Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film from the 1950s to the 21st Century

by Charles Derry

Greatly expanded and updated from the 1977 original, this new edition explores the evolution of the modern horror film, particularly as it reflects anxieties associated with the atomic bomb, the Cold War, 1960s violence, sexual liberation, the Reagan revolution, 9/11 and the Iraq War. It divides modern horror into three varieties (psychological, demonic and apocalyptic) and demonstrates how horror cinema represents the popular expression of everyday fears while revealing the forces that influence American ideological and political values. Directors given a close reading include Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma, David Cronenberg, Guillermo Del Toro, Michael Haneke, Robert Aldrich, Mel Gibson and George A. Romero. Additional material discusses postmodern remakes, horror franchises and Asian millennial horror. This book also contains more than 950 frame grabs and a very extensive filmography.

Genres: Film, Horror, Nonfiction

447 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Allen Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I don't completely agree with my old professor's interpretations of a number of films discussed in his seminal horror cinema text, or his need to regard a film's "importance" through it's "artfulness," DARK DREAMS is still a great, fascinating read for not only genre enthusiasts, but academic cinephiles in general. What sets Derry's work above most academic genre reads is his understanding of the visual language of film and his need to decode similar images within the genres, and to convey their meanings without condescending, or confusing, his audience. The updated book does away with publicity stills and utilizes screen grabs to better illustrate the points being made. Readers of the original text will be interested in picking this up for the addition of MILLENNIAL HORRORS, a new "half" supplementing the original 1970's work that allows Derry to apply his insight to post-2K horror trends, such as J-horror and the work of directors like Haneke and Del Toro.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so refreshing to read something about horror film that's not just the same old facts and purile opinions, as a fan I read a LOT of crap, this isn't crap. I loved the Psychological analysis of various horror and thriller films and thier directors , just great writing across the board, well worth the price of the book, although I've seen it on Amazon used for a good markdown, get this you really will devour it. The Bibliography,notes and interviews are also excellent.

[Nick Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're reading an academic text about films, one must obviously prepare to read a whole lot of exposition that tries to take things more seriously than they probably should be. Sometimes entertainment is just that, and that's okay. Obviously, the author watches a lot of film, and truly loves films. He has a lot of valuable insight on film making, story telling, and a love for many great filmmakers. But he also has a lot of his own prejudices and obviously can't watch every film ever made. That's natural. We live our lives and every moment shapes part of who we are. But the biases do lead to some over-generalizations that somehow intellectually important films stopped being made in 1979, after which time only foreign directors were willing to take risks. Similarly, treating Hitchcock's Psycho as if it was immediately seen as a culturally significant film right out of the gate, when the reality is that many people felt it was gross and inappropriate shows more of the personal bias at work. It's easy to ignore probably 80% of films made, and there's a point to comparing only what the public sees in mainstream cinemas. It just seems shallow to praise Funny Games while trashing Scream. Overall though, I did enjoy reading this and found much of it thought-provoking, even when I disagreed with the author. Though my recommendation is just to skip chapter eight, as it wanders aimlessly and has little to do with horror.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY great stuff! Lots of interesting readings and categorizations and the like. I just wish the author didn't come off as condescending as he did in certain sections (Namely, about newer horror films). HUGE recommend nonetheless!

[Carlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

En "Dark Dreams 2.0" Chuck Derry nos habla sobre la historia del cine de terror desde los años 40's. Es importante aclarar que "Dark Dreams 2.0" es una revisión (y ampliación cronológica) al trabajo original ("Dark Dreams") que cubría hasta mediados de los 70's, la versión 2.0 viene a terminar en el cine de terror de la primera década de los dos-miles.

Desde el principio el trabajo me pareció parcial, ya que Derry comenta que el cine de terror actual ha perdido su función como 'denunciante social', cosa que es debatible, pero buscando continuar con la lectura adopté la afirmación como parte del marco teórico del trabajo.

La primer parte del libro (la versión original) me parece excelente; en ella se puede admirar la capacidad del autor para conectar hechos históricos con filmes así como sus potentes poderes de observación e interpretación semiótica.

Sin embargo para la parte correspondiente al terror contemporáneo la crítica tendenciosa y de extrema izquierda intelectual(oide) me dejó un muy mal sabor de boca, llegué a sentir que el fundamento crítico del autor era "si la película obtuvo buenos resultados en taquilla, seguramente es porque la consumió un público anti-intelectual y francamente simplón y por ello no puede aportar nada al desarrollo cinematográfico del género" premisa con la cual no puedo estar de acuerdo.

Como he mencionado el ejercicio analítico e historiográfico me parece excelso, pero pienso que tal vez pude haber aprendido más si el trabajo hubiera contado con un enfoque más objetivo.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the insights in this book! I'll pay more attention to mirrors, reflections, and staircases when I see them in movies!