Charting the Change in American Horror

 Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror by Jason Zinoman

Shock Value book cover

What a great book! I loved the way this book examined the shift in horror films themes and topics from the 70s. There have been some great documentaries that explore this shift, but I really enjoyed Zinoman’s research and analysis examining how the work of specific directors really shaped this change in horror movies. While there are some horror movies with social commentary prior to the 70s, Zinoman’s research makes a great case for how the issues in the 70s (Vietnam, Watergate) necessitated a different form of social analysis through film. Additionally with films from Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and George Romero, the focus was much more violent and nihilistic, which is something that is also reflective of the social changes and violence that was a part of society. I appreciated the organization of the chapters and his use of interviews to capture the directors’ ideas and intentions in their work. Zinoman did well to move the discussion outside of merely examining the films themselves, but going further to examine the social context and the words of the directors themselves. Highly recommended.