Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema

ISBN-13: 9781441197979 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 248 str.

Kevin J Wetmore

Opis

The horror film is meant to end in hope: Regan McNeil can be exorcized. A hydrophobic Roy Scheider can blow up a shark. Buffy can and will slay vampires. Heroic human qualities like love, bravery, resourcefulness, and intelligence will eventually defeat the monster. But, after the 9/11, American horror became much more bleak, with many films ending with the deaths of the entire main cast.

Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema illustrates how contemporary horror films explore visceral and emotional reactions to the attacks and how they underpin audiences' ongoing fears about their safety. It examines how scary movies have changed as a result of 9/11 and, conversely, how horror films construct and give meaning to the event in a way that other genres do not. Considering films such as Quarantine, Cloverfield, Hostel and the Saw series, Wetmore examines the transformations in horror cinema since 9/11 and considers not merely how the tropes have changed, but how our understanding of horror itself has changed.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements
Introduction: Terror and Horror
Chapter One: 9/11 as Horror
Cloverfield vs War of the Worlds
Chapter Two: Documenting the Horror
Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead, REC, Quarantine, Paranormal Activity
Chapter Three: "Because you were home": Anonymous and Random Death
The Strangers Chapter Four: "Torture Porn" and What It Means to Be American
Saw and Hostel
Chapter Five: Hopeless Bleak Despair
The Mist Chapter Six: Fear of Religion
End of the Line, House of the Devil and The Last Exorcism
Chapter Seven: Horrific Nostalgia: Remaking the Slasher Film
Conclusion
Bibliography and Filmography
Index