“Have You Ever Dreamed Of A Better Version Of Yourself?”: A Psychoanalysis Of Representations Of Women Across Age In Horror Films

The purpose of this study was to examine representations of older and younger women in four horror films: The Leech Woman (1960), The Shining (1980), The Witch (2015), and The Substance (2024). Regarding horror film narratives, research suggests aged women are often depicted as wicked and lacking mental faculties, while young women with idealized and privileged body types are often fetishized. According to Creed (2023), these harmful, oppressive depictions are informed by male anxieties about women in patriarchy. When women are presented as monstrous (i.e., the monstrous-feminine) in horror films, they symbolize these anxieties. Therefore, all four films selected for the research portray a female cinematic character who has the ability to transform their age between young and old age; these portrayals allowed the researcher to analyze whether perceptions of the character change as they transform, as well as representations of the monstrous-feminine. The findings suggested women with unnatural aging abilities are depicted as either revolting or attractive, depending on whether they displayed an aged or youthful appearance in the horror film narrative. These characters often resorted to seduction and murder of their cinematic counterparts, highlighting their monstrous nature.