Description
Book Synopsis Faith horror refers to a significant outcropping of mid-1960s and 1970s films and adaptative novels that depict non-Christian communities of evil doers and their activities. Before this period, the classical horror villain was ultimately ineffectual. The demonic monster was an isolated, lone individual easily vanquished by an altruistic Christian protagonist. Alternatively, the villain in faith horror is organized into identity-affirming, likeminded religious congregations that successfully overcome protagonists.
Faith horror was a cinematic trend that depicted Satanism, witchcraft and paganism during a cultural deliberation over the Death of God, which debated the legitimacy of alternative spiritualities and the value of alliance to any faith at all. Covering popular works like Rosemary''s Baby, The Wicker Man and The Omen, this book regards these films and their literary sources in relation to this historical moment, providing new ways of underst
Table of Contents
- Foreword by Peter Laws
- Introduction
- Section I. Witchcraft, Satanism and the Apocalypse
- One. Consumerism, Secularism and Faith in Rosemary's Baby
- Two. Predestination, Secrecy and Conspiracy in The Omen
- Three. The Cult of Youth in the "B" Horror Film
- Section II. Paganism as an Alternative Culture
- Four. Ritual and the Rural in Anglo-American Co-Productions
- Five. A Clash of Convictions in The Wicker Man
- Six. Paganism, Witchcraft and the Feminine in American Horror
- Conclusions, After-Thoughts and Legacies: The Conjuring, The Witch, Midsommar and the Post-Millennial Faith Horror
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
