Abstract

This paper re-examines the concept of the monster and the monstrous within contemporary global horror film cultures. Taking four examples of contemporary ‘extreme’ or ‘neo-nasty’ horror cinema (‘A Serbian Film’ (2010) Dir. Srdjan Spasojevic, ‘Martyrs’ (2008) Dir. Pascal Laugier, ‘Murder Set Pieces’ (2004 released 2008) Dir. Nick Palumbo and ‘Gurotesuku’ (2009) dir. Koji Shiraishi) the paper re-visits a range of academic film literature relating to the monster and monstrous. Key themes and debates informing the paper include; the framing of the monster and the monstrous by shifting and articulating historical, social, cultural, technological and political contexts; the monster as complex signifier and productive meaning maker that reflects and hides our individual and collective fears and anxieties; the monster as ambiguous and contradictory site of fascination and producer of pleasures/anxieties for audiences, reviewers and regulators; the role of the monster and the monstrous in negotiating, reinforcing and challenging ideological notions of ‘otherness’ and difference; the function of the monster and the monstrous in blurring structures and boundaries and the monsters potentiality for revealing the chaotic nature of the world upon which order and rationality is inscribed. Drawing upon textual and contextual analysis, and considering reception and audiences’ consumption, this paper draws attention to the intensifying transformation of the monster and the monstrous within these contemporary ‘neo-nasty’ horror films. The paper examines the monster as multilayered entities manifesting across numerous sites rendering their straightforward reading problematic within contemporary global film cultures as they simultaneously open up some fissures whilst stitching others together.