Introduction to Japanese Horror Film

Colette Balmain is a Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Buckinghamshire New University.

Scholars and spectators of world cinema coming to Japanese horror will find much to whet their appetites here, and will take away a solid grounding in the roots of this particular genre, presented accessibly and sincerely throughout. -- Timothy Iles, Associate Professor, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Victoria Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies Even though this book is primarily oriented toward an audience with film and media background, it can be appealing to anyone who is interested in Japanese horror movies and Japanese anime and manga. In fact, through sustained references to Japanese mythology and folktales, it provides the reader with a deep insight into Japanese culture and the Western influence on its evolution. This book can actually be considered an original analysis of a transversal type of transformative work because it showcases the continuous cross-cultural influences between the United States/Europe and Japan that are elaborated and incorporated in each country's movie production. Of particular interest are the author's frequent comparisons with American horror that underline Western and Eastern cultural differences and how they are reflected through a film genre that has universal connotations. Thus, the book successfully overcomes Western readers' possible biases and allows them to fully understand the intrinsic meaning of symbols and archetypes that permeate the Japanese horror genre. -- Alessia Alfieroni Transformative Works and Cultures Scholars and spectators of world cinema coming to Japanese horror will find much to whet their appetites here, and will take away a solid grounding in the roots of this particular genre, presented accessibly and sincerely throughout. Even though this book is primarily oriented toward an audience with film and media background, it can be appealing to anyone who is interested in Japanese horror movies and Japanese anime and manga. In fact, through sustained references to Japanese mythology and folktales, it provides the reader with a deep insight into Japanese culture and the Western influence on its evolution. This book can actually be considered an original analysis of a transversal type of transformative work because it showcases the continuous cross-cultural influences between the United States/Europe and Japan that are elaborated and incorporated in each country's movie production. Of particular interest are the author's frequent comparisons with American horror that underline Western and Eastern cultural differences and how they are reflected through a film genre that has universal connotations. Thus, the book successfully overcomes Western readers' possible biases and allows them to fully understand the intrinsic meaning of symbols and archetypes that permeate the Japanese horror genre.

• Introduction; PART I: ORIGINS; 1. Laying the Foundations; 2. Horror after Hiroshima; 3. Deceitful Samurais and Wronged Women; 4. The Erotic Ghost Story; PART II: GENRE; 5. Rape and Revenge: from violation to vengeance; 6. Zombies, Cannibals and the Living Dead; 7. Haunted Houses and Family Melodrama; 8. Serial Killers and Slashers Japanese Style; 9. Techno-Horror and Urban Alienation; Conclusion.