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The Science of
The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films
From scream queens to femmes fatale, horror isn’t just for the boys.
Gothic media moguls Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence, authors of The Science of Monsters, and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called “the best horror film podcast out there” by Film Daddy, present a guide to the feminist horror movies, TV shows, and characters we all know and love.
Through interviews, film analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, The Science of Women in Horror uncovers the theories behind women’s most iconic roles of the genre. Explore age-old tropes such as “The Innocent” like Lydia in Beetlejuice, “The Gorgon” like Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th, and “The Mother” like Norma Bates in Pyscho and Bates Motel, and delve deeper into female-forward film and TV including:
The Haunting of Hill House
Teeth
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
And so much more!
Join Kelly and Meg in The Science of Women in Horror as they flip the script and prove that every girl is a “final girl.”
Gothic media moguls Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence, authors of The Science of Monsters, and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called “the best horror film podcast out there” by Film Daddy, present a guide to the feminist horror movies, TV shows, and characters we all know and love.
Through interviews, film analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, The Science of Women in Horror uncovers the theories behind women’s most iconic roles of the genre. Explore age-old tropes such as “The Innocent” like Lydia in Beetlejuice, “The Gorgon” like Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th, and “The Mother” like Norma Bates in Pyscho and Bates Motel, and delve deeper into female-forward film and TV including:
The Haunting of Hill House
Teeth
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
And so much more!
Join Kelly and Meg in The Science of Women in Horror as they flip the script and prove that every girl is a “final girl.”
264 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2020
45 people are currently reading
839 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
December 23, 2022
The Year of Women--in which I'm devoting 2021 to reading female authors only--continues with The Science of Women In Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films by Meg Hafdahl. & Kelly Florence. I snapped this up on Kindle by virtue of the magnificent title and the fact that I am the demographic for this book. I never skip an opportunity to learn something about women in the horror genre, but I abandoned this book at the 15% mark.
The writing is abnormally poor, hurling facts at the reader that are readily available on Wikipedia (like the Webster's definition of post-traumatic stress syndrome). The authors explore no film at any depth, skirting through plot and sprinkling in some quotes from the filmmaker, which anyone could read online. Those hoping for a book that documents the making of films like Carrie (not included), The Howling (not included), The Craft (not included), Jennifer's Body (not included) or Midsommar (not included) will be disappointed.
Please do not buy this book sight unseen like I did. Read the first chapters before parting with your mad money. This subject matter deserves far more thought and effort than the writers gave it. Hafdahl & Florence have "written" two other books, one on Stephen King and one on monsters, all with "The Science of" in the title. This book certainly has the feeling of something that was cranked out to bring in a revenue stream. As a genre fan I was highly disappointed.
Moving on, I'll share a few thoughts on the film that's not only my favorite Women In Horror but my favorite film of all time: Alien (1979). I've seen Alien in theaters every five years or so since the age of 14. I've studied the 177-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, The Beast Within, which you can watch on YouTube. YouTube also features Millennials or Gen Z recording their reaction to movies they're watching for the first time and Alien is a top selection for most of them. Men and women alike remain on edge for the entire film. And this is a so-called old movie from the '70s. It looks like it could've been made a few years ago.
Alien was so far ahead of its time that it's still out in front of how movies are written today. This can be best expressed by Helen Mirren, who in her MasterClass isn't discussing horror films or any film in particular but how actors can transcend traditional casting choices when she brings up Alien. She gives writing credit to the film's director Ridley Scott instead of the original screenwriters Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett, but her observations are on point:
The first time I understood what was possible was I was privileged enough to read the script of Alien. I was up for a role in it, which I didn’t get, sadly. But I was privileged to read the original script, Ridley Scott’s script of Alien. And it was brilliant, because the way it was written, all the characters had names like Ripley, or, I don’t know, Tonn, they had these weird names that could be male or female. There was not a single direction in the script that said whether this was a man or a woman. It didn’t say, "Ripley is a tall, athletic woman with a fierce determination in her eyes," that sort of stage direction which you often get. So annoying.
There were no stage directions at all for any of the characters, so any of the characters could have been played by a man or a woman. And that was such a liberating idea for me. I had never thought of that before. Thought that was possible. And there it was, laid out for me in this wonderful script of Alien. And from that moment on, it really transformed my thinking about who could play what and why. And Alien was quite a long time ago and it’s taken us all--and especially the world of producers and writers and directors--to catch up, and indeed the audience, to catch up.
Previous reviews in the Year of Women:
-- Come Closer, Sara Gran
-- Veronica, Mary Gaitskill
-- Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys, Viv Albertine
-- Pizza Girl, Jean Kyoung Frazier
-- My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh
-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie Flagg
-- The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Margaret George
-- Miss Pinkerton, Mary Roberts Rinehart
-- Beast in View, Margaret Millar
-- Lying In Wait, Liz Nugent
-- And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
-- Desperate Characters, Paula Fox
-- You, Caroline Kepnes
-- Deep Water, Patricia Highsmith
-- Don't Look Now and Other Stories, Daphne du Maurier
-- You May See a Stranger: Stories, Paula Whyman
-- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw
-- White Teeth, Zadie Smith
-- Eva Luna, Isabel Allende
-- Slouching Toward Bethlehem: Essays, Joan Didion
-- Eve's Hollywood, Eve Babitz
-- You're on an Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir, Parker Posey
-- The Beauty of Living Twice, Sharon Stone
-- Fade Into You, Nikki Darling
-- The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers, Emily Levesque
-- The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir, Sara Seager
The writing is abnormally poor, hurling facts at the reader that are readily available on Wikipedia (like the Webster's definition of post-traumatic stress syndrome). The authors explore no film at any depth, skirting through plot and sprinkling in some quotes from the filmmaker, which anyone could read online. Those hoping for a book that documents the making of films like Carrie (not included), The Howling (not included), The Craft (not included), Jennifer's Body (not included) or Midsommar (not included) will be disappointed.
