getting ‘the curse’: menstruation in horror cinema Olivia Grace Middelboe Earlier this year Michaela Coel’s incredible series I May Destroy You aired. Episode 3’s encounter between Arabella and Biagio featured one of the most honest depictions of a period I have ever seen. A blood clot, a blood-soaked tampon and a used sanitary towel are rarely things we get to see on screen. Menstruation is surrounded by so much taboo, one only has to look at the amount of menstrual products described as ‘sanitary’ to understand the degree to which something so natural is shrouded in shame and clinicism. Horror as a genre is one which seems to be more drawn to depicting menstruation (alongside puberty and adolescence, which are rich themes to explore in horror). Here’s a breakdown of some of the most iconic and recognisable representations of menstruation in horror cinema.
carrie (1976) The first time I remember seeing menstruation on film was in Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976). What starts as a softcore porn-esque scene of Carrie (Sissy Spacek) soaping her body in a locker room shower turns into a disturbing scene of a frightened, confused young woman being pelted with menstrual products by cruel teenage classmates, chanting ‘plug it up’. Not only is she terrified, she is made somewhat terrifying. Hunched over, reaching towards her classmates screaming, she becomes a monstrous figure of sorts. Carrie is being raised by her fanatically religious mother Margaret, and faces bullying by her fellow students. Upon telling her mother about getting her first period (which until this point Carrie has received no education about) she is confined to a claustrophobic prayer closet a punishment for her perceived sinfulness. After she gets her first period Carrie begins to find her power. Her telekinetic abilities begin to manifest themselves. Ultimately, all of Carrie’s bullying and trauma lead to her enacting murderous revenge against her classmates, set in motion by a cruel and violent prank at the prom upon the moment Carrie finally began to feel a sense of acceptance. As Jillnewald writes, ‘Her period becomes the catalyst for Carrie going from an awkward teenage girl to a terrifying, vengeful aberration.’1
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Jill Grunenwald, ‘Blood Sport: The Most Feminist Part of “IT Chapter Two” Is a Staple in Horror’, bitch media (https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/it-chapter-two-menstruation), 17 September 2019, (Accessed: 24 November 2020)
