Haunting Bollywood


Book Description

Haunting Bollywood is a pioneering, interdisciplinary inquiry into the supernatural in Hindi cinema that draws from literary criticism, postcolonial studies, queer theory, history, and cultural studies. Hindi commercial cinema has been invested in the supernatural since its earliest days, but only a small segment of these films have been adequately explored in scholarly work; this book addresses this gap by focusing on some of Hindi cinema’s least explored genres. From Gothic ghost films of the 1950s to snake films of the 1970s and 1980s to today’s globally influenced zombie and vampire films, Meheli Sen delves into what the supernatural is and the varied modalities through which it raises questions of film form, history, modernity, and gender in South Asian public cultures. Arguing that the supernatural is dispersed among multiple genres and constantly in conversation with global cinematic forms, she demonstrates that it is an especially malleable impulse that routinely pushes Hindi film into new formal and stylistic territories. Sen also argues that gender is a particularly accommodating stage on which the supernatural rehearses its most basic compulsions; thus, the interface between gender and genre provides an exceptionally productive lens into Hindi cinema’s negotiation of the modern and the global. Haunting Bollywood reveals that the supernatural’s unruly energies continually resist containment, even as they partake of and sometimes subvert Hindi cinema’s most enduring pleasures, from songs and stars to myth and melodrama.




Haunting Bollywood


Book Description

Haunting Bollywood is a pioneering, interdisciplinary inquiry into the supernatural in Hindi cinema that draws from literary criticism, postcolonial studies, queer theory, history, and cultural studies. Hindi commercial cinema has been invested in the supernatural since its earliest days, but only a small segment of these films have been adequately explored in scholarly work; this book addresses this gap by focusing on some of Hindi cinema’s least explored genres. From Gothic ghost films of the 1950s to snake films of the 1970s and 1980s to today’s globally influenced zombie and vampire films, Meheli Sen delves into what the supernatural is and the varied modalities through which it raises questions of film form, history, modernity, and gender in South Asian public cultures. Arguing that the supernatural is dispersed among multiple genres and constantly in conversation with global cinematic forms, she demonstrates that it is an especially malleable impulse that routinely pushes Hindi film into new formal and stylistic territories. Sen also argues that gender is a particularly accommodating stage on which the supernatural rehearses its most basic compulsions; thus, the interface between gender and genre provides an exceptionally productive lens into Hindi cinema’s negotiation of the modern and the global. Haunting Bollywood reveals that the supernatural’s unruly energies continually resist containment, even as they partake of and sometimes subvert Hindi cinema’s most enduring pleasures, from songs and stars to myth and melodrama.




Horror Film


Book Description

An introduction to the horror film genre.




Critical Approaches to Horror Comic Books


Book Description

This volume explores how horror comic books have negotiated with the social and cultural anxieties framing a specific era and geographical space. Paying attention to academic gaps in comics’ scholarship, these chapters engage with the study of comics from varying interdisciplinary perspectives, such as Marxism; posthumanism; and theories of adaptation, sociology, existentialism, and psychology. Without neglecting the classical era, the book presents case studies ranging from the mainstream comics to the independents, simultaneously offering new critical insights on zones of vacancy within the study of horror comic books while examining a global selection of horror comics from countries such as India (City of Sorrows), France (Zombillénium), Spain (Creepy), Italy (Dylan Dog), and Japan (Tanabe Gou’s Manga Adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft), as well as the United States. One of the first books centered exclusively on close readings of an under-studied field, this collection will have an appeal to scholars and students of horror comics studies, visual rhetoric, philosophy, sociology, media studies, pop culture, and film studies. It will also appeal to anyone interested in comic books in general and to those interested in investigating intricacies of the horror genre.