Please do not buy this book sight unseen like I did. Read the first chapters before parting with your mad money. This subject matter deserves far more thought and effort than the writers gave it. Hafdahl & Florence have "written" two other books, one on Stephen King and one on monsters, all with "The Science of" in the title. This book certainly has the feeling of something that was cranked out to bring in a revenue stream. As a genre fan I was highly disappointed.
Moving on, I'll share a few thoughts on the film that's not only my favorite Women In Horror but my favorite film of all time: Alien (1979). I've seen Alien in theaters every five years or so since the age of 14. I've studied the 177-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, The Beast Within, which you can watch on YouTube. YouTube also features Millennials or Gen Z recording their reaction to movies they're watching for the first time and Alien is a top selection for most of them. Men and women alike remain on edge for the entire film. And this is a so-called old movie from the '70s. It looks like it could've been made a few years ago.
Alien was so far ahead of its time that it's still out in front of how movies are written today. This can be best expressed by Helen Mirren, who in her MasterClass isn't discussing horror films or any film in particular but how actors can transcend traditional casting choices when she brings up Alien. She gives writing credit to the film's director Ridley Scott instead of the original screenwriters Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett, but her observations are on point:
The first time I understood what was possible was I was privileged enough to read the script of Alien. I was up for a role in it, which I didn’t get, sadly. But I was privileged to read the original script, Ridley Scott’s script of Alien. And it was brilliant, because the way it was written, all the characters had names like Ripley, or, I don’t know, Tonn, they had these weird names that could be male or female. There was not a single direction in the script that said whether this was a man or a woman. It didn’t say, "Ripley is a tall, athletic woman with a fierce determination in her eyes," that sort of stage direction which you often get. So annoying.
There were no stage directions at all for any of the characters, so any of the characters could have been played by a man or a woman. And that was such a liberating idea for me. I had never thought of that before. Thought that was possible. And there it was, laid out for me in this wonderful script of Alien. And from that moment on, it really transformed my thinking about who could play what and why. And Alien was quite a long time ago and it’s taken us all--and especially the world of producers and writers and directors--to catch up, and indeed the audience, to catch up.
Previous reviews in the Year of Women:
-- Come Closer, Sara Gran
-- Veronica, Mary Gaitskill
-- Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys, Viv Albertine
-- Pizza Girl, Jean Kyoung Frazier
-- My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh
-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie Flagg
-- The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Margaret George
-- Miss Pinkerton, Mary Roberts Rinehart
-- Beast in View, Margaret Millar
-- Lying In Wait, Liz Nugent
-- And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
-- Desperate Characters, Paula Fox
-- You, Caroline Kepnes
-- Deep Water, Patricia Highsmith
-- Don't Look Now and Other Stories, Daphne du Maurier
-- You May See a Stranger: Stories, Paula Whyman
-- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw
-- White Teeth, Zadie Smith
-- Eva Luna, Isabel Allende
-- Slouching Toward Bethlehem: Essays, Joan Didion
-- Eve's Hollywood, Eve Babitz
-- You're on an Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir, Parker Posey
-- The Beauty of Living Twice, Sharon Stone
-- Fade Into You, Nikki Darling
-- The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers, Emily Levesque
-- The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir, Sara Seager
June 14, 2022
4.0 Stars
This was such an entertaining non fiction book that celebrates the role of women in horror movies. While this book is focusing around women, it's an inclusive book that will undoubtedly appeal to readers of all genders.
As the title suggests, this book focuses on the stunts and behind the scene stories of many of our favourite movies. I will admit that I haven't watched every popular horror show so I was pleased that the book featured many shows that I have watched. The book includes classic movies like Halloween along with newer movies like Us. Also, it includes popular TV shows like Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire. However, readers should know… there really is no science in this book. It's straight up pop culture.
I would recommend this horror love letter to any horror buff.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was such an entertaining non fiction book that celebrates the role of women in horror movies. While this book is focusing around women, it's an inclusive book that will undoubtedly appeal to readers of all genders.
As the title suggests, this book focuses on the stunts and behind the scene stories of many of our favourite movies. I will admit that I haven't watched every popular horror show so I was pleased that the book featured many shows that I have watched. The book includes classic movies like Halloween along with newer movies like Us. Also, it includes popular TV shows like Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire. However, readers should know… there really is no science in this book. It's straight up pop culture.
I would recommend this horror love letter to any horror buff.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
February 20, 2021
Check out my review coming to Tor Nightfire soon!!
Don't forget, "Ghoul's Rule!"
Don't forget, "Ghoul's Rule!"
April 11, 2023
No science like the title suggests or analysis I've never read before but I still learned about some of my favourite movies!
February 6, 2021
I support the message and I wanted to like this, but as a book it's flawed. There will be a chapter on a movie, but there will be one paragraph on said movie before it goes off on a different direction. It's all over the place and I left wondering if I really gained any new perspective from it.
August 22, 2021
This has no science in it whatsoever; I admit to feeling a little cheated. But it is about women in horror films, which is - apart from science in horror - my very favourite thing for horror to be about. The authors discuss the various ways in which women are presented in horror films (as the final girl, for instance, or as instruments of revenge) and in each section, several short chapters are dedicated to specific films illustrating that particular quality. It's a good structure, bite-sized and accessible. In fact, I think "accessible" is probably the word that best describes this book. The style is chatty and informal, and it reads as if the book is directed at beginners, basically. Sort of an introduction to horror analysis for non-academics, and when I say it's written at an entry level, I mean that the authors feel the need to explain what PTSD is so that readers can understand horror heroines might suffer from it.
Don't get me wrong. Basic, accessible texts are invaluable in attracting attention to any field, and this does that. I enjoyed reading it, but I'm forced to admit that it doesn't go much beyond the superficial. It's also very scattered. The chapter on The Babadook, for instance, starts with a vignette about Marie Curie's experience of widowhood, which is seemingly included on the grounds that Curie grieved her husband and the characters of the film also experience grief. Similarly, a box text on the Nobel prizes is included in the chapter on Let the Right One In, apparently thematically relevant because both film and prizes originate in Sweden. These odd, unfocused moments are just that, but the lack of focus becomes more serious when chapters are more substantially padded out with the barely relevant. A large section of the chapter on Ginger Snaps, for example, was taken up with an (admittedly interesting) interview with the emerging film director Gigi Saul Guerrero, who not only was not involved with Ginger Snaps, but doesn't talk about it or even about anything remotely associated with it, if you don't count the fact that both film and director are related to women in horror. Which, frankly, is not enough to justify the placement.
