"What is it about Jaws, Alien, Little Shop of Horrors and Poltergeist that plays on men's fear of women? And what is it that they fear most? The Monstrous-Feminine examines the role of women in horror films. The author argues that when a woman is constructed as monstrous, it is almost always in conjuction with reproduction and mothering functions. In this exploration, using detailed analysis of Carrie, The Exorcist, Psycho and Alien among others, Creed identifies the seven faces of female monstrosity-archaic mother; monstrous womb; vampire; witch; possessed monster; deadly femme castratrice and castrating mother. The argument then moves on to challenge the Freudian concept that a woman terrifies because she is castrated-Creed holds forth that the woman acting as castratoris what creates horror for men.The Monstrous-Feminine goes on to discuss and analyze what these images mean for feminist film theory, as well as revealing important clues about masculinity." - review from Google Books on 'Barbara Creed's: The Monstrous Feminine'
Extract from the Freuden text that 'The Monstrous Feminine' is based on.
In 'Carrie', the film's most monstrous act occurs when the couple are drenched in pig's blood, which symbolises menstrual blood in the terms setup by the film. Women are referred to as 'pigs', women 'bleed like pigs', and the pig's blood runs down Carrie's body at a moment of intense pleasure, just as her own menstrual blood ran down her leg during a similar pleasurable moment in the shower. Here, women's blood and pig's blood flow together signifying horror, shame and humilliation.
