For my research essay I would like to make a case for The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan Wook. The relationship between queer female characters and live action fiction is a rocky one, filled with premature deaths and tragic endings. Queer female characters in the specific genre of horror is no exception. The number of queer female characters who make it to the end of a horror film are few and far between; lessening when narrowed down to lead characters. The Handmaiden, released in 2016, was a refreshing change from the “psycho lover” queer women stereotype and was filmed with a comparably higher budget than the majority of queer led horror. It also accomplished the goal of feeling like a love story set in a horror movie rather than a horror movie with a love story subplot. Something that fans of the novel, Fingersmith by Sarah Smith, were worried of when they heard the film would be a loose adaption of the beloved novel. In my paper I will explore The Handmaiden‘s place in redefining the queer female character arc, it’s reception and inclusion on numerous highly praised critic lists, like Roger Ebert, and closely examine the relationship between the film and similar ones before and after its release. My sources will include:

Uninvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability by Patricia White

“Vampires,Psychics, and Ghosts: A Look at Queer women in Horror” by Sara Century

And many others from sites such as AfterEllen.