So, approachable but unfocused, and not particularly in-depth. Within those limitations, it's likeable enough.
Don't get me wrong. Basic, accessible texts are invaluable in attracting attention to any field, and this does that. I enjoyed reading it, but I'm forced to admit that it doesn't go much beyond the superficial. It's also very scattered. The chapter on The Babadook, for instance, starts with a vignette about Marie Curie's experience of widowhood, which is seemingly included on the grounds that Curie grieved her husband and the characters of the film also experience grief. Similarly, a box text on the Nobel prizes is included in the chapter on Let the Right One In, apparently thematically relevant because both film and prizes originate in Sweden. These odd, unfocused moments are just that, but the lack of focus becomes more serious when chapters are more substantially padded out with the barely relevant. A large section of the chapter on Ginger Snaps, for example, was taken up with an (admittedly interesting) interview with the emerging film director Gigi Saul Guerrero, who not only was not involved with Ginger Snaps, but doesn't talk about it or even about anything remotely associated with it, if you don't count the fact that both film and director are related to women in horror. Which, frankly, is not enough to justify the placement.
So, approachable but unfocused, and not particularly in-depth. Within those limitations, it's likeable enough.
February 26, 2021
Un libro muy entretenido que intercala datos curiosos, análisis de la figura de la mujer en distintos films como asesina, víctima, madre, virgen, niña, anciana (entre otras), además de incluir entrevistas a actrices, directoras y productoras de películas del género del terror (como Ginger Snaps, Martes 13 y otras). Hay muchísima información, ya que el libro es un resumen de Horror rewind: podcast de las autoras (de ahí la variedad y los datos intercalados). https://horrorrewind.libsyn.com/
January 14, 2022
I LOVED this. I am always a fan of literature that unpacks gender, sexuality and feminism in media (this one is specifically in horror films). I had quite a few aha moments and luckily I have watched most of the movies mentioned. I could see if you didn't know the movies it wouldn't have as much of an impact on you. Also, there are obviously big horror movie spoilers in this.
This book tickled the gender/film studies geek in me.
5/5
This book tickled the gender/film studies geek in me.
5/5
May 5, 2023
4.8 stars. Good overview of women in horror. The book features a bit of history, informative interviews, and germane analysis from academic papers.
October 17, 2021
Okay. Super white, cishet perspective and has some irritatingly glaring mistakes and gaps in its knowledge of the films. Overall I’d say it’s a decent intro to the genre for anyone who claims women don’t like or are not making horror films.
But it will likely annoy fans of the genre and anyone who isn’t a white cishet woman. Meh
But it will likely annoy fans of the genre and anyone who isn’t a white cishet woman. Meh
April 11, 2021
I always enjoy Meg Hafdahl's and Kelly Florence's "Science of..." books. They write from the fan perspective along with being analytical. While not a horror fanatic, I do love reading about women and their roles in film and media. Hafdahl and Florence visit all the tropes within horror and also bring light to exciting changes happening in the industry. There were interesting sidebars throughout the chapters. Of course, I was thrilled to find some films and shows I actually watched like What Lies Beneath, The Others, Stranger Things, and of course The X-Files.
If you love horror films, you'll enjoy trekking back through familiar and beloved films and TV shows while analyzing their merits (or mishaps). If you love reading about women in leading roles, this is quite a satisfying treat. Written with a love of the genre and a hearty breadth of knowledge, Kelly and Meg have penned another 5-star pop science book. Because guess what, "Horror isn't just for the boys."
If you love horror films, you'll enjoy trekking back through familiar and beloved films and TV shows while analyzing their merits (or mishaps). If you love reading about women in leading roles, this is quite a satisfying treat. Written with a love of the genre and a hearty breadth of knowledge, Kelly and Meg have penned another 5-star pop science book. Because guess what, "Horror isn't just for the boys."
October 9, 2021
Not for me! Does not deliver what it says on the tin (has absolutely nothing to do with the science of filmmaking, just exploration of basic tropes for women in horror films) and the most self defeating liberal representation politics. Praising Joss Whedon’s representation of women in 2020? Not on my watch! Quoting a character as saying “I’m not a girl” and then continuing to address her as a girl without any interrogation of why they feel like they need to do that? Also not on my watch. Maybe a decent primer on tropes for like, a teen? Don’t think so there either. Feels like a squandered opportunity.
October 28, 2024
Maybe if this was my first foray into Non-Fiction on Horror films, I could have been more taken with this but it's not and while this was the first for me to put a highlight on women in the industry it was also the least well executed I've read to date. Sadly, at best this is a very surface level look at the proposed topic and sure there was a fun fact here or there to take away but mostly I kept on leaving these chapters disappointed. For example, I took a break to watch "Ginger Snaps" first before reading what this book had to say, as it was on my watchlist this October anyway and I liked the idea of gaining more insights but a quick peruse of the imdb page gave me more than this book's attempt.
It drove me mad that many of the book chapter's were titled after a movie but only briefly touched on that movie. It often even included interviews with business insiders that had zero connection to the movie other than also being a woman. Pretty low stakes. The book is not long and each section is very short which makes it quick but often not very informative. The "Ginger Snaps" chapter is actually a perfect example as it features an interview with a female director who neither worked on the film nor had she anything to say about that film; the chapter is 7 pages long and only 3 talk about "Ginger Snaps". Some chapters were better balanced than others but his was not a singular occurrence. While I sometimes could enjoy the comparison of similar movies in a chapter, I mostly felt like each examination needed to be longer.
