book and the context of the time is really lame too.

Now onto the biggest problem. Do people of color and queer people just not exist in this lady’s eyes?????? None of the movies mentioned have poc/lgbtq+ people and EVEN WORSE, there’s 1 female director mentioned in the modern day portion of this???? Like of all of the movies that could’ve been chosen you picked movies directed by crusty white men many of whom are accused/convicted of violence against women??? And on top of that the 1 female director mentioned is also a white woman?? This author should truly be embarrassed, this was a golden opportunity to explore films made by women about violence against women and feminism, and even in the modern day section which is a lot easier, she couldn’t even do that?! At the very least if you’re not adding in movies by women (which is embarrassing on its own) we’re just going to have no POC directors. Yuck. And okay let’s say she’s really having too difficult of a time, we can’t even get movies with POC as the leads???? And don’t even get me started on the lack of queer people. I mean Jesus the lack of intersectionality is just so unbelievably disappointing. And okay a little more grace for the author (that I don’t think is deserved) there was a GOLDEN opportunity if she already had a plan for what movies she wanted to use and was stuck with them, to talk about intersectionality and the lack thereof in the movies mentioned and reference more applicable movies without even having to do any research or analysis (not that there was much analysis to begin with, nor that I think they weren’t worth analyzing, but if we’re making excuses)

I’m just so disappointed as this was one of my most anticipated reads for the fall, and I can’t even begin to explain what a waste of time this was.

[Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a rollercoaster for me, to be honest. It's a quick read, not overly academic, and a fairly interesting surface level introduction to some of the major defining moments of second wave feminism and their impact on six horror films of the era. That being said, surface level is really the key description here. Race and sexuality are not even mentioned in passing in the main text (one single sentence, on Black maternal mortality rates being higher than white women's, is buried in the notes section at the end of the book). Each of the six films covered (Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Stepford Wives, The Omen, The Shining, and Alien) are reduced to being solely and completely about "domestic horror" and either female battery or reproductive coercion. Full plot summaries take up most of the space in each chapter. Johnson insists on her "horror hangover" thesis throughout the book, meaning that we must all feel terrible and sick after a movie is over and there can be no catharsis, otherwise it isn't a feminist horror film (???). There's a baffling appendix section where she talks about the modern "remakes" of these six films and how they strip the original stories of their domestic horror. Not one "remake" she talks about is actually a remake... they are sequels and they deal with different plots and different themes. But Johnson seems genuinely upset that these films don't feature women being battered, raped, "terrorized, broken, dehumanized, and killed". Apparently only those things are capable of making an audience sympathize with women or make a horror film worth watching.

I did really like the chapter on the paradox of certain feminist leaning horror films being made by abusers of women and how to reconcile bad people making good art. I was even moved to tears by the epilogue, where Johnson writes about the film Women Talking and how important it is in our modern political landscape for women to continue speaking, writing, making themselves heard and counted. I wish this book had taken a more intersectional approach and I wish it hadn't been quite so reductive in its discussion of the horror genre, but at least it wasn't completely without anything fresh or compelling to say.

[Beth Kanarek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great look into the history of feminism through the 1960s-80s through the lens of horror films. I enjoyed her deep dive into 6 of the most famous horror movies of the time that taught me a lot I didn’t know about cultural and political views of women’s rights at the time.

Going into this I was concerned I would not be able to follow the discussions of the films I had not seen but found the author did a great job of explaining the plot details that aligned with the feminist ideologies. I will definitely be viewing these films in the near future. I was also deeply intrigue by the deep dive she did of movies I had seen. The discussion on The Exorcist was my favorite of these as I had never thought to view this as a metaphor for a man (the demon possession) abusing a mother and daughter in their own home.

I would highly recommend this book to any horror fan, especially if you have any interest in feminist history!

[Dr. Sionainn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This study really disappointed me and I didn't see it coming. Johnson is correct in her thesis that the women's rights movement correlated with the rise of the American domestic horror film, which focuses on the home as a site of terror, manipulation, and entrapment. However, Johnson takes the academic coward's route, and focuses predominantly on the films themselves, rather than tackle the real-life the abusive and patriarchal directors who made these 'progressive' films, which throw these aforementioned movies' so-called progressive agendas into question. She very briefly mentions that Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13-year old girl in 1977. He shot Rosemary's Baby in 1968, already revealing through Rosemary's drugged rape scene that he was having these kinds of fantasies (à la Woody Allen) that would manifest in the real world less than a decade later. Johnson also neglects to mention that Polanski has been accused of drugging and raping other little girls besides Samantha Geimer (13), such as Marianne Barnard (10) and Renate Langer (15), Charlotte Lewis (16), and a woman known only as "Robin M" (16). Maybe Rosemary's rape scene, which the viewer experienced with disgusted horror, was a fetishized representation of Polanski's own crimes. Maybe a scene commonly interpreted as sympathetic with the heroine actually served as the director's cinematic fantasy where he creatively masturbates to the idea of his own power over the drugged virginal girl. This is a director who, when giving an interview about Geimer's rape, said: "If I had killed somebody, it wouldn't have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But ... fucking, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to fuck young girls. Juries want to fuck young girls. Everyone wants to fuck young girls!"In 1983, Polanski told journalist Clive James: "I like the girls of that age. And [...] girls of that age, for some reason like me." Geimer was only 13. A viewer should not only see Rosemary's Baby as a progressive film but a film that has a complicated legacy and should serve as a reminder that the art can survive the artist, but never be fully exorcised from him.