Bollywood Horrors


Book Description

Bollywood Horrors is a wide-ranging collection that examines the religious aspects of horror imagery, representations of real-life horror in the movies, and the ways in which Hindi films have projected cinematic fears onto the screen. Part one, “Material Cultures and Prehistories of Horror in South Asia” looks at horror movie posters and song booklets and the surprising role of religion in the importation of Gothic tropes into Indian films, told through the little-known story of Sir Devendra Prasad Varma. Part two, “Cinematic Horror, Iconography and Aesthetics” examines the stereotype of the tantric magician found in Indian literature beginning in the medieval period, cinematic representations of the myth of the fearsome goddess Durga's slaying of the Buffalo Demon, and the influence of epic mythology and Hollywood thrillers on the 2002 film Raaz. The final part, “Cultural Horror,” analyzes elements of horror in Indian cinema's depiction of human trafficking, shifting gender roles, the rape-revenge cycle, and communal violence. This book also features images (colour in the hardback, black and white in the paperback).




Seeing Things


Book Description

"In 1980s India, the Ramsay Brothers and other filmmakers produced a wave of horror movies about soul-sucking witches, knife-wielding psychopaths, and dark-caped vampires. Seeing Things is about the sudden cuts, botched prosthetic effects, continuity errors, and celluloid damage in these movies. Such moments may very well be "failures" of various kinds, but in this book Kartik Nair reads them as clues to the conditions in which the films were once made, censored, and seen, offering a view from below of the world's largest film culture. Combining extensive archival research and original interviews with close readings of landmark films including Purana Mandir, Veerana, and Jaani Dushman, this book tracks the material coordinates of horror cinema's spectral images. In the process, Seeing Things discovers a spectral materiality-one that informs Bombay horror's haunted houses, grotesque bodies, and graphic violence and gives visceral force to our experience of the genre's globally familiar conventions"--




Planet Terror: The Ultimate Horror movie Encyclopedia and Movie Reference with 446 Reviews, Terrifying Trivia, and Haunting Fun Facts from 24 Countries


Book Description

WARNING!!!: This book may cause sleepless nights, increased heart rates, and an insatiable appetite for horror films! In the dead of night, a scream echoes from your TV. Your heart races, palms sweat, but you can't look away. Sound familiar? Welcome to "Planet Terror," where that delicious fear becomes an obsession. Imagine holding the power to terrify your friends, to know the secrets behind every jump scare, every twisted plot. This isn't just a book—it's a skeleton key to the world's most chilling cinematic nightmares. "Planet Terror" isn't just a book—it's your passport to a realm of nightmares, a compendium of fear that will forever change how you experience horror films. Uncover the secrets behind 446 of the most blood-curdling, pulse-pounding horror movies ever made. From the misty mountains of Japan to the sun-scorched Australian Outback, from the neon-lit streets of Seoul to the foggy moors of England, we've scoured 24 countries to bring you the ultimate collection of terror. Why is this the one horror book you can't afford to miss? Dive into in-depth reviews that dissect every scream, every shadow, and every shocking twist Arm yourself with bone-chilling trivia to impress (or terrify) your friends Discover haunting fun facts that reveal the dark secrets behind your favorite fright fests Explore horror trends and techniques from 24 unique cultural perspectives Unearth hidden gems and cult classics you've never heard of—but won't be able to forget "Planet Terror" is more than just an encyclopedia—it's a master class in global horror. Whether you're a casual viewer or a hardcore horror hound, this book will transform you into the ultimate horror maniac. Unique features that set "Planet Terror" apart: 1. Unearth hidden gems: Discover spine-chilling movies you've never heard of from countries you never imagined produced horror. Each page turn could reveal your new favorite film! 2. A decade of nightmares: With 446 carefully curated horror films, you're set for years of terrifying movie nights. Say goodbye to the "What should we watch?" dilemma! 3. Time travel through terror: Journey from the birth of horror cinema to cutting-edge modern scares, witnessing the evolution of fear on screen. 4. Cultural kaleidoscope of fear: Experience how different cultures interpret horror, broadening your perspective on what makes something truly frightening. 5. Become a horror sommelier: Impress your friends with your encyclopedic knowledge of obscure horror films and fascinating trivia. 6. Solve the streaming scavenger hunt: Turn your streaming services into a playground as you hunt down these rare and intriguing films. 7. Spark conversations: Each movie description is a conversation starter, perfect for horror fan meetups or online forums. Reading "Planet Terror" is like having a secret pass to the world's most exclusive horror film festival—one that never ends and is always at your fingertips. From classic slashers to psychological thrillers, from found footage frights to supernatural scares, "Planet Terror" covers every subgenre of horror. You'll find yourself transported to haunted houses, cursed villages, and alien worlds—all from the safety of your favorite reading nook. But beware: once you open this book, you may never see the shadows in your room the same way again... Are you ready to face your fears and discover the true power of global horror cinema? Grab your copy of "Planet Terror" now and prepare for a world tour of terror that will leave you breathless, sleepless, and craving more! Perfect for: Horror film buffs seeking to expand their knowledge Movie night hosts looking for the perfect scare Film students exploring the art of fear Anyone who's ever peeked through their fingers during a scary movie Don't just watch horror—live it, breathe it, understand it. "Planet Terror" is your key to unlocking a universe of fear. But the real question is: are you brave enough to turn the page? WARNING!! You Have Been Warned!!!