Generally speaking, most of these interviews weren't that insightful and not conducted that well. I got annoyed with Hafdahl and Florence inserting themselves in ways as saying things like "we definitely need more representation like that" when talking about neurodivergent characters or "that would be amazing" to see more social Horror á la Jordan Peele, to me it sounded as if they were constantly giving themselves a woke pat on the back instead of asking some more driving questions. They also included little boxes with fun facts on either the movies or generally related facts and that was such a hit and miss. Take the section on "Let the Right One in": one tidbit was on a mass hysteria in in 1721 caused supposedly by a farmer coming back to life which is a fair connection since the film was about vampirism. But telling us that since this movie takes place in Stockholm that the Nobel Prize gets awarded there, too, and then go on to explain what that Prize is, was maybe the most useless thing this book did. No relation to the topic at hand and do you really think your readers are that stupid? I felt insulted there, it's fine if I have read some of the actual facts about these movies before, that's my problem if I read too much up on my beloved Horror movies, but thinking I am so dumb I don't know a thing about the Nobel Prize and that would be great to learn in this context.... yikes.
I am not denying that this had its more fascinating moments and occasionally something popped up I didn't know. One interview I was into was with Deborah Vorhees (real name?) who directed and wrote a fan film called "13 Fanboy" and they talked about Friday the 13th actresses with awful stalking experiences. Weirdly enough that interview was not in the Friday chapter.... Anyway, I love the concept on looking at the women's work in this industry but I think this book did a rather mediocre job at laying that out. The division into the typical female archetypes could have been a great jump-off point but personally I never felt much is done with it beyond the obvious, and you could get much of this from a quick look at wikipedia. I also repeatedly felt that these women despite their declared love don't fully understand the Horror genre in that it is besides Romance one that has always given women space and bigger roles, leading roles. Not saying behind the camera work things couldn't be improved or that movies don't show sexist attitudes, both is true. But it's also for decades been a genre that told women's stories and showed women in leading roles more so than most other genres. It's one of the reasons why Horror was always intriguing to me. This book doesn't seem to notice that at all.
I also wasn't a fan of how many movies get spoiled here. Of course, I understand that to discuss some elements you will have to get into the meat of things, sometimes that would mean discussing a revelation or twist and giving away the ending. But this book went above and beyond in laying out the plot points and outcomes and it was often not necessary for the discussion at hand (more so to fill the pages since they couldn't come up with much to discuss?). I wish a bit more care would have been put into that. Especially, well, it's one thing when the chapter title tells me we are discussing a certain movie, I should expect that one being all hands on deck but then within that chapter spoiling other movies is a bit of a low effort move.
Yeah, I don't think I liked this very much. I think if you're the reader who never looks up anything on your Horror movies, this could be a lot more fascinating as I would assume that kind of person is rather happy with brushing only the surface when looking at these topics. Don't expect deep dives (the "Gerald's Game portrayal is only 3 pages, I mean there's not much you can do in 3 pages with large print...). Generally don't expect much and this could be entertaining.
1.5*
PS. If at least the writing itself was good, I would have rounded my rating up. But it's not very inspiring.
It drove me mad that many of the book chapter's were titled after a movie but only briefly touched on that movie. It often even included interviews with business insiders that had zero connection to the movie other than also being a woman. Pretty low stakes. The book is not long and each section is very short which makes it quick but often not very informative. The "Ginger Snaps" chapter is actually a perfect example as it features an interview with a female director who neither worked on the film nor had she anything to say about that film; the chapter is 7 pages long and only 3 talk about "Ginger Snaps". Some chapters were better balanced than others but his was not a singular occurrence. While I sometimes could enjoy the comparison of similar movies in a chapter, I mostly felt like each examination needed to be longer.
Generally speaking, most of these interviews weren't that insightful and not conducted that well. I got annoyed with Hafdahl and Florence inserting themselves in ways as saying things like "we definitely need more representation like that" when talking about neurodivergent characters or "that would be amazing" to see more social Horror á la Jordan Peele, to me it sounded as if they were constantly giving themselves a woke pat on the back instead of asking some more driving questions. They also included little boxes with fun facts on either the movies or generally related facts and that was such a hit and miss. Take the section on "Let the Right One in": one tidbit was on a mass hysteria in in 1721 caused supposedly by a farmer coming back to life which is a fair connection since the film was about vampirism. But telling us that since this movie takes place in Stockholm that the Nobel Prize gets awarded there, too, and then go on to explain what that Prize is, was maybe the most useless thing this book did. No relation to the topic at hand and do you really think your readers are that stupid? I felt insulted there, it's fine if I have read some of the actual facts about these movies before, that's my problem if I read too much up on my beloved Horror movies, but thinking I am so dumb I don't know a thing about the Nobel Prize and that would be great to learn in this context.... yikes.
I am not denying that this had its more fascinating moments and occasionally something popped up I didn't know. One interview I was into was with Deborah Vorhees (real name?) who directed and wrote a fan film called "13 Fanboy" and they talked about Friday the 13th actresses with awful stalking experiences. Weirdly enough that interview was not in the Friday chapter.... Anyway, I love the concept on looking at the women's work in this industry but I think this book did a rather mediocre job at laying that out. The division into the typical female archetypes could have been a great jump-off point but personally I never felt much is done with it beyond the obvious, and you could get much of this from a quick look at wikipedia. I also repeatedly felt that these women despite their declared love don't fully understand the Horror genre in that it is besides Romance one that has always given women space and bigger roles, leading roles. Not saying behind the camera work things couldn't be improved or that movies don't show sexist attitudes, both is true. But it's also for decades been a genre that told women's stories and showed women in leading roles more so than most other genres. It's one of the reasons why Horror was always intriguing to me. This book doesn't seem to notice that at all.
I also wasn't a fan of how many movies get spoiled here. Of course, I understand that to discuss some elements you will have to get into the meat of things, sometimes that would mean discussing a revelation or twist and giving away the ending. But this book went above and beyond in laying out the plot points and outcomes and it was often not necessary for the discussion at hand (more so to fill the pages since they couldn't come up with much to discuss?). I wish a bit more care would have been put into that. Especially, well, it's one thing when the chapter title tells me we are discussing a certain movie, I should expect that one being all hands on deck but then within that chapter spoiling other movies is a bit of a low effort move.
