Horror and the horror film / Bruce F. Kawin.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Kawin, Bruce F., 1945-

Series:

• New perspectives on world cinema

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Horror films--History and criticism.
• Horror films.

Physical Description:

xv, 252 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Anthem Press, 2012.

Summary:

• Horror films can be profound fables of human nature and important works of art, yet many people dismiss them out of hand. Horror and the Horror Film conveys a mature appreciation of horror films along with a comprehensive view of their narrative strategies, their relations to reality and fantasy, and their cinematic power. The volume covers the entire genre, considering every kind of monster in it - including the human.
• After defining horror and thoroughly introducing the genre, the text offers a rich survey of all of the horror film's subgenres, before concluding with a look at the related genres of horror comedy and horror documentary. International in scope, its survey extends from the first horror films (1896) to the present, discussing more than 350 movies. Through its comprehensive and detailed investigation of the genre, Horror and the Horror Film offers a compelling, insightful look at how the horror film frightens and revolts the viewer, its reasons for doing so, and the art of portraying and evoking fear, and will be a great asset to film scholars, horror enthusiasts and readers yet to be convinced of the importance of the genre. Book jacket.

Contents:

• Part I Approaching the Genre
• 1 Horror 2
• Overview 2
• Origins 3
• Defining Horror 3
• Taking It All In 5
• Spectacle and Suggestion 7
• Nightmares and Forbidden Texts 9
• Real and Imagined Horror 10
• Endings 11
• Recurring Elements 13
• Beauty 14
• Reflexivity 15
• Appeal 15
• Frames and Windows 17
• 2 The Monster at the Bedroom Window 20
• Tarantula 20
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 21
• Nosferatu 23
• Frankenstein 25
• King Kong 26
• Tie Mummy's Tomb and Others 28
• Back to the Tarantula 30
• 3 Fear in a Frame 32
• Dreams and Reflexivity in Vampyr 32
• Narrative Structure in Dead of Night 38
• The Unfilmable in Peeping Tom 40
• The Mummy's Tale 44
• Categories 45
• Part II Subgenres: The Book of Monsters
• 4 Monsters 50
• Transforming Monsters: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Thing 50
• Constructed Monsters: Frankenstein 54
• Composite Monsters: Island of Lost Souls and The Fly 62
• Giants: King Kong and Them! 64
• Little People: The Devil-Doll 67
• Animals: Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Birds and Jurassic Park 68
• Body Parts: The Beast with Five Fingers 72
• Monsters from Outer Space: The Tiling From Another World and Alien 73
• Monsters from the Lab: "You Made Us Things!" 79
• Monsters from Underwater: It Came from Beneath the Sea 79
• Plants: Invasion of the Body Snatchers 80
• Minerals: The Monolith Monsters 81
• Amorphous Monsters: The Blob 82
• Child Monsters: It's Alive, The Brood and The Funhouse 84
• Parasites: Shivers 87
• Machines: The Car 88
• Monsters from Underground: The Descent 89
• 5 Supernatural Monsters 91
• Demons and the Devil: Faust and The Evil Dead 91
• Doubles: The Student of Prague 94
• Vampires: Nosferatu and Dracula 96
• Witches: Häxan and Suspiria 105
• Ghosts: Tie Uninvited and Ringu 110
• Zombies: White Zombie and Night of the Living Dead 118
• Mummies: The Mummy's Ghost 125
• Others Back from the Dead: The Walking Dead 132
• Werewolves and Other Shape-Shifters: The Wolf Man and Cat People 133
• Legendary Figures: Candyman 140
• Nameless Forces: Final Destination 141
• Immortal Slashers: Michael, Jason and Freddy 141
• 6 Humans 152
• Mad Scientists and Doctors: Caligari and Mad Love 153
• Romantics: The Phantom of the Opera 156
• Human Anomalies: Freaks 158
• Artists: Mystery of the Wax Museum and In the Mouth of Madness 160
• Believers: The Black Cat, Blood Feast and The Wicker Man 162
• Sadists and Torturers: Tie Raven, Salò and Hostel 165
• Ghouls: The Body Snatcher and Ed Gein 171
• Mad Killers: Psycho and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 174
• Families: The Last House on the Left and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 177
• Psychics and Telekinetics: Carrie and Scanners 183
• The Infected: Rabid and 28 Days Later 185
• Cannibals: Eaten Alive! and Cannibal Holocaust 187
• Slashers: Scream 192
• Part III Related Genres
• 7 Horror Comedy 198
• Monster Comedies: Young Frankenstein 198
• Supernatural Comedies: The Return of the Living Dead 200
• Human Comedies: Arsenic and Old Lace 201
• 8 Horror Documentary 204
• Death on Camera 204
• Autopsy: The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes 206
• Looking at Horror 207.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references, filmography and index.

ISBN:

• 9780857284501
• 0857284509
• 9780857284495
• 0857284495

OCLC:

761852822