The Horror Film: An Introduction surveys the history, development, and social impact of the genre. Covering American horror cinema from its earliest period to the present, this reader-friendly volume explores the many ways horror movies have been received by filmmakers, critics, and general audiences throughout the decades. Concise, easily accessible chapters describe historical instances of the genre's social reception based on primary research, analyze landmark films such as Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and more.
Incorporating recent scholarship on the genre, the second edition of The Horror Film contains new discussion and context for Hollywood horror films in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as notable developments in the genre such as “torture porn,” found-footage horror, remakes and reboots of past horror films, zombies, and the “elevated horror” debate. This edition explores the rise of new filmmakers such as Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and Jordan Peele, surveys horror films made by women and African American filmmakers, and investigates contemporary issues in the production and consumption of horror films.
Combining historical narrative with close readings of significant works, The Horror Film: - Covers major works in the genre such as Cat People, Halloween, and Bram Stoker's Dracula - Examines important antecedents including gothic literature and the Grand Guignol Theater - Offers thorough analyses of the style, context, and themes of specific horror milestones - Provides examples of close analysis that can be applied to a wide range of other horror films - Discusses important representative titles across the genre's evolution, including more recent films such as 2017's Get Out
The Horror Film: An Introduction, Second Edition, is an ideal textbook for undergraduate surveys of the horror genre and other courses in American film history, and an invaluable resource for scholars, lecturers, and general readers with an interest in the subject.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Illustrations xiii
1 Introduction: Undying Monsters 1
2 A Short History of the Horror Film, Beginnings to 1945 27
3 A Short History of the Horror Film, 1945 to Present 83
4 Monsters Among Us: Cases of Social Reception 157
5 Edges of the Horror Film: Lon Chaney, Tod Browning, and The Unknown (1927) 183
6 Frankenstein (1931) and Hollywood Expressionism 197
7 Cat People (1942): Lewton, Freud, and Suggestive Horror 215
8 Horror in “The Age of Anxiety”: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 231
9 Slaughtering Genre Tradition: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 247
10 Halloween (1978): The Shape of the Slasher Film 267
11 Re-Animator (1985) and Slapstick Horror 283
12 Demon Lover: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) 293
13 Get Out (2017): The American Horror 307
Afterword to the First Edition: Our Haunted Houses 325
Afterword to the Second Edition: Dark Universes 333
Appendix: Horror Auteurs 339
Notes 347
Works Consulted 385
Index 399