Yeah, I don't think I liked this very much. I think if you're the reader who never looks up anything on your Horror movies, this could be a lot more fascinating as I would assume that kind of person is rather happy with brushing only the surface when looking at these topics. Don't expect deep dives (the "Gerald's Game portrayal is only 3 pages, I mean there's not much you can do in 3 pages with large print...). Generally don't expect much and this could be entertaining.
1.5*
PS. If at least the writing itself was good, I would have rounded my rating up. But it's not very inspiring.
May 17, 2020
Really cool topics and things we should absolutely be talking about. I think I’m mostly let down by the quality of the writing and the arguments. The authors make many claims that are too vague to be powerful or that seem to be worded misleadingly, upon second glance. I’m definitely going to go back and pull the names of many of the movies they discussed which I haven’t seen yet, but when looking to critically analyze media, I’m looking for something more structured and scientific.
October 11, 2023
I absolutely love reading these books. They break down horror movies and what goes into them so well, and as someone who loves horror, all the background info is fascinating!
May 15, 2022
While it was interesting in parts, I feel like it was a little light info wise.
May 29, 2023
(3.5 rounded up). This is a good overview of women in horror. Although it took me a little while to get use to the organization of the book. Instead of a chronological organization, it's split into topics and each chapter dives into how women are reflected in that topic in both horror and society. There are not many deep dives into specific films but rather more general connections of films and themes to aspects of history and society.
September 16, 2022
This was the perfect audiobook for long car rides. I loved listening to the different ways women have been represented in horror, and the hope for the future as well. This author covered such a wide array of movies and books, and the interviews with different women was fascinating. I think this is a must read for anyone who enjoys horror and its history.
November 2, 2024
More like 2.5
Interesting general overview. The chapter titles are deceiving, the authors sometimes spend much more time discussing movie that aren’t the referenced in the chapter title. Additionally, the various movies not listed in the heading will often have the end of the film or major plot points revealed.
Interesting general overview. The chapter titles are deceiving, the authors sometimes spend much more time discussing movie that aren’t the referenced in the chapter title. Additionally, the various movies not listed in the heading will often have the end of the film or major plot points revealed.
December 29, 2022
women !!!!! a great expanse look at the genre and the different archetypes we were given and how we continue to progress in terms of characters and what agency they have over themselves
October 18, 2021
Fantastic, informative and entertaining! Exactly what I wanted.
July 13, 2022
As much as I enjoyed the book's topic (as horror and gender are two things I speak on passionately), I think much more research should have been done: some analysis was wrong (Jason and his mother do not hate people for having sex, they hate the counselors because they WEREN'T DOING THEIR JOB - even if they were just playing ping pong Pamela would have been pissed at them) and using outdated ableist terms (please, for the love of everything nice, don't use the term 'differently abled' - it's disgusting and most disabled people hate it with a passion). I also wish the analysis was deeper and the interviews were more interesting.
August 8, 2022
I really wanted to like this. Huge fan of horror. Huge fan of women-led representation in media. But y’all.. there are so many things that make this one of the worst recent reads I’ve ever had. Here are some of them:
-I saw someone mention that half the facts and “true stories about special effects/stunts” are pulled from Wikipedia. Accurate.
-There’s no science in this book. It’s a book that analyzes women in horror and Hollywood through a variety of different cultural/societal lenses. That’s not a bad thing. Just false advertising.
-Really poor writing. Grammar mistakes throughout and syntax that makes it feel like a high school research paper.
-Oversimplification of scholarship. One example is when they cite Men, Women and Chainsaws. They cherry-pick quotes that will fit whatever talking point they rapidly jump to and from while ignoring the broader points the author is trying to make.
-Saying the movie Teeth is a groundbreaking feminist work… y’all, something isn’t feminist just because it’s got rape revenge. There are so many problematic elements in Teeth, notably the fact that it’s written and directed by a man. Do they mention that maybe women should be telling these types of stories, especially when they make light of oppressive religious beliefs/sexual trauma/incest throughout? Hell no! Because she bites penises off and that makes it feminist.
-The Whedon praise in chapter twenty-eight… absolute vomit.
-Both the writers and many of the people they interview use of the phrase “female” directors instead of “women” directors. Female is a biological category that not only reduces a women to her reproductive attributes (as opposed to say, viewing her as a whole person), but it also ostracizes an entire community of trans women. This is nit-picky, but it really bothered me. I’m hoping none of the people involved in this book are TERFs, but it’s hard not to think otherwise with the woeful lack of trans representation throughout.
-Oh my god I couldn’t stand half of the interviews. You can just feel Meg and Kelly inserting themselves into the interview or asking stilted questions that limit answers. In some cases, they even insert these into the book. Example: page 173 Meg: “I can relate! I was drawn to similar books at my library, the creepier the photos the better!” Maybe I’m being too critical, but like what’s the point of including this? Stop cutting off a really interesting filmmaker just because you want to relate something about your childhood experience.
-Lastly, I was disappointed by the content of the chapters. The reason I got this book is because I flipped through it and saw the names of a bunch of horror movies that I love. But certain chapters seem hell-bent on ignoring the title movie found at the start of the chapter. Off the top of my head I remember being disappointed by the Sleepaway Camp chapter, which featured more unrelated interviews than discussion on what I think is a rich subject for the book (early trans representation in horror — both problematic and sensationalized, but also important to a lot of communities). The same goes for the Hereditary chapter. It spends most of its time talking about the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, while only briefly touching on one of my favorite modern horror masterpieces.
I don’t normally write reviews, but I needed to vent. Really upset with this book. Will definitely be reading the first chapter or two before I buy something now. Don’t want a repeat of this.
-I saw someone mention that half the facts and “true stories about special effects/stunts” are pulled from Wikipedia. Accurate.
-There’s no science in this book. It’s a book that analyzes women in horror and Hollywood through a variety of different cultural/societal lenses. That’s not a bad thing. Just false advertising.
-Really poor writing. Grammar mistakes throughout and syntax that makes it feel like a high school research paper.
-Oversimplification of scholarship. One example is when they cite Men, Women and Chainsaws. They cherry-pick quotes that will fit whatever talking point they rapidly jump to and from while ignoring the broader points the author is trying to make.
