Body Horror Revisited: A new wave of body horror films directed by women

This thesis examines a selection of recent horror films directed by women that seek
to explore and challenge the conventions of the genre. Making reference to the
existing critical writing on the genre, and in particular its representation of gender
and the body, each filmmaker's employment of established narrative and aesthetic
conventions is examined and assessed. Key critical questions explored include: how
the genre has been impacted by the influence of new audiences; how filmmakers
seek to "progress" the genre's representation of the female body; how specific
subgenres, such as body horror and rape-revenge, are reinvigorated and nuanced by
the filmmakers' own concerns and those of their audiences; and how effectively the
resultant films challenge traditional binaries of gender. It will be argued that though
the films analysed vary in terms of production contexts, all can be linked by their
shared commitment to challenging, and rejuvenating, the genre.