The Naked And The Undead

Om skræk- og gyserfilm

Horror is often dismissed as mass art or lowbrow entertainment that produces only short-term thrills. Horror films can be bloody, gory, and disturbing, so some people argue that they have bad moral effects, inciting viewers to imitate cinematic violence or desensitizing them to atrocities. In The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror, Cynthia A. Freeland seeks to counter both aesthetic disdain and moral condemnation by focusing on a select body of important and revealing films, demonstrating how the genre is capable of deep philosophical reflection about the existence and nature of evil?both human and cosmic. In exploring these films, the author argues against a purely psychoanalytic approach and opts for both feminist and philosophical understandings. She looks at what it is in these movies that serves to elicit specific reactions in viewers and why such responses as fear and disgust are ultimately pleasurable. The author is particularly interested in showing how gender figures into screen presentations of evil.The book is divided into three sections: Mad Scientists and Monstrous Mothers, which looks into the implications of male, rationalistic, scientific technology gone awry; The Vampire's Seduction, which explores the attraction of evil and the human ability (or inability) to distinguish active from passive, subject from object, and virtue from vice; and Sublime Spectacles of Disaster, which examines the human fascination with horror spectacle. This section concludes with a chapter on graphic horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Written for both students and film enthusiasts, the book examines a wide array of films including: The Silence of the Lambs, Repulsion, Frankenstein, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Alien, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, Frenzy, The Shining, Eraserhead, Hellraiser, and many others.

Focusing on recent postmodern examples, this is a collection of essays reviewing the history of the horror film and the psychological reasons for its persistent appeal.

Back from the Undead DD Barant Another work day, another case for the Bloodhound Files. But this time, Jace is truly stumped: How is she, a mere human, supposed to penetrate the dark heart of a child-trafficking ring of pire orphans—one that turns out to be part of a blood-farm operation, in the crime-ridden border city of Vancouver, British Columbia? Jace is in over her head. But with the help of her former lover, Tanaka—whose family is one of the last samurai clans left in Japan—she stands a chance at seeking justice for the condemned children... Until the Yakuza tries to put an end to Jace's investigation. Jace risks more than death—this time, it's the fate of her very soul that's in danger . . .

In his new novel, John Ajvide Lindqvist does for zombies what his previous novel, Let the Right One In, did for vampires. Across Stockholm the power grid has gone crazy. In the morgue and in cemeteries, the recently deceased are waking up. One grandfather is alight with hope that his grandson will be returned, but one husband is aghast at what his adored wife has become. A horror novel that transcends its genre by showing what the return of the dead might really mean to those who loved them.

In Better Off Undead, Book 4 in The Bloodhound Files, DD Barant takes Jace farther than ever before ... and the result is "A stellar addition to an already outstanding series" (RT Book Reviews). Dark magic, unknown enemies, monsters of every stripe—FBI profiler Jace Valchek has seen it all. In this bizarre parallel universe, shape-shifting werewolves and blood-thirsty vampires don't even warrant a raised eyebrow. That is, until Jace has to face what life might look like as one of them ... It starts off as just another run-of-the-mill assignment: to track down the rogue don of a mafia werewolf family before he upsets the delicate balance of the underworld. But Jace wasn't counting on being bitten...and soon she's fighting the growing wolf inside her with a startling antidote—vampirism. Stopping a bloody gangland war won't be easy when Jace is feeling some new, and very inhuman, desires ...

Under the covers, these lovers come alive! Katie MacAlister conjures supernatural sparks in Shades of Gray A TV crew is filming a paranormal reality show on the grounds of an imposing old Czech Republic estate. But the electric passion behind the camera is what’s out of this world. When Noelle, a Guardian, meets vampire Grayson, who has roamed for three centuries, she awakens an aching hunger in him that only her touch can relieve. . . . Molly Harper cooks up laughter and thrills in Undead Sublet After overworked Chicago chef Tess flips out (can everyone hear that arugula talking, or is it just me?), she rents a quiet house in Half-Moon Hollow for a month of R & R. But when she finds the place occupied by a drop-dead gorgeous vampire, Tess’s tastes—for comfort food, for small Kentucky towns, and for her irresistible lover—become nearly insatiable! Jessica Sims excites the senses in Out with a Fang When lonely were-jaguar Ruby consults a paranormal matchmaker, she hopes to finally move on from a heart-wrenching breakup with her one true love, a forbidden human. Nervously agreeing to a blindfolded first date with a vampire, she finds the spicy scent of him intoxicating, his voice low, sexy, and so very familiar. . . .

All-new in the New York Times bestselling drop-dead funny series. Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor thought she couldn't die. So what's she doing in the morgue? It could have something to do with a time- traveling trip she made, and a foe with a wicked agenda that could finally be the real death of Betsy-if she's not careful.