British horror of the new millennium not only points to the traumatised nature of the contemporary British male self-image but to the ways in which it is possible to work through the horror and, in so doing, become a new kind of man. Thus a new form of masculine identity can be seen to emerge from the ruins: one that is simultaneously hard-hitting and gentle, innovative and steady, decisive and compassionate. As such, attitudes to women are highly significant in each of these films. Thus, in new millennial British horror one can also see not only a tendency to parody and pastiche earlier horror texts but a will to explore earlier models of British masculinity-specifically those drawn from Britain's imperial past. In each of these highly self-reflexive films a new kind of ‘fusion hero’ can also be seen to emerge: one who undertakes a hybridisation of earlier models of British masculinity in his mission to conquer the monster and become a man. This chapter addresses some concerns of British horror cinema with specific reference to an extraordinary proliferation of what Noël Carroll would term ‘fusion monsters’, represented in various films.
2 Nihonjinron, women, horror: post-war national identity and the spirit of subaltern vengeance in Ringu and The Ring.1 The horror of the Nazi past in the reunification present: Jörg Buttgereit's Nekromantiks.Part I German and Japanese horror: the traumatic legacy of the Second World War.Introduction: traumatic events and international horror cinema.
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