In a tacked on chapter even titled "Bad Men Making Good Films: An Interlude," I believed she was going to confront how Polanski, William Friedkin, and Stanley Kubrick harassed and abused their main actresses, themselves acting as the demon in the womens' collective 'houses.' However, she briefly states in the beginning of the chapter that the directors were abusive, serving into the dynamic their films confront, then pivots to discuss more films with theoretical abusive 'director' figure. The fact that she never really contends with these artists and the real-life horror they inflict on the women who were supposed to act as these sympathetic quasi-feminist figures remains the elephant in the room of this study. I personally couldn't get over it and found myself getting frustrated with the author's blasé attitude towards this dynamic.

Also, in her discussion of Aliens, she neglects to mention that Ripley had a daughter who died before she returned to Earth in the first movie. As a result, when she finds Newt, it acts as a way for her to right the wrong with her own child. I believe a scene where her daughter is revealed is only shown in the 3 hour director's cut, and I'm not sure which version of the film Johnson was using.

Honestly, it had some good insights, but I'm tired of academics getting revved up to talk about theory and ignore praxis because it's too messy and too slippery...

[Danny Hacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many many reasons why I love the horror genre more than any other in regards to movies and tv shows. One of the main reasons is that horror is one of, if not, the only genre that has always pushed the boundaries of the times of which the movies were created in and present things that challenge viewers to face uncomfortable realities in the context of the supernatural or sci-fi

This book, ‘Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism’, is a brilliant study of that. It takes ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Omen’, ‘Alien’, ‘The Stepford Wives’ and ‘The Shining’ and illustrates how these films helped shape and influence history because of what they showed and illustrated (forced pregnancies, domestic abuse, etc). It’s an absolutely tremendous read and I would highly recommend it

[lacey ♡✧ ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75

As a newbie horror fan on her journey watching horror movies and someone actively looking for feminist non-fiction, I loved this! It was fascinating seeing the parallels between the domestic horrors of the 60s to the early 80s and how they reflected and contributed to the feminist movement. I haven't seen most of the movies that Johnson discusses in her book, so her recaps were beneficial, but I can understand how they would be redundant for people who have seen them before. The book reads like a very well-organised essay, which made the reading experience concise and easy to read.

My only qualm was the lack of intersectionality; it would have been nice to discuss the POC or queer women's experience in the book. Additionally, I wish the analysis had gone a little bit deeper. Towards the end of the book, it started to feel redundant.

Overall, I loved it and had a blast reading it. I have some movies to watch this weekend 🤭 ...

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember watching Rosemary’s Baby for the first time last year and being in shock by how contemporary it felt. horror has always been a favorite genre of mine because it has the ability to really viscerally get to you and make you think about what it was you just consumed. this was a really compelling book.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ such an interesting thread woven between classics of the horror genre, new releases in the past few years, and the repetition of policy and expectation of female bodies. I’d fight someone for a seat in this professor’s class!!!

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite read this year.

[Ava Butera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out so good but the more I progressed to more it reads like a thesis and plot of each movie as opposed to a study on the themes. Not bad but a bit too long.

[Bianca Hursh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting concept, but probably could’ve been a long form article rather than a book

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC

I’d like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for the chance to give “Scream With Me” a read in return for an honest review.

As someone who adores horror films, this book, when I first saw it, drew me in immediately. Seeing the intersection between feminism during such a pivotal time in women’s’ rights and horror makes a lot of sense to discuss, especially within our current political climate, which the book opens with.

For such an interesting topic, I was surprised to find this to be a pretty dry read. It’s a pretty clinical examination of these topics, and doesn’t let there be much room for personality to come through, at least until the discussions about the modern remakes, where I found the book to really find its footing. That being said, I still thought this was an interesting read, especially when looking through the context of the past couple of years in regards to women’s rights.

Be sure to check “Scream With Me” out when it is published on September 30, 2025!

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get mad when people belittle horror as just voyeuristic pulp that merely serves to shock and titilize us. I have often thought that horror is the best genre for examining social issues because it allows us to turn up the volume on the injustices in society and really examine the underlying terror that they can wreak. So when I saw this book by acclaimed Columbia University professor, Eleanor Johnson, I knew it was a must read for me.

I have long been obsessed with the works of Ira Levin being vehicles that chronicled the rise of the women’s rights movement, but I had not really thought about the other films that Johnson examines as also being a part of that. But after reading her rationale for them I was fascinated and my eyes were opened in a really wonderful way. She also looks at more recent horror films and the continuation for horror to be a vehicle for the suppressed voices of women. And while this is an academic work, it does not read like a text book, and the subject matter is so intriguing that I had a hard time putting it down. So if you are interested in understanding how horror has been used to examine our society or in women’s rights, I say pick this one up immediately and then go watch Rosemary’s baby.
Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for an arc of this book.

[Bant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love film criticism and this one was so fascinating.