-Saying the movie Teeth is a groundbreaking feminist work… y’all, something isn’t feminist just because it’s got rape revenge. There are so many problematic elements in Teeth, notably the fact that it’s written and directed by a man. Do they mention that maybe women should be telling these types of stories, especially when they make light of oppressive religious beliefs/sexual trauma/incest throughout? Hell no! Because she bites penises off and that makes it feminist.
-The Whedon praise in chapter twenty-eight… absolute vomit.
-Both the writers and many of the people they interview use of the phrase “female” directors instead of “women” directors. Female is a biological category that not only reduces a women to her reproductive attributes (as opposed to say, viewing her as a whole person), but it also ostracizes an entire community of trans women. This is nit-picky, but it really bothered me. I’m hoping none of the people involved in this book are TERFs, but it’s hard not to think otherwise with the woeful lack of trans representation throughout.
-Oh my god I couldn’t stand half of the interviews. You can just feel Meg and Kelly inserting themselves into the interview or asking stilted questions that limit answers. In some cases, they even insert these into the book. Example: page 173 Meg: “I can relate! I was drawn to similar books at my library, the creepier the photos the better!” Maybe I’m being too critical, but like what’s the point of including this? Stop cutting off a really interesting filmmaker just because you want to relate something about your childhood experience.
-Lastly, I was disappointed by the content of the chapters. The reason I got this book is because I flipped through it and saw the names of a bunch of horror movies that I love. But certain chapters seem hell-bent on ignoring the title movie found at the start of the chapter. Off the top of my head I remember being disappointed by the Sleepaway Camp chapter, which featured more unrelated interviews than discussion on what I think is a rich subject for the book (early trans representation in horror — both problematic and sensationalized, but also important to a lot of communities). The same goes for the Hereditary chapter. It spends most of its time talking about the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, while only briefly touching on one of my favorite modern horror masterpieces.
I don’t normally write reviews, but I needed to vent. Really upset with this book. Will definitely be reading the first chapter or two before I buy something now. Don’t want a repeat of this.
October 7, 2022
Reflections and lessons learned:
“To this day, at forty-three years old, I will finish a scary movie, turn off the lights downstairs, and race up the stairs in the dark like l'm being chased by something. I'm probably being chased by something."
I’m a fan of most types of horror films, as it stretches my mind to go to places that it could never imagine, but life’s not for hiding from scenarios that could endanger us all - this studying may result in useful battle techniques! I’m going to watch Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and I’m going to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but then I’ll start to think about it being a possibility, and then I shall convince myself that the fridge may be making a strange noise. When I turn off the lights that night, I too shall be running up the stairs sideways, with my back against the wall, ready to fight the tomatoes, who are now accompanied by Pennywise the clown, and are definitely going to pin me down in the corner of the bathroom whilst I’m having a wee… I’m laughing as I run, but could this be real? Should I fall asleep that night…?
But then I suddenly remember - hold on, why was that girl in such tiny pants whilst being attacked? When did teens have to start wearing hoodies over flimsy vest tops, when they clearly know that there’s a chance that they’re going to fighting late night demons (and require a demon fighting, boob covering (always feels a vulnerable area) jumper!)? Simply put, is there a direct correlation between a directors pervyness, the more ludicrous, and a very poor survival rate chance? Unfortunately, historical facts seem to say yes
Final girl; pregnancy; mental health and fear crossover, supernatural; modern; classic - not a comprehensive coverage within the book, but a lot of interesting themes covered between mainstream, art house and comedy kitsch. As a parent with nighttime responsibilities that I needed to take seriously, I had to cut down my casual consumption of trash, so had only seen about 50% of the listed titles, but these were still some interesting discussions. Does it identify the why, how and no, this really is sexist trash, around approaches to girls and women in horror? No, but it’s a discussion that’s still worth having, and good to know that there are directors out there trying to shift the imbalance
“To this day, at forty-three years old, I will finish a scary movie, turn off the lights downstairs, and race up the stairs in the dark like l'm being chased by something. I'm probably being chased by something."
I’m a fan of most types of horror films, as it stretches my mind to go to places that it could never imagine, but life’s not for hiding from scenarios that could endanger us all - this studying may result in useful battle techniques! I’m going to watch Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and I’m going to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but then I’ll start to think about it being a possibility, and then I shall convince myself that the fridge may be making a strange noise. When I turn off the lights that night, I too shall be running up the stairs sideways, with my back against the wall, ready to fight the tomatoes, who are now accompanied by Pennywise the clown, and are definitely going to pin me down in the corner of the bathroom whilst I’m having a wee… I’m laughing as I run, but could this be real? Should I fall asleep that night…?
But then I suddenly remember - hold on, why was that girl in such tiny pants whilst being attacked? When did teens have to start wearing hoodies over flimsy vest tops, when they clearly know that there’s a chance that they’re going to fighting late night demons (and require a demon fighting, boob covering (always feels a vulnerable area) jumper!)? Simply put, is there a direct correlation between a directors pervyness, the more ludicrous, and a very poor survival rate chance? Unfortunately, historical facts seem to say yes
Final girl; pregnancy; mental health and fear crossover, supernatural; modern; classic - not a comprehensive coverage within the book, but a lot of interesting themes covered between mainstream, art house and comedy kitsch. As a parent with nighttime responsibilities that I needed to take seriously, I had to cut down my casual consumption of trash, so had only seen about 50% of the listed titles, but these were still some interesting discussions. Does it identify the why, how and no, this really is sexist trash, around approaches to girls and women in horror? No, but it’s a discussion that’s still worth having, and good to know that there are directors out there trying to shift the imbalance
August 22, 2023
How can a book by 2 goth girls about all my favorite movies be so bad?
The opinions are superficial, the points are random... As much as I love women in horror, I hate capitalism more, and this is a book that's half assed on a production line just to be sold as a present based on the cover. Luckily someone got me this as a present, which was the right choice! It's up my alley on a surface level! And that's the purpose this book serves.
It is a shame because the topics danced around here deserve to be taken seriously. A misogynist would not have a hard time picking this apart and feeling justified and stirring the pot with it. We are still fighting this fight, live, of "I dunno maybe women are people", and we can't afford to be this shallow.
