Motherhood in Horror- "The Babadook", "Hereditary"

 For my presentation I explored the themes of motherhood in horror/thriller films. I mainly focused on the movies, Hereditary and The Babadook. 

In films from the past the source of horror used to be the mother herself, however it has morphed into motherhood as the source of the horror. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho acted as the blueprint for motherhood being introduced to horror. Another prominent example is Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th where Mrs.Voorhees killed to avenge her son. 

As I did my research I came across the breakdown of three categories of how mother characters are used in horror. These are the evil shrew, the screaming victim, and the absence mother. I found these from this article, https://lwlies.com/articles/motherhood-horror-cinema-a-quiet-place-hereditary/. 

In society mothers have such high expectations. They are expected to make many sacrifices all while holding a powerful unconditional love for their children. In the past mothers were depicted as "put together" and managing domestic work all with a happy demeanor. Children are also a reflection of her mothering. If a child is misbehaved, a mother would receive backlash and in turn, be embarrassed. 

On screen mothers can be shown to be hysterical, grieving, and visibly distressed in the horror genre. In horror, the relationships shown are typically between mothers and sons. There is also a failure to show diversity. It is rare for a woman of color to be casted for the role of a mother/pregnant woman. 

The Babadook tells the story of a grieving mother who has a deep resentment for her son. On the day he was born, her husband died. Amelia's son is a troubled boy and she is completely exhausted by him. He pleads for her to read a book and the Babadook was let into their lives. 

Hereditary has a similar dynamic in the theme of motherhood. Annie holds resentment for her son because he was driving the car when his sister died. Annie had a complicated relationship with her own mother and did not want to have children but she forced her. The film starts out with Annie's mother's funeral. Annie asks her husband if she should be more sad. This is an indicator of her relationship with her mother and how Annie deals with emotions. Grief is prevalent in Hereditary and motivates Annie's actions. 

Horror films are using motherhood more and more as a source of horror in modern films. This allows for more women leads and for them to play roles outside of the traditional mother. Horror shows the imperfections of motherhood in creative ways.