The modern British horror film

185 Pages·2017·3.861 MB·English

by  Steven Gerrard

THE MODERN BRITISH HORROR FILM
QUICK TAKES: MOVIES AND POPULAR CULTURE
Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture is a series offering suc-
cinct overviews and high-quality writing on cutting-edge themes
and issues in film studies. Authors offer both fresh perspectives
on new areas of inquiry and original takes on established topics.
SERIES EDITORS:
Gwendolyn Audrey Foster is Willa Cather Professor of English
and she teaches film studies in the Department of English at the
University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Wheeler Winston Dixon is the James Ryan Endowed Profes-
sor of Film Studies and Professor of English at the University of
Nebraska, Lincoln.
Steven Gerrard, The Modern British Horror Film
Daniel Herbert, Film Remakes and Franchises
Ian Olney, Zombie Cinema
Valérie K. Orlando, New African Cinema
Steven Shaviro, Digital Music Videos
David Sterritt, Rock ’n’ Roll Movies
John Wills, Disney Culture
STEVEN GERRARD
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark, New Jersey, and London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gerrard, Steven, 1970– author.
Title: The modern British horror film / Steven Gerrard.
Description: New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, 2017. |
Series: Quick takes: movies and popular culture |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017014956 (print) | LCCN 2017033132 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780813579450 (E-pub) | ISBN 9780813579467 (Web PDF) |
ISBN 9780813590059 (hardback) | ISBN 9780813579443 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Horror films—Great Britain—History and
criticism. | BISAC: PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video /
History & Criticism. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture. |
PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / Guides & Reviews. |
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies.
Classification: LCC PN1995.9.H6 (ebook) |
LCC PN1995.9.H6 G385 2017 (print) |
DDC 791.43/61640941—dc23
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is
available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2017 by Steven Gerrard
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the
publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset
Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this
prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
∞ The paper used in this publication meets the requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48-1992.
www.rutgersuniversitypress.org
Manufactured in the United States of America
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE FOLLOWING:
PERRY, NAN, AND MY MUM FOR LETTING ME
WATCH LATE-NIGHT HORRORS; MY DAD FOR
LETTING ME WATCH MATCH OF THE DAY AND
GETTING ME TO SUPPORT BURNLEY FC AND THE
MIGHTY WALES; AND GRIFFTER, KLAUSE, AND
DOKTOR M, WITH WHOM I HAVE HAD ADVENTURES
GALORE, INCLUDING MAKING OUR OWN MODERN
BRITISH HORRORS WITH THE NIGHT OF THE 26TH
AND SPACE VICAR—FROM SPACE. THANK YOU ALL.

CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1 The Hooded Terror 27
2 The Great Outdoors 63
3 The Dead Inside, the Dead Outside,
the Stranger Within 105
Conclusion 146
Acknowledgments 155
Further Reading 157
Works Cited 159
Magazines, Films, TV Series 165
Index 171
vii

THE MODERN BRITISH HORROR FILM