Horror is fundamentally a women's genre. Mary Shelly and Shirley Jackson laid the groundwork for Stephen King. Many of the horror paperback writers pennamed as men were really women. This is the only genre where we speak more than men. Girls bleed more than boys. This is *our* fucking space.
There's a reason women are so integral to horror. We feel more horror. We see more blood. We feel more pain. The viscerality of lived experience, of our human bodies and of the evil that exists in the world, from our pregnancies to our rapes to our abusive men to our trappings of society, I prescient for *every woman*. Our fucking vaginas *shed blood*. Monthly. We were burned at the stake for years for masturbating. We spent a lot of time on fire.
This isn't a genre we need to politely ask for space in. We don't need to gently nudge and listicle off female directed horror. This is *ours*. Any treatise should have blood in it's teeth. This text is an example of "excuse me, boys, I think I've made a compelling case for why you should let me play with you"
Give me some horror of women with some fucking meat on its bones for the love of Satan, please.
The opinions are superficial, the points are random... As much as I love women in horror, I hate capitalism more, and this is a book that's half assed on a production line just to be sold as a present based on the cover. Luckily someone got me this as a present, which was the right choice! It's up my alley on a surface level! And that's the purpose this book serves.
It is a shame because the topics danced around here deserve to be taken seriously. A misogynist would not have a hard time picking this apart and feeling justified and stirring the pot with it. We are still fighting this fight, live, of "I dunno maybe women are people", and we can't afford to be this shallow.
Horror is fundamentally a women's genre. Mary Shelly and Shirley Jackson laid the groundwork for Stephen King. Many of the horror paperback writers pennamed as men were really women. This is the only genre where we speak more than men. Girls bleed more than boys. This is *our* fucking space.
There's a reason women are so integral to horror. We feel more horror. We see more blood. We feel more pain. The viscerality of lived experience, of our human bodies and of the evil that exists in the world, from our pregnancies to our rapes to our abusive men to our trappings of society, I prescient for *every woman*. Our fucking vaginas *shed blood*. Monthly. We were burned at the stake for years for masturbating. We spent a lot of time on fire.
This isn't a genre we need to politely ask for space in. We don't need to gently nudge and listicle off female directed horror. This is *ours*. Any treatise should have blood in it's teeth. This text is an example of "excuse me, boys, I think I've made a compelling case for why you should let me play with you"
Give me some horror of women with some fucking meat on its bones for the love of Satan, please.
July 31, 2021
“It is said that a nineteen-year-old girl invented the modern horror genre. Frankenstein, borne of the imagination of Mary Shelley, posed a vital question to its readers, one that exists in nearly all horror movies today: Who is the true monster? The creator? The creature? Often, this search leads us down dark and terrifying corridors illuminated only by knowledge and science. . . . How do we, as women, reconcile the sometimes violent, misogynistic nature of the horror genre? How can we be fans of the problematic ways in which women are portrayed? The answer is in seeking out those films and television shows that give us the flawed, complicated, and real women we want to see on screen.”
I devoured The Science of Women in Horror in two days. It was a fascinating, insightful, and thought-provoking read that analyzes women’s contributions to the horror industry both behind the scenes (and, in some cases, the page) and in front of the camera. With chapters broken down into categories such as “The Mother,” “The Innocent,” “The Gorgon,” and “The Healer,” the book includes interviews, in-depth analysis, interesting film factoids, and pertinent images throughout.
As a movie viewer, I only watch certain types of horror, and despite having seen less than half of the 30 main films/TV shows discussed, I was familiar with (or had at least heard of) the majority, and found their in-depth examination fascinating and engrossing. Some of my favorites were also included — Beetlejuice, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, The Haunting of Hill House — with many more sprinkled throughout, as well. I enjoyed this book so much that I added another of the author duo’s books to my list immediately after finishing: The Science of Monsters: Demystifying Film’s Most Notorious Vampires, Witches, Zombies, and More. Can’t wait to dig in!
I devoured The Science of Women in Horror in two days. It was a fascinating, insightful, and thought-provoking read that analyzes women’s contributions to the horror industry both behind the scenes (and, in some cases, the page) and in front of the camera. With chapters broken down into categories such as “The Mother,” “The Innocent,” “The Gorgon,” and “The Healer,” the book includes interviews, in-depth analysis, interesting film factoids, and pertinent images throughout.
As a movie viewer, I only watch certain types of horror, and despite having seen less than half of the 30 main films/TV shows discussed, I was familiar with (or had at least heard of) the majority, and found their in-depth examination fascinating and engrossing. Some of my favorites were also included — Beetlejuice, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, The Haunting of Hill House — with many more sprinkled throughout, as well. I enjoyed this book so much that I added another of the author duo’s books to my list immediately after finishing: The Science of Monsters: Demystifying Film’s Most Notorious Vampires, Witches, Zombies, and More. Can’t wait to dig in!
May 14, 2020
4.5 ⭐ rounded up
This book was fantastic. Very easy to read big chunks in one go and it had a really nice flow to it. Found extremely interesting things out about films I loved such as Beetlejuice, Rocky Horror and The Quiet Place and then also found new films to add to my ever growing watch list. Loved reading about genre tropes such as final girls and motherly figures in horror films.
I liked the mix of media, featuring TV Shows as well as films and those being influenced by gothic literature and various other books like Shirley Jackson and Stephen King.
I did a little squeal of joy when Milicent Patrick was mentioned briefly, who I'm obsessed with after reading The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick last year.
The addition of interviews with varying people in the industry was a very nice added extra that was a perfect touch. Loved that it was a diverse group of people interview such as people in the LGBT+ community and POC.
My only issue (which isn't really an issue) is that it wasn't long enough ha!
This book was fantastic. Very easy to read big chunks in one go and it had a really nice flow to it. Found extremely interesting things out about films I loved such as Beetlejuice, Rocky Horror and The Quiet Place and then also found new films to add to my ever growing watch list. Loved reading about genre tropes such as final girls and motherly figures in horror films.
