Selling the Splat Pack: The DVD Revolution and the American Horror Film - Hardcover

Bernard, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0748685499 ISBN 13: 9780748685493

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Were brutal American horror movies like the Saw and Hostel films a reaction to the trauma of 9/11? Or was something else responsible for the rise of these violent and gory films during the first decade of the twenty-first century? This study reveals the history of how the emergence of the DVD market changed cultural and industrial attitudes about horror movies and film ratings. These changes made way for increasingly violent horror films, like those produced by the ‘Splat Pack’, a group of filmmakers who were heralded in the press as subversive outsiders. Taking a different tack, this study proposes that the films of the Splat Pack were products of, rather than reactions against, film industry policy. In doing so, the monograph blends film industry study with an analysis of the films themselves, revealing the films of the Splat Pack as commercial products rather than political manifestos.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Bernard is an Instructor of American Studies and Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is co-author (with Cynthia Baron and Diane Carson) of Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation. He is currently working on a book about horror film acting and stardom (with Kate Egan) and a book about the representation of food in the horror film.

From the Back Cover

‘In this much-needed addition to the study of contemporary US horror cinema from an industry standpoint, Mark Bernard’s Selling the Splat Pack provides an extremely lucid framework in which we can engage with and truly understand the reasons behind the outburst of the horror “indies” of the 2000s and their success in the theatrical and DVD markets. Packed with fresh ideas and arguments, and through an in-depth examination and understanding of the converged-with-other-media American film industry, the book offers a fascinating new perspective in the study of horror film that will appeal to both academics and fans of the genre.’Yannis Tzioumakis, University of LiverpoolSelling the Splat Pack unravels the history of how the emergence of the DVD market changed cultural and industrial attitudes about horror movies and film ratings. These changes made way for increasingly violent horror films, like those produced by the ‘Splat Pack’ – a group of filmmakers who were heralded in the press as subversive outsiders.Were brutal American horror movies like the Saw and Hostel films a reaction to the trauma of 9/11? Were they a reflection of ‘War on Terror’-era America? Or was something else responsible for the rise of these violent and gory films during the first decade of the 21st century?Taking a different tack, Mark Bernard proposes that the films of the Splat Pack were products of, rather than reactions against, film-industry policy. This book includes an overview of the history of the American horror film from an industry-studies perspective, an analysis of how the DVD market influenced the production of American horror films, and an examination of films from Splat Pack members such as Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, James Wan and Alexandre Aja.By re-examining the history of the American horror film from a business perspective and exploring how DVD influenced the production of American horror films in the early 21st century, this thought-provoking book provides students and scholars in Film Studies with an alternative perspective on the Splat Pack.Mark Bernard is an Instructor of American Studies and Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.Cover image: Eli Roth on set of Hostel, 2005 © Hostel LLC/Lions Gate Films/The Kobal CollectionCover design: Andrew Henderson[EUP logo]www.euppublishing.comISBN 978-0-7486-8549-3 [please add the ISBN in the white space above the barcode]Barcode

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0748685499
• ISBN 13: 9780748685493
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224