Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century

Simon Bacon is an independent scholar and film critic based in Poznan, Poland.

The twenty-first century has seen a new golden age of horror cinema with a wide array of innovative and provocative films from creators around the globe. The essays in The Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century capture the breadth and vibrancy of this period. The essays also make the important point that horror films in the twenty-first century are not only reflections of political and social tensions but are actively and critically engaged in advocating for change.

• Part I: Frameworks and Classics of 21st Century HorrorChapter 1. Horror Theory Now: Thinking About HorrorKevin CorstophineChapter 2. Decadent Feasts: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Twenty-First-Century Prestige Horror TelevisionJeffrey Andrew Weinstock Chapter 3. Horror Cinema and Censorship in the Twenty-first CenturyNeil JacksonCHAPTER 4. The Recurrence and Evolution of Universal’s Classic Monsters in Twenty-first Century HorrorM. Keith BookerChapter 5. The Remixing (and Ransacking) of Hill House: Surveying the Spectral Presence of Shirley Jackson in Contemporary Gothic FictionJoan PasseyPart II: Media and ConsumptionChapter 6. Further Notes Towards a Monster PedagogyJohn Edgar BrowningChapter 7. Sounding Horror: Ballads, Ring Shouts, and the Power of Music in Black HorrorErik SteinskogChapter 8. The Evolution of Horror on StageKevin J. Wetmore Jr.Chapter 9. Hauntify the World: New Directions in Video Game HorrorGwyneth PeatyChapter 10. The Evolution of Horror and New