"But the thing about horror is that, even if you find gross-out flicks “gratuitous” or distasteful..."

“But the thing about horror is that, even if you find gross-out flicks “gratuitous” or distasteful (oh so many food metaphors!), the very concept of horror almost obviates that criticism. What happens to the accusation of “gratuitous” when applied to a form that, by definition, seek push and reorganize boundaries? It’s exactly what seems excessive that makes horror so deliciously ambivalent, as well as so difficult to dismiss. And who knows what gets snuck in or communicated in — to use Phil’s metaphor — those messy wads of repulsion.”

- Jane Hu waxes poetic about the hydra-headed genre of horror, from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to American Horror Story. Read the rest here, on our new LARB blog (via lareviewofbooks)