Projected Fears
Horror Films and American Culture
2nd Edition
Published on 13. November 2025
Book
Hardback
336 pages
979-8-7651-2220-4 (ISBN)
Description
A revised and expanded edition of this popular book that traces the cultural history of the American horror film by focusing on individual films that helped to define or redefine the genre from Dracula (1931) to Get Out (2017).
This book examines thirteen films that redefined the notion of cinematic horror and influenced the films that followed: Dracula (1931), The Thing (1951), Psycho (1960), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Scream (1996), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Saw (2004), and Get Out (2017). Carefully situating each film in relation to the history of the genre and the cultural contexts in which it emerged, the book explains why certain horror films create a connection with a wide audience.
Since the publication of the first edition in 2005, the horror genre has become even more culturally prominent and commercially successful. The genre has also shown rapid development, and several prominent trends have emerged in the 21st century. This edition includes two additional chapters that focus on Saw (2004) and Get Out (2017), as James Wan's Saw helped to launch a highly successful franchise as well as the subgenre of "torture porn," while Jordan Peele's Get Out inaugurated a broader cultural conversation about the power of horror narratives to interrogate systems of ideology and oppression.
This book examines thirteen films that redefined the notion of cinematic horror and influenced the films that followed: Dracula (1931), The Thing (1951), Psycho (1960), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Scream (1996), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Saw (2004), and Get Out (2017). Carefully situating each film in relation to the history of the genre and the cultural contexts in which it emerged, the book explains why certain horror films create a connection with a wide audience.
Since the publication of the first edition in 2005, the horror genre has become even more culturally prominent and commercially successful. The genre has also shown rapid development, and several prominent trends have emerged in the 21st century. This edition includes two additional chapters that focus on Saw (2004) and Get Out (2017), as James Wan's Saw helped to launch a highly successful franchise as well as the subgenre of "torture porn," while Jordan Peele's Get Out inaugurated a broader cultural conversation about the power of horror narratives to interrogate systems of ideology and oppression.
Reviews / Votes
With the addition of The Blair Witch Project, Saw, and Get Out, Phillips extends his excellent analysis of the rhetoric of horror film to present day horror and makes this book even more essential for teachers, researchers, and lovers of horror at any level. * Michele Ramsey, Associate Professor, Communication Arts & Sciences and Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, Penn State Berks, USA * Kendall Philips's Projected Fears is a keenly argued exegesis of American horror films and the cultural contexts from which they emerge. This new edition, which includes two new chapters - on Saw and Get Out respectively - and a new introduction assessing the place of horror films within contemporary academic discourse, will - like the first - make an excellent teaching resource and generate much debate within and beyond Horror Studies. * Johnny Walker, Head of Visual Communication and Digital Cultures and Co-founder of the Horror Studies Research Group, Northumbria University, UK * Projected Fears is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between culture and horror. Phillips's theory of popular horror films as "resonant violations" is foundational for understanding how these movies jolt viewers into new ways of thinking about their social and political contexts. This second edition provides additional insight into horror cinema's growing popularity and status as a subject of academic inquiry. The two new chapters on the movies Saw and Get Out help to make this book an easy choice for use in undergraduate rhetoric, film, and media studies classes. * Kristen Hoerl, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Public Culture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA *More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
26 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
630 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-2220-4 (9798765122204)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kendall R. Phillips is Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University, USA, where he teaches courses on rhetoric, popular culture, and public memory.
Content
List of Images
Acknowledgements
Introduction to 2nd Edition
Introduction to 1st Edition
1. Dracula (1931)
2. The Thing From Another World (1951)
3. Psycho (1960)
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
5. The Exorcist (1973) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
6. Halloween (1978)
7. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
8. Scream (1996)
9. The Sixth Sense (1999) and The Blair Witch Project (1999)
10. Saw (2004)
11. Get Out (2017)
Conclusion
Appendix: Conclusion to the 1st Edition
Selected Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
Introduction to 2nd Edition
Introduction to 1st Edition
1. Dracula (1931)
2. The Thing From Another World (1951)
3. Psycho (1960)
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
5. The Exorcist (1973) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
6. Halloween (1978)
7. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
8. Scream (1996)
9. The Sixth Sense (1999) and The Blair Witch Project (1999)
10. Saw (2004)
11. Get Out (2017)
Conclusion
Appendix: Conclusion to the 1st Edition
Selected Bibliography
Index