The Many Forms of Fear, Horror and Terror


Book Description

This eBook records the proceedings of the 3rd Annual 'Fear, Horror, and Terror' conference, which was held at Mansfield College, Oxford in September 2009. A group of academics from disparate subject areas, including literature, film studies, religious studies, social psychology, and psychoanalysis, came together to discuss fear, horror, and terror.




South Asian Gothic


Book Description

This book is the first attempt to theorise South Asian Gothic production as a common cultural landscape, taking into account both the historical perspective and the variety of media texts. The volume consists of fifteen chapters by experts in film, literature and cultural studies of South Asia, representing the diversity of the region and a number of ways in which Gothic manifests in contemporary South Asian cultures. Gothic in South Asia can be read as a distinctive aesthetic, narrative practice, or a process of signification, where conventional Gothic tropes and imagery are assessed anew and global forms are consumed, appropriated, translated, transformed or resisted. The volume investigates South Asian Gothic as a local variety of international Gothic and part of the transnational category of globalgothic, contributing to the ongoing discussion on the need to de-westernise Gothic methodologies and ensure that Gothic scholarship remains relevant in the culturally-diverse modern world.




Horror Film and Otherness


Book Description

What do horror films reveal about social difference in the everyday world? Criticism of the genre often relies on a dichotomy between monstrosity and normality, in which unearthly creatures and deranged killers are metaphors for society’s fear of the “others” that threaten the “normal.” The monstrous other might represent women, Jews, or Blacks, as well as Indigenous, queer, poor, elderly, or disabled people. The horror film’s depiction of such minorities can be sympathetic to their exclusion or complicit in their oppression, but ultimately, these images are understood to stand in for the others that the majority dreads and marginalizes. Adam Lowenstein offers a new account of horror and why it matters for understanding social otherness. He argues that horror films reveal how the category of the other is not fixed. Instead, the genre captures ongoing metamorphoses across “normal” self and “monstrous” other. This “transformative otherness” confronts viewers with the other’s experience—and challenges us to recognize that we are all vulnerable to becoming or being seen as the other. Instead of settling into comforting certainties regarding monstrosity and normality, horror exposes the ongoing struggle to acknowledge self and other as fundamentally intertwined. Horror Film and Otherness features new interpretations of landmark films by directors including Tobe Hooper, George A. Romero, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Stephanie Rothman, Jennifer Kent, Marina de Van, and Jordan Peele. Through close analysis of their engagement with different forms of otherness, this book provides new perspectives on horror’s significance for culture, politics, and art.