Gender and the Nuclear Family in Twenty-First-Century Horror is the first book-length project to focus specifically on the ways that patriarchal decline and post-feminist ideology are portrayed in popular American horror films of the twenty-first century. Through analyses of such films as Orphan, Insidious, and Carrie, Kimberly Jackson reveals how the destruction of male figures and depictions of female monstrosity in twenty-first-century horror cinema suggest that contemporary American culture finds itself at a cultural standstill between a post-patriarchal society and post-feminist ideology.
"Jackson traces some of the differing representations of gender and family in twelve recent horror films, at each juncture comparing them to films of previous decades, displaying lucidly the progression in thematic representations. ... this book is focused in its aims, argues with lucidity and a clear style, which makes Jackson's arguments both compelling and insightful." (Kathryn Haldane, Film Matters, 2017)