2024 the best horror film review

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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 HouseTeethChilling Adventures of SabrinaBuffy the Vampire SlayerAnd 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.”

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skyhorse (February 18, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1510751742
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1510751743
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Brandi the Bibliophile
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well Written and Informative
Review: As a fan of horror movies, I have always studied the role women play in them. The authors did their research, including numerous examples of female representation from film and television history.Each section of the book is centered around a trope or a theme involving women in horror: The Mother,The Virgin, The Gorgon, The Final Girl, sex, revenge, hysteria, The Healer and much more. The sections of the book are broken up into essays and interviews with women in the horror industry, as well as examples of tropes being depicted in movies and television like The Babadook, Psycho, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Haunting of Hill House.I appreciated not only the opinions of the interviewees in the book, but also the authors also allowing for a different view, so that true discussions can be had about the subjects. I also enjoyed the diversity of the interviewees involved in this book. I particularly agreed with authors and interviewees in the need of an increase of POC and LGBTQIA+ representation in the horror industry.The book was thoroughly enjoyable and I feel I learned a lot from the authors. I probably would have finished reading it sooner had I not stopped to watch a few of the movies they mentioned in it.

Reviewer: rachel s
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great, fun read. Would definitely recommend.
Review: Found this book from listening to their podcast (which is excellent). I love the conversational tone; this book is so approachable and fun to read. It offers broader contexts for discussing and thinking about past favorites as well as newer movies. Great read for anyone at all interested in horror. Will definitely be reading more of their books and looking forward to their upcoming serial killers book.

Reviewer: disorientedhare
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Misleading Title but I Loved It
Review: I was tempted to give 5 stars but instead am giving this a solid 4.5! I absolutely adored this book but I ran into a number of issues.For me, the title was misleading. This was not so much about the “science” as it was feminism and sociology. Because of the subtitle’s mention of stunts and special effects, I expected a more technical side; more behind the scenes work like the creation of costumes, props, set production, stop-motion animation, and so forth by women. Sadly, there was next to none of this. I was ecstatic when Millicent Patrick was finally (briefly) mentioned in the final chapter.The core of The Science of Women in Horror is feminism. The majority of it talks of equality, symbolism, stereotypes, and the like. I thought there was a lot of great information brought to light, ranging from race, sexuality, sexism, agism, and ableism in horror films.Of course, many tropes are explored. Section One focuses on Mothers. I was in disbelief when Rosemary’s Baby and Mother! (which could’ve been slipped into a later chapter as well) weren’t given special attention. Morticia Addams was briefly mentioned, but it felt forced and unnecessary (a reoccurring issue throughout the book) when the authors could’ve easily given her a spotlight.Section Five focused on Innocence, and the charming Lydia Deetz makes an appearance. “Beetlejuice” was one of my favorite chapters (which is fitting, being my favorite movie). I thought it was clever to compare Winona Ryder’s Lydia to her character, Veronica, in dark comedy film Heathers.Throughout the book, there are footnotes and photographs. Here, you can find briefed historical, scientific, and extra behind-the-scenes facts. Some felt disconnected, but overall I thought they were a great addition, though I was disappointed to learn they’re removed from the Scribd audiobook.My final complaint is that Mary Shelley didn’t get the attention she deserved (as well as many other female creators). While mentioned in the introduction and end, I feel we could’ve used more background on how she influenced the modern horror genre.All in all, this was an incredibly informative book that tied together feminism and horror, two of my favorite topics. I appreciate what the authors were going for and the time they took to speak directly to directors and to do their research on the topics at hand.I will DEFINITELY be reading one of their other books: The Science of Monsters.

Reviewer: Jane
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Into to Horror
Review: Love the authors and the subject.Only suggestion is I think it needs to be at LEAST 3xs longer. Seriously, it could be split into volumes.

Reviewer: T. B. Ardrey
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting and Informative
Review: The Science of Women in Horror was very informative and entertaining. I learned so much about how women are portrays in horror films and television. And I discovered a great deal of movies that I would really like to watch!

Reviewer: Reality tourist
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: females in horror, an analytical view
Review: this was exactly what I was looking for but it is interesting regarding mostly, contemporary women in horror films, from actresses to directors. It shares details of the kinds of horror and the role women have in them. Most of the chapters deal with the character types and mostly in slasher movies which are not my forte.

Reviewer: Mr S F Kurd
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Essential reading for any horror fan or horror writer/film-maker. Comprehensive, enlightening and extremely easy to read, packed with academic and journalistic resources to pursue!

Reviewer: Kel
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The title of this book is very misleading and there is little to no science covered whatsoever. The same goes for special effects and stunts. As for 'true stories', there was only one or two brief mentions of real life events that inspired movies.On the surface, this is an interesting read about women in horror that looks at the archetypes and roles of women in horror and how societal views and beliefs have shaped them as well as the different ways horror has allowed for their subversion.Using horror movies from across the decades, the authors look at the ways sexism, gender roles, and sexuality have affected the role of women in horror both in front and behind the camera.On a deeper reading though, the book only really touches on the role of BIPOC women and queer women in rather superficial way.There's a definite air of 'white feminism' to the book that can be seen in the way women are referred to as "women and women of colour" at one point, right after a chapter of how 'male' is seen as the universal standard, as though 'women' and 'women of colour' are two separate things. I would have understood if they were to say "woman, especially women of colour" or something along those lines but instead they literally broke up women into '(white) women' and 'women of colour'.It was also seen in the mention of Ruth Rose where her involvement with the screenplay for King Kong was praised but no mention of the films problematic racist overtones was made.Another issue I had was with Chapter 29 that took a superficial look at disability in horror. The authors not only used the term "differently abled" but constantly refered to "people with disabilities" instead of referring to disabled people as, well, disabled people.They also implied that being deaf is a weakness that becomes a character's "strength" when she uses it to her advantage against an assailant.Oh, and let's not forget that bit of Joss Whedon love. I mean, that feels completely appropriate in a book that had just looked at the ways women in the industry have been negatively treated, albeit superficially.The book was written in 2019 so I'm willing to give the authors (and the relevant director they were interviewing) the benefit of doubt since much of the momentum and revelations regarding Whedan's treatment of female actors occured after publication.Also, whilst it may be pedantic, it did annoy me how they stated that Daphne du Maurier's "The Birds" was made into a movie by Alfres Hitchcock but then failed to note how the movie is nothing at all like the book. The only similarity is people being attacked by birds - everything else is completely different.One thing the book did look at, that I really appreciated, was the way older women, and the elderly in general, are portrayed in horror. It's a topic I rarely see mentioned that we need greater discussion and dialogue around.I'm a big fan of accessible texts and I definitely think this book gives a reader enough information to pique their curiosity and interest on a range of topics relevant to women in horror but it's definitely just an initial stepping stone.Anyone going into this book expecting in-depth analyses will be disappointed. So to will anyone expecting there to be a focus on science or more than a quick overview of the movies mentioned within the book.I would still recommend this book to fans of the genre, however, I recommend doing further reading to gain a better understanding of the topics touched on.