Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture

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Description

Movie audiences seem drawn, almost compelled, toward tales of the horrific and the repulsive. Partly because horror continues to evolve radicallyevery time the genre is deemed dead, it seems to come up with another twistit has been one of the most often-dissected genres. Here, author Kendall Phillips selects ten of the most popular and influential horror filmsincluding Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, The Silence of the Lambs, and Scream, each of which has become a film landmark and spawned countless imitators, and all having implications that transcend their cinematic influence and achievement. By tracing the production history, contemporary audience response, and lasting cultural influence of each picture, Phillips offers a unique new approach to thinking about the popular attraction to horror films, and the ways in which they reflect both cultural and individual fears. Though stylistically and thematically very different, all of these movies have scared millions of eager moviegoers. This book tries to figure out why.

Reviews

The book is sensible, highly readable, and concise.[t]his book will best serve as an introduction to the horror genre. Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; general readers. * Choice *
[E]xplores the relationship between 10 classic horror films and the cultures they reflect. * US States News *
Phillips analyzes ten landmark horror films, including Dracula, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Silence of the Lambs and The Sixth Sense, to discover the ways horror films reflect their cultural contexts and the audiences' fears. In addition to his analyses, Phillips provides a synopsis of each film and describes its production history, contemporary audience response and cultural influence. Although Phillips incorporates the work of other film and cultural critics, he writes for a general audience. * Reference & Research Book News *
Fans of horror and horror movies who wish an intellectual examination of links between horror films and American culture will find professor Kendall R. Phillips' Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture to be most intriguing. * MBR Bookwatch *

Author Bio

Kendall R. Phillips is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University. His essays and reviews have appeared in such journals as Literature/Film Quartlery and Philosophy and Rhetoric.