Return of the Monstrous-Feminine

by Barbara Creed

This follow-up to the classic text of The Monstrous-Feminine analyses those contemporary films which explore social justice issues such as women’s equality, violence against women, queer relationships, race and the plight of the planet and its multi-species. Examining a new movement – termed by Creed as Feminist New Wave Cinema – The Return of the Monstrous-Feminine explores a significant change that has occurred over the past two decades in the representation of the monstrous-feminine in visual discourse. The Monstrous-Feminine is a figure in revolt on a journey through the dark night of abjection. Taking particular interest in women directors who create the figure of the Monstrous-Feminine, in cinema that foregrounds everyday horrors in addition to classic horror, Creed looks at a range of diverse films including The Babadook, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Nomadland, Carol, Raw, Revenge, and the television series The Handmaid’s Tale . These films center on different forms of revolt, from inner revolt to social, supernatural and violent revolt, which appear in Feminist New Wave Cinema. These relate in the main to the emergence of a range of social protest movements that have gathered momentum in the new millennium and given voice to new theoretical and critical discourses. These third and fourth wave feminism, the #MeToo movement, queer theory, race theory, the critique of anthropocentrism and human animal theory. These theoretical discourses have played a key role in influencing Feminist New Wave Cinema whose films are distinctive, stylish and diverse. This is an essential companion to the original classic text and is ideal for students in Gender and Media, Gender and Horror, Gender and Film and Feminist Film theory courses.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Feminism, Research, Academic, Horror

178 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2022

About the author

Barbara Creed is Professor of Cinema Studies and Head of the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. She is author of the acclaimed The Monstrous-feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Media Matrix: Sexing the New Reality, Phallic Panic: Film, Horror & the Primal Uncanny and Darwin's Screens: Evolutionary Aesthetics, Time and Sexual Display in the Cinema. She is also a well-known film critic and media commentator, and her writings on cinema have been translated into many languages for a range of international journals and anthologies.

Reviews

[Emily Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was basically just for my thesis, but honestly it was super interesting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in feminism in horror. Having read her older (and definitely seminal) work on this subject, this is a fitting update that speaks to modern intersectional feminist ideas about sexuality, ethnicity, anthropocentrism, multi-species and environmental concerns and more

[J.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just me and my parasocial relationship, Barbara Creed.

[Helena De Wachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

another thesis read - big big big Barbara Creed fan!!!

[kimé ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book to be a much more rewarding read than the first book, maybe because it’s much more political (and the films mentioned are now piling up in my watchlist). It goes beyond just analyzing women in horror films and the like, really diving into selected films categorized under the feminist New Wave cinema, showcasing the intersectionality of the monstrous feminine on sexuality, ethnicity, capitalism, anthropocentrism, matriarchal frameworks, even cannibalism (which was a shocker), multi-species and many more which blew my mind, honestly.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating exploration of feminist movies (primarily from the 2010s) that explore female monstrosity in relation to various forms of social critique and/or empowerment. While Creed’s focus is mostly directed towards horror, some space is also dedicated for horror-adjacent texts like Mad Max: Fury Road.

[Wenjing Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

感谢树的翻译！随意地看了四五六七篇我看过的影视剧的书评（女导女性电影）。总得来说我认为作者的点评还是偏学术了一点，完全没有读影评那种“对对对！”大呼痛快的爽感。加之不知道作者是什么社科背景的反正和我不太一样，所以学术点评方面我也get不到感受不到爽感，也就是读起来不太有劲。鉴于女导女性电影居多+有几部确实是我很喜欢的，整体可以给个3.5吧。

[Anya Salgado · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5