Reclaiming Horror

Reclaiming Horror: Women and the Future of the Genre explores how women filmmakers have reshaped horror in the twenty-first century. Through close analyses of films centred on five recurring figures – the monstrous woman, the transgressive woman, the mother, the rape victim and the mad woman – alongside a cycle of female-directed remakes and sequels released between 2019 and 2021, the book traces the historical development of these archetypes before examining how contemporary women filmmakers reclaim and rework them. Challenging the assumption that women-centred and feminist horror stand in opposition to the genre’s traditions, it argues that women filmmakers have transformed horror from within, expanding its narrative, thematic and ideological possibilities while remaining firmly rooted in its conventions. By demonstrating how these innovations have become part of horror’s contemporary language, Reclaiming Horror argues that women filmmakers have driven a significant new stage in the genre’s evolution.