Post-9/11 horror in American cinema
By: by Kevin J. Wetmore
Publisher: The Continuum International Pub. Group Inc
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9781441132956; 9781441197979
Subjects: Motion pictures; Terrorism in motion pictures; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; History and criticism; Influence; Horror films; History
Description: 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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: terror and horror; title: 9/11 as horror; title: Documenting the horror; title: "Because you were home": anonymous and random death; title: "Torture porn" and what it means to be American; title: Hopeless bleak despair or how I learned to stop worrying and love The mist; title: Fear of/from religion; title: They won't stay dead: the ghosts, zombies and vampires of 9/11; title: Manufacturing fear; title: Horrific nostalgia: remaking the slasher film; title: Conclusion.