I liked the mix of media, featuring TV Shows as well as films and those being influenced by gothic literature and various other books like Shirley Jackson and Stephen King.
I did a little squeal of joy when Milicent Patrick was mentioned briefly, who I'm obsessed with after reading The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick last year.
The addition of interviews with varying people in the industry was a very nice added extra that was a perfect touch. Loved that it was a diverse group of people interview such as people in the LGBT+ community and POC.
My only issue (which isn't really an issue) is that it wasn't long enough ha!
January 23, 2025
I wish I had gotten a chance to speak to the authors at the Women in Horror Film Festival, which was an awesome event, and one of my highlights of 2020. I really enjoyed this overview, and while I disagree on some points that some of the interviewees made, I definitely liked the authors interpretation of women in horror. I love that the Bride of Frankenstein is on the cover. I also love the layout of this book. Really great read and I recommend to anyone who loves horror especially if you’re a woman.
January 22, 2022
There are some reviews that make it pretty clear that they didn't read the whole book; worse say they didn't finish the book, then list all the films they think are not mentioned, the majority of which are. So, what I am saying is this, ignore the nay sayers on this one.
On to my review, after reading the entire thing, as well as reviewing it a second time while making notes. This book is not an in-depth coverage of all that it purports to do, so do not go into this hoping for the depth and breadth of a humanities textbook. However, it does more than a cursory glance of a lot of women in the film -- many of which haven't yet really gotten the attention that they deserve, so bravo to that. What this book also does is draw together a ton of introductory source material that is a great platform to launch a lot of important conversations from. If you have a deep interest in women in horror, this is a great start, and I hope that these writers get together and write more, because it is very accessible, and I think, meant to reach a wide audience. This particular topic needs to be addressed far and wide, so had they taken a more super-academic, super film buff approach it might have scared off potential readers, this is a positive move.
I read a lot that I had not thought of, appreciated the interviews, that in general added another level of knowledge to each topic. There were only a few films that I have not seen or heard about, but that's for the best as spoilers kind of abound here, so read with an eye for titles that you are not familiar with if you want to avoid those spoilers. Keep in mind, that a text of this course has to talk about what happens in these films in order to analyze them, so this is not negative in my mind. There is so much to unpack here, and I could see this being a wonderful addition to an introduction to women and film, or women in horror college course.
On to my review, after reading the entire thing, as well as reviewing it a second time while making notes. This book is not an in-depth coverage of all that it purports to do, so do not go into this hoping for the depth and breadth of a humanities textbook. However, it does more than a cursory glance of a lot of women in the film -- many of which haven't yet really gotten the attention that they deserve, so bravo to that. What this book also does is draw together a ton of introductory source material that is a great platform to launch a lot of important conversations from. If you have a deep interest in women in horror, this is a great start, and I hope that these writers get together and write more, because it is very accessible, and I think, meant to reach a wide audience. This particular topic needs to be addressed far and wide, so had they taken a more super-academic, super film buff approach it might have scared off potential readers, this is a positive move.
I read a lot that I had not thought of, appreciated the interviews, that in general added another level of knowledge to each topic. There were only a few films that I have not seen or heard about, but that's for the best as spoilers kind of abound here, so read with an eye for titles that you are not familiar with if you want to avoid those spoilers. Keep in mind, that a text of this course has to talk about what happens in these films in order to analyze them, so this is not negative in my mind. There is so much to unpack here, and I could see this being a wonderful addition to an introduction to women and film, or women in horror college course.
November 29, 2020
If you like horror and you are a woman, or if you like horror and are in any way shape or form connected with reviewing, critiquing, writing, or producing horror– read this book. No, really. I mean it.
The breadth of knowledge and passion for horror writing and the exposing of the common tropes Horror uses when portraying women, as well as identifying and celebrating the female authors, producers, writers, and directors who bring those delicious thrills to us in this book are not only extremely informative and presented in lovely, chapter bite-sized digestible chunks, but also important for all of us to acknowledge and be culturally competent with.
Each chapter takes a move or TV series (author Meg Hafdahl is a huge X Files fan so no surprise that’s included) and unpacks tropes like the virgin survivor, or the healer etc. present in famous media horror entertainment, and peppers the chapters throughout with interesting interviews with women horror entertainment folks about their own motivations and perceptions of women. It’s quite readable and interesting.
And now I have about four horror movies on my to-be-seen queue to watch with this new information about historical representation and tropes in the forefront of my brain.
The science in this book is mostly, heavily, social science such as psychology and lit crit. There are a few drips and drabs of hard science, and I wished for a bit more of that, as well as (I read the Kindle version so possibly formatting contributed to this) was sometimes confused about the random hard science or history facts that appeared in call out boxes sometimes. The factoids didn’t always immediately connect to the chapter or theme being discussed.
Definitely a cool and informative book in terms of pop culture and feminist theory. As I said above, a must-read for female horror fans!
The breadth of knowledge and passion for horror writing and the exposing of the common tropes Horror uses when portraying women, as well as identifying and celebrating the female authors, producers, writers, and directors who bring those delicious thrills to us in this book are not only extremely informative and presented in lovely, chapter bite-sized digestible chunks, but also important for all of us to acknowledge and be culturally competent with.
Each chapter takes a move or TV series (author Meg Hafdahl is a huge X Files fan so no surprise that’s included) and unpacks tropes like the virgin survivor, or the healer etc. present in famous media horror entertainment, and peppers the chapters throughout with interesting interviews with women horror entertainment folks about their own motivations and perceptions of women. It’s quite readable and interesting.
And now I have about four horror movies on my to-be-seen queue to watch with this new information about historical representation and tropes in the forefront of my brain.
The science in this book is mostly, heavily, social science such as psychology and lit crit. There are a few drips and drabs of hard science, and I wished for a bit more of that, as well as (I read the Kindle version so possibly formatting contributed to this) was sometimes confused about the random hard science or history facts that appeared in call out boxes sometimes. The factoids didn’t always immediately connect to the chapter or theme being discussed.
Definitely a cool and informative book in terms of pop culture and feminist theory. As I said above, a must-read for female horror fans!
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