Horror and the Horror Film

“Bruce F. Kawin commences one of the most unusual genre studies in recent memory […He] employs the brief and precise declarative sentences traditionally found in instruction manuals to offer largely irrefutable observations about the mechanisms that horror films employ to manipulate viewers […] The result is a highly readable introduction to genre studies rendered in a style that is novel for its precision and brevity, as well as its emphasis on dispassionate observation rather than critical evaluation.” — John-Paul Checkett, “Video Watchdog”

“After defining horror and exploring significant themes, elements, and methods of interpretation, the author investigates hundreds of films via specific subgenres through the organizing principle of types of monster, whether supernatural, natural, or human. The volume is both comprehensive and thorough […] The strength […] of the volume is the sheer number of films considered, and even scholars in the field will find a few mentioned here of which they were previously unaware. Students will find it a thorough taxonomy that gives them a mean by which to approach and understand horror.” —K. J. Wetmore Jr., Loyola Marymount University, “Choice”

“Like an academic Dr. Frankenstein […Kawin] undertakes a ‘complete taxonomy’ of horror in order to show us what it is,  how it works, why it compels us, and why we need it in our lives […] It is quite clear that Kawin has done his homework and knows what he is writing about […] Even when he covers well-trodden ground, he has a way of making the territory seem fresh.” —William Costanzo, “Journal of Media Literacy Education”

“Kawin's book, divided according to a taxonomy of the monstrous (‘Monsters’, ‘Supernatural Monsters’ and, ominously, Humans’), soon settles into an astonishingly wide-ranging overview of the genre's long development, from ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ and ‘Nosferatu’ to ‘Psycho’, ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’, before culminating with such grimy twenty-first-century shockers as ‘Hostel’ and ‘The Human Centipede’. The author is especially interesting on some of the most famous big-screen bogeymen. [...] ‘Horror and the Horror Film’ is at its liveliest and most intriguing in its numerous glancing mentions of those obscure horror pictures (often, it seems, of the 1970s) which will surely be unfamiliar to all but the most gore-steeped of the cognoscenti.” —Jonathan Barnes, ‘Times Literary Supplement’

“Bruce F. Kawin’s new book is an exceptional primer on our favorite genre. While so many discussions sidestep the essence of horror to discuss its political, social, historical, and purely cinematic implications and impacts, Kawin approaches it at the most essential level… To regurgitate a much-abused cliché, Kawin’s knowledge of the horror film is genuinely encyclopedic… ‘Horror and the Horror Film’ is easy to digest. Its scope, however, is vast. I hope you film professors out there are paying attention.” — Mike Segretto, ‘Psychobabble’

“Ambitious in its scope, with serious things to say about who we are… Even more impressive than the wide range and scope of titles is how well organized they are into a taxonomy that makes sense and is richly detailed… a book full of history, organized by a true master of detail who cares deeply about the subject… ‘Horror and the Horror Film’ provides an important map to guide us through the darkness and bring illumination to the unknown.” —moviemorlocks.com

“An essential piece of study to place the history in the proper perspective.” —Rod Lott, www.bookgasm.com

“Bruce F. Kawin has added a new and refreshing twist to a topic that has been dissected more times than a corpse in Dr. Frankenstein's lab... The result is one of the most unique treatises on horror films this reviewer had read in a long time... ‘Horror and the Horror Film’ is an extremely insightful and entertaining examination of the genre. The structure is both unique and refreshing and the author is clearly an expert on the subject matter. This is one of the best surveys of the genre I've read to date and well worth purchasing if you are a student of film history or simply a horror movie fan interested in delving into some of the more cerebral aspects of the genre.” —Cary Conley, roguecinema.com