Is Maika Monroe the first feminist scream queen?

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Is Maika Monroe the first feminist scream queen?
The 'Longlegs' star has blazed a unique trail for herself in horror
Monroe at work in the newly released 'Longlegs' (Image credit: Collection Christophel / C2 Motion Picture Group / Neon / Alamy)
By David Faris published 24 July 2024 in the week recommends
Horror has not traditionally been a genre known for its feminist bonafides. From the "final girl" trope to the very concept of the scream queen, horror films have rarely strayed outside of genre conventions long enough to challenge male-centric narratives and conventions. But actress Maika Monroe, the star of the new viral marketing hit "Longlegs," is carving a unique Hollywood career path. Unlike many stars who put the critically unloved horror universe behind them when they hit it big, the California-born Monroe is an avowed fan of the genre, and she continues to choose roles that critique gender hierarchies, violence against women and male privilege. In doing so, she has perhaps become Hollywood's first feminist scream queen.
Monroe and the rise of feminist horror
Monroe's breakout turn came in the cult horror hit "It Follows." Marketed as yet another teens-in-jeopardy slasher, the director David Robert Mitchell's film was actually a sly coming-of-age meditation on how hard it is to shake the trauma of sexual assault. She plays Jay, a high school student whose date ties her to a chair after they sleep together in a car and tells her that he has made her the target of a demon — one that can take the form of any person. To get rid of it, she has to give it to someone else by sleeping with them, and if the demon kills her victim, it will come back after her. The movie was "unsettling and deservedly celebrated," said Roger Ebert critic Simon Abrams.
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In the little-known 2017 apocalypse thriller "Bokeh," Monroe played Jenai, who wakes up with her boyfriend Riley (Matt O'Leary) on a trip to Iceland to discover that everyone on Earth has vanished. This quiet character study sees Riley more or less ecstatic about having the run of the world to themselves and incapable of noticing or responding to Jenai's emotional cues about missing her home and family. Monroe's performance caused critics to dub her a "breakout actress" who is "destined for a significant career if she keeps believing in such ambitious, sharp scripts," said Roger Ebert's Nick Allen.
From undertones to overtones
The feminist undertones were less subtle in other projects. In 2020's "The Stranger" — originally a 13-part series for the ill-fated short-form streamer Quibi that was recut in 202

            

            

            

                

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