Microbiology and Horror Cinema

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-3-031-94397-3
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 521 g

This book redefines the landscape of horror cinema by exploring the intersection of microbiology and film. Microbiology and Horror Cinema delves into the chilling world of pathogens—funguses, bacteria, parasites, and viruses—and their influence on the narrative and visual conventions of both classic and contemporary horror films. By examining movies like The Exorcist, Annabelle, The Wicker Man, The Skeleton Key, and Crawl, this monograph offers a fresh perspective on how these microscopic threats shape our understanding of fear and embodiment.

The chapters investigate such critical themes as the representation of disease, the impact of infection on human and non-human bodies, and the cultural significance of these narratives in the context of global health crises. Readers will encounter thought-provoking analyses that challenge traditional interpretations of horror, inviting them to consider the invisible yet pervasive anxieties that these films evoke. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the evolving discourse on horror cinema and infectious disease, as it provides a unique epidemiological lens through which to view these unsettling stories.

Scholars, students, and enthusiasts of film studies, cultural studies, medical humanities, and microbiology will find Microbiology and Horror Cinema an invaluable resource. It offers a compelling exploration of how horror films reflect and amplify our deepest fears about disease and contagion.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dudenhoeffer, Larrie

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Mikrobiologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio Filmgattungen, Filmgenre

Inhaltsverzeichnis

.- Chapter 1. “The Slime of All My Yesterdays”: Or Putting the “Crud” in Fungal Recrudescence in William Lustig’s Maniac.- Chapter 2 “Some Things in Their Most Natural State Have the Most Vivid Colors”: Folk Horror and Fungal Overgrowth in the “Unholy Trinity”.- Chapter 3   “Evil against Evil”: Parable and Behavior-Altering Parasitism in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.- Chapter 4 “Of One Mysterious Household”: Endoparasites and Embodiment in Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers” Trilogy.- Chapter 5 “Sometimes It’s More of a Trade”: Blackness, Bacterial Infection, and Iain Softley’s The Skeleton Key.- Chapter 6 “See You Later, Alligator”: Natural Disasters and Necrotizing Bacterial Disease in Alexandre Aja’s Crawl.- Chapter 7  “Danger! Do Not Touch Anything!”: Viral Transmission, Tactile Object Disrecognition, and the Annabelle Series.- Chapter 8 “New Faces, Other Minds”: Viral Vectors, Fusiform Gyrus Dysregulation, and Leo Gabriadze’s Unfriended.

Über Autor(innen)

Larrie Dudenhoeffer is a Professor of English at Kennesaw State University, USA, in the metro Atlanta area specializing in film and television studies, critical theory, and American studies. He is the author of (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), and (2019).