Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from Frankenstein to the PresentHorror cinema flourishes in times of ideological crisis and national trauma--the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Vietnam era, post-9/11--and this critical text argues that a succession of filmmakers working in horror--from James Whale to Jen and Sylvia Soska--have used the genre, and the shock value it affords, to challenge the status quo during these times. Spanning the decades from the 1930s onward it examines the work of producers and directors as varied as George A. Romero, Pete Walker, Michael Reeves, Herman Cohen, Wes Craven and Brian Yuzna and the ways in which films like Frankenstein (1931), Cat People (1942), The Woman (2011) and American Mary (2012) can be considered "subversive." |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 3 | |
| 5 | |
Frankenstein 1931 and Freaks 1932 | 21 |
Cat People 1942 and The Curse of the Cat People 1944 | 43 |
The Films of Herman Cohen | 62 |
The Films of Michael Reeves and Pete Walker | 80 |
Night of the Living Dead 1968 Deathdream 1972 and The Crazies 1973 | 104 |
Shivers 1975 Blue Sunshine 1978 and Dawn of the Dead 1978 | 151 |
HenryPortrait of a Serial Killer 1986 and American Psycho 2000 | 163 |
Brian Yuzna and Splatstick | 180 |
Teeth 2007 and American Mary 2012 | 197 |
AfterwordSubversive Horror Cinema Post911 | 211 |
Chapter Notes | 225 |
| 234 | |
| 239 | |
Common terms and phrases
American Mary American Psycho Andy apocalyptic audience Bateman becomes Blue Sunshine Brian Yuzna Browning cannibalism Chain Saw Massacre characters Cohen counterculture Craven Crazies Cronenberg culture Curse ofthe Cat David Dawn ofthe Dead Deathdream delinquency depicts director DVD commentary eugenics father fear feels film’s filmmakers Frankenstein Freaks Frightmare George Romero Henry Henry’s Hills Have Eyes hippie Hollywood Hooper horror cinema horror film horror genre Ibid insanity Interview Irena killing Last House Leatherface Lewton Lewton’s films Lichtenstein Lieberman male man’s McNaughton Michael Reeves modern horror Monster moral movie murder Night ofthe Living ofhis ofits ofthe Living Dead ofviolence patriarchal Pete Walker plays political repression Romero scene script sense sequence serial killer sexual Sharrett shock social society soldiers splatstick taboo Teenage Teenage Werewolf Teeth Texas Chain Saw theme threat Tobe Hooper Tod Browning Tony Tony’s vagina dentata victims violence Whale Witchfinder woman women youth zombie