A fascinating look at female viewership of horror, challenging the stereotype of horror as a male genre ... This is a landmark study.

CHOICE

Rikke Schubart has written a lively and well-informed account of horror films and their emotional appeals, with particular reference to women viewers and issues of gender as presented in the films. Schubart injects humor into her writing, an attractive blend of academic rigor and serious analysis with playful, drily ironic observations, often of a very personal nature. This is an interesting, original and provocative study.

Stephen Prince, Professor of Cinema Studies, Virginia Tech, USA

Mastering Fear will be a game-changer! Rikke Schubart has produced an exciting and innovative book that is breathtaking in scope. While centred on horror case studies, it offers new perspectives for emotion, gender, feminist, cultural and horror studies. Conceiving of horror media as a mode of 'play fighting', Schubart develops a biocultural approach that she intertwines with her concept of 'evofeminism'. The reader goes on a rich and nuanced theoretical journey that challenges gender stereotypes and both understands and arms the female protagonist and spectator with powerful tools that master fear and positively shape identity. A must read!

Angela Ndalianis, Professor of Media and Entertainment, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia