I never wanted to be your mother!”: Ambivalent Motherhood in 21st Century Horror Films
This thesis examines depictions of ambivalent motherhood, and societal ambivalences towards mothers in horror films released after We Need to Talk about Kevin in 2011. Using âhorror vĂ©ritĂ©â as a critical framework, this thesis aims to illustrate that recent representations of ambivalent mothers and their bodies either resist, or comply, to postfeminist standards of ânew momismâ: a term outlined by Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels in their book The Mommy Myth (2004). âHorror vĂ©ritĂ©â refers to a genre of âtruthful horrorâ, that through âartificial meansâ, such as âoutrageous, unrealistic plotsâ reveals societal truths that âmight otherwise remain elusiveâ (Landsberg, 2018, p.632). Through an analysis of films such as The Babadook, Bird Box, Hereditary and mother!, this research aims to demonstrate that their use of âhorror vĂ©ritĂ©â filmic techniques reveal wider social anxieties pertaining to maternal ambivalence and maternal corporeality.