Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love by Zefyr Lisowski
Many thanks to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the
advanced copy of Zefyr Lisowski’s collection of essays Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love. The title of this collection instantly
intrigued me—I loved the play on Uncanny Valley and that the book is about
horror and survival. As Lisowski mentions in her postlude, “horror is a love
language, but maybe that’s because for me everything is a love language. Horror
at its most intimate is a way to share the secret parts of yourself with
others: what frightens you, what comforts you, what you’re repulsed by.”
Lisowski’s collection is more of a personal reaction to horror- not only her
own experiences sharing horror viewing with others, but also how these films
related to events in her life. This collection is a deeply personal and at
times traumatic exploration and reflection on what events shaped Lisowski’s
life and identity, with horror films factoring into these events. Although
these essays do not follow in the traditional film analysis, Lisowski does
provide some context for the creation of some of these films and how films from
the early 2000s reflected much of the violence that was happening around the
world. In the second section of the book, the essay “War on Terror” focuses on
the era of films like Final
Destination and Hostel, and how Lisowski’s relationship with a boy unfolded and deteriorated
through their shared interest in horror. One of the many themes that runs
throughout these essays are how women in these films are both objectified-
represented as vectors of violence that reflect the kinds of misogyny and
hatred towards difference in society- and seen as survivors- the final girl
trope whose smarts and morality are often rewarded with survival. While this
aspect of horror films is something that many people can relate to, it seems
like Lisowski’s experience as a trans woman whose identity was frequently
questioned and challenged by peers and parents made her especially sensitive
and receptive to these messages from horror films. While her friend enjoyed the
violence, Lisowski relates more to the final girls in these films—those whose
identities are sometimes questioned or challenged by the more popular and
dominant cultures, yet ultimately are able to use this to their advantage to
survive. It’s possibly one of the reasons Sally Hardesty of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre appealed to her more than other characters
and also possibly why the remakes and sequels in this franchise were less
appealing.
I appreciated
Lisowski’s candor and bravery in many of these essays, baring her emotions and
vulnerability. She does include a list of triggering subjects in each essay at
the end of the book. I recommend using this to at least be aware of the
subjects that she discusses in each of the essays since they can be fraught
with topics like self-harm and sexual assault. While I noted Lisowski’s
disclaimer at the beginning of the book, I don’t think it quire prepared me for
how much brutality and self-hatred she experienced as a trans woman. However, I
think that through reading about her experience and seeing how horror movies
provided her with a kind of insight into the brutality of society and the
strength of survivors, it helped me learn a little more about a frequently
misunderstood group that receives a lot of undue scorn and violence. Other
essays focus on Lisowski’s personal connections to films like The Ring and Dark Water, Black
Swan, and Scream. I found the essay about Ginger
Snaps “Preliminary Materials for a
Theory of the Werewolf Girl” really interesting, especially since I recently
read another essay about how werewolves provided Jennifer McMahon with more
insight about her own sexuality and differences in the amazing collection of
essays Why I Love Horror (edited by Becky Siegel Spratford). I hadn’t
previously thought about this connection between werewolves and queerness, but
it is interesting to consider about how changes, especially in puberty, can
often make us feel so different and out of control. As Lisowski explains, these
changes are often unwelcome and more often misunderstood by others who feel
threatened and in danger. Yet, it’s ultimately the werewolves who suffer the
most through their transformation and death. The other essay that I really
enjoyed was “Uncanny Valley of the Dolls” which examines the life and work of
Greer Lankton, a trailblazing artist who made dolls. I recently read Harron
Walker’s great collection Aggregated Discontent, which is where I first
learned about Greer Lankton. Lisowski’s essay is different, focusing more on
her life than Walker’s essay, which focused on her transition to a female.
Lisowski’s essay also focused on her work with dolls, described their
likenesses to Lankton’s own struggles and challenges, including her eating
disorders and drug addiction. Throughout the essay, Lisowski identifies with
these struggles with mental health as a connection to Lankton’s life and work.
I found this essay to be a great addition to Walker’s essay—although both
writers focus on Lankton’s life and work, I felt like I learned even more about
Lankton’s later life and her struggles and challenges and how these aspects of
her life impacted her work.
Although some
readers who are looking for more traditional essays analyzing horror films may
feel a little bereft from this essay collection, there are plenty of personal
horrors and trauma that Lisowski plumbs to better understand our often
complicated relationship with violence and abjection we watch on the screen.
This is a brave and bold collection where Lisowski fearlessly shares her
experience and struggles with mental health, and uses horror as a way to both
reflect and escape, to better understand her own trauma and to see pathways to
survival. It’s not quite what I expected, but at the same time I feel like I
learned a lot about different perspectives. However, I recommend checking out
the trigger warnings at the end of the book as there are parts of the book that
were challenging for even this horror fan to read. Nevertheless, this was a
powerful collection of essays that I will revisit at some point.
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