Euro Horror: Classic European Horror Cinema in Contemporary American Culture

by Ian Olney

Beginning in the 1950s, "Euro Horror" movies materialized in astonishing numbers from Italy, Spain, and France and popped up in the US at rural drive-ins and urban grindhouse theaters such as those that once dotted New York's Times Square. Gorier, sexier, and stranger than most American horror films of the time, they were embraced by hardcore fans and denounced by critics as the worst kind of cinematic trash. In this volume, Olney explores some of the most popular genres of Euro Horror cinema―including giallo films , named for the yellow covers of Italian pulp fiction, the S&M horror film, and cannibal and zombie films―and develops a theory that explains their renewed appeal to audiences today.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Horror

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ian Olney is an associate professor of English at York College of Pennsylvania, where he teaches film studies. He is the author of Zombie Cinema and Euro Horror: Classic European Horror Cinema in Contemporary American Culture, as well as numerous essays on European cinema and the horror film.

Reviews

[Brian O'Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling when making a case for this nebulously defined era as the first truly postmodern horror cinema, opposed to the narrative and aesthetic unity of classical Anglo-American horror; less convincing when it comes to tackling the actual politics of specific movies, sections which read as overly defensive against the accusations of racism/homophobia/misogyny that have (often not unfairly) dogged these films in ways that sometime plainly conflict with Olney’s main thesis.

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on European horror films. I haven’t seen enough of these films to say if Olney’s theory is correct or not. There where a few times when I got the feeling that he was perhaps pushing his theory onto these films a little too vigorously, but like I said, I haven’t seen enough of these films to say for sure if he did that or not. I might have to watch a few, especially those he uses for the case studies. At the very least I thought this was an interesting read.

[Roel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Immensely disappointed in this book as it only focuses on giallo’s and for the most part ignores any other European horror film production

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little too deep in the weeds for me. Some interesting ideas, but he gives the Italian cannibal movies waaaaaay too much credit.