This book examines horror films through a critical criminological lens. Each chapter considers how the genre impacts audiences and their understanding of topics like place, crime, and identity.
Krista S. Gehring is professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work at the University of Houston Downtown. Stacie Merken is assistant professor and chair of criminal justice at Indiana University South Bend as well as a Senior Mosaic Faculty Fellow Emily Lenning is professor of criminal justice at Fayetteville State University. Walter S. DeKeseredy is Anna Deane Carlson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences, Director of the Research Center on Violence, and professor of sociology at West Virginia University.
Part 1: The Spaces and Places That Haunt Us Chapter One A Radical Feminist Perspective on Horror in the Heartland Walter S. DeKeseredy Chapter Two "An Outlet for American Rage": A Critical Analysis of Crime in Urban Suburban Settings in The Purge Film Series Lauren N. Moton and Stacie Merken Chapter Three The Villain in the Machine: Cybertechnology in Horror Films Shelly Clevenger and Kathleen Ratajczak Chapter Four Escaping the Horror and Reality of Mass Incarceration Rosemary L. Gido Part 2: The Crimes That Horrify Us Chapter Five Representations of Mental Illness and Crime in Horror Films Susan M. Henney and Krista S. Gehring Chapter Six I am Your Worst Nightmare: Serial Killer Portrayals in Horror Films Stacie Merken, Hannah Good, and Allison Grabowski Chapter Seven In The Invisible Man, The Horrors of Intimate Partner Violence are Real Danielle C. Slakoff and Sheena L. Gilbert Chapter Eight Sexual Violence in Horror Films: Routine Activities Theory and Rape Myth Acceptance Alexa D. Sardina and Hannah Torres Part 3: The Monsters Inside Us Chapter Nine Queer Fear: Anti-Queer Themes in Horror Movies Vanessa R. Panfil Chapter Ten "It is Us Who are the Divine Ones. We are the Gods Who are Trapped in Cocoons": A Critical Analysis of Get Out Susana Avalos Chapter Eleven Trans Panic! At the Movies Allyn Walker Chapter Twelve: 'Stay Where you Belong, Ugly Americans, or the World Will Eat You Alive': Tourism and Fear of the "Other" in Horror Films Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz and Emily Lenning
Criminological Understanding of Horror Films provides a criminological Cooks Tour of a popular genre. Horror films are important contributors to the social construction of crime, criminality, and violence and they consistently emphasize the negative psychological, physical, and spiritual effects of violence. When horror is combined with criminality the real-world realm of crime and justice is also painted. In this volume, the authors lead readers through the rural, urban, suburban, cyber-land, and prison places of crime and horror and the people who live in these criminological horror landscapes. How horror films construct crimes, offenders, and victims and discussions of race, sexuality, gender, and nationality are discussed in detail. The inclusion of specific horror movies results in a book that is both readable and contemporarily relevant. Strongly recommended, Criminological Understanding of Horror Films will help both horror fans and non-fans to see horror crimes in a less dark, more socially significant light. -- Ray Surette, University of Central Florida
