Technology, Monstrosity, and Reproduction in Twenty-First Century Horror

186 Pages·2013·1.189 MB·English

by  Kimberly Jackson (auth.)

Technology, Monstrosity,
and Reproduction in
Twenty-First Century
Horror
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Technology, Monstrosity,
and Reproduction in
Twenty-First Century
Horror
Kimberly Jackson
technology, monstrosity, and reproduction in twenty-first
century horror
Copyright © Kimberly Jackson, 2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-36103-5
All rights reserved.
First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a
division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and
has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the
United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-47220-8 ISBN 978-1-137-36026-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137360267
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Jackson, Kimberly, 1975–
Technology, monstrosity, and reproduction in twenty-first century horror/
Kimberly Jackson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Horror films—History and criticism. 2. Technology in motion pictures.
I. Title.
PN1995.9.H6J33 2013
791.43'6164—dc23
2013019023
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Amnet.
First edition: November 2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Sean Kelly, who helps keep the monsters at bay
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Contents
List of Figures ix
Permissions xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Imagining the Ends of Horror
and of Humanity 1
1 Metahorror and Simulation in the Scream Series and
The Cabin in the Woods 11
2 The Image Goes Viral—Virtual Hauntings in The Ring
and Feardotcom 31
3 The Image as Voracious Eye in The Blair Witch Project,
Cloverfield, and the Paranormal Activity Series 55
4 Memory, Pregnancy, and Technological Archive in
Dark Water and The Forgotten 85
5 The End of Patriarchy—Defining the Postmodern
Prometheus in Splice and Prometheus 111
Conclusion: A New Mythology for Techno-Humanity 143
Notes 153
Bibliography 159
Index 167
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List of Figures
1.1 Dewey, Gale, and the “actors” that portray them
in the film-within-the-film study the script that
will determine their fates in Scream 3. 17
1.2 Sitterson and other corporation workers party as Dana
struggles to survive on the screen behind them in
The Cabin in the Woods. 25
1.3 A giant hand breaks through corporate headquarters
in The Cabin in the Woods. 28
2.1 Samara is born from the television screen in The Ring. 37
3.1 The childlike image of the demon (in front of the
fireplace) in Paranormal Activity 4. 70
3.2 Alex’s image in Paranormal Activity 4. 71
3.3 The monster of Cloverfield threatens to swallow
the image. 79
3.4 Beth’s image at the end of Cloverfield. 82
4.1 Dahlia trapped in the elevator with ghost-child
Natasha in Dark Water. 92
4.2 Telly tries to break into the simulated room of her son,
Sam, in The Forgotten. 106
5.1 “Imprinting”: The genetically engineered hybrid
baby of Splice interacts with its “mother,” Elsa. 116
5.2 Dren and Elsa of Splice. 117
5.3 The engineer of Prometheus. 131
5.4 David encounters the wonders of creation in
Prometheus. 137
5.5 “In the desert there is nothing” (Prometheus). 140