A Critical Companion to Wes Craven

Edited by Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns and John Darowski - Contributions by Taksala Abeyguawardena; Emiliano Aguilar; Kat Albrecht; Jacob Babb; Ezra Brain; Eric Brinkman; Stephanie Chang; Daniel P. Compora; John Darowski; Will Dodson; Reece Goodall; Joshua W. Katz; Brian Keiper; Joel Kirk; Todd G. Morrison; Natalie O'Reilly; Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns; Sony Jalarajan Raj; Andrew Smith; Brenan R. R. Smith; Michael Stock; Adith K. Suresh; Eduardo Veteri and Olivia Wood

In A Critical Companion to Wes Craven, contributors use a variety of theoretical frameworks to analyze distinct areas of Craven’s work, including ecology, auteurism, philosophy, queer studies, and trauma. This book covers both the successes and failures contained in Craven’s extensive filmography, ultimately revealing a variegated portrait of his career. Scholars of film studies, horror, and ecology will find this book particularly interesting.

Lexington Books

Pages: 322 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-66691-906-6 • Hardback • August 2023 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-66691-907-3 • eBook • August 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors

Subjects: Social Science / LGBT Studies / General, Philosophy / General, Performing Arts / Film / Genres / Horror

A Critical Companion to Wes Craven

Hardback

eBook

Summary

In A Critical Companion to Wes Craven, contributors use a variety of theoretical frameworks to analyze distinct areas of Craven’s work, including ecology, auteurism, philosophy, queer studies, and trauma. This book covers both the successes and failures contained in Craven’s extensive filmography, ultimately revealing a variegated portrait of his career. Scholars of film studies, horror, and ecology will find this book particularly interesting.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 322 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-66691-906-6 • Hardback • August 2023 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-66691-907-3 • eBook • August 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors

Subjects: Social Science / LGBT Studies / General, Philosophy / General, Performing Arts / Film / Genres / Horror

Author

Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns is professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Buenos Aires.
John Darowski is a PhD candidate in comparative humanities at the University of Louisville.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction. Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni and John Darowski
Part I: Space, Time, Urbanities
1.“Destabilizing Safety: Space, Place, and Risk in Craven’s Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Red Eye.” Jacob Babb
2.““What If?” The Unrealized in Wes Craven’s The Twilight Zone (1985) and Nightmare Cafe.” Emiliano Aguilar
3.“Ruined Landscapes, the EcoGothic and Eco-Horror in the Early Films of Wes Craven: Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Deadly Blessing, Swamp Thing, The Hills Have Eyes II.” Michael Stock
4.“Nowhere Is Safe: Suburban Terror in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Shocker and Scream.” Daniel P. Compora
Part II: Traumatic Aspects
5. “Teenage alienation and Fractured Identities: Re-evaluating Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take.” Reece Goodall
6.“Wes Craven and BIPOC Horror: Contrasting The People Under the Stairs with The Possession of Joel Delaney.” Joshua W. Katz, Taksala Abeygunawardena, Natalie O’Reilly, Brenan R.R. Smith and Todd G. Morrison
7.“Dismembering Craven’s The Last House on the Left: Excavating Structures of Whiteness in the American Horror Film.” Stephanie Chang
Part III: The Authorial Voice
8. ““Not in My Movie”: Parodic Transformations of Wes Craven’s Final Girl in the Narrative and Soundtrack of Scream.” Joel Kirk
9. “Welcome to Prime Time: Wes Craven’s Television Films.” Will Dodson
10.“Practical Magic: The Role of Practical Special Effects in Creating Fear.” Kat Albrecht
11.“The Most Dreadful of Horrors: Studio Interference and Authorship in The Fireworks Woman (1975), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) and Cursed (2005).” Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns and Eduardo Veteri
12. “Recombinant Narrative: Wes Craven, Adaptation, and Swamp Thing.” John Darowski
Part IV: Sociological/Philosophical Inquiries
13.“Wes Craven’s Monsters of Capitalism.” Eric Brinkman
14.“Beyond Freddy’s Revenge: Wes Craven’s Slasher Films as Queer Texts.” Ezra Brain and Olivia Wood
15.“Transgressing the Boundaries of Faith: Belief Systems, Evil and the Human Subject in Wes Craven Films.” Sony Jalarajan Raj and Adith K. Suresh
16.“Rubber Reality and its Variations in the Films of Wes Craven.” Brian Keiper
17.“Screaming for Relevance: Reflecting on Scream 4 in the Age of Influencers,” Andrew Smith
About the Contributors

Reviews

“Pagnoni Berns and Darowski have curated a volume on the cinema of Wes Craven that is greater than the sum of its parts, illuminating the dark corners of his canon while also offering fresh insights into old favorites. From his television movies to ecocritical readings of his work to multiple analyses of “rubber reality,” there is something here for every scholar, fan, and scholar-fan of Craven’s work. A thorough survey of an underappreciated auteur.“

— Kevin J. Wetmore Jr., Loyola Marymount University

“Examining classic titles alongside lesser-known works, the diverse essays included in A Critical Companion to Wes Craven offer fresh perspective and new insight into the career of this most revered horror filmmaker. Authoritative, passionate, critical, and engaging, this is a must read for the horror fan and scholar.”

— Stacey Abbott, University of Roehampton London

“An indispensable volume on an indispensable horror auteur. A Critical Companion to Wes Craven provides an exhaustive overview of one of the most respected (but understudied) masters of horror. The companion will serve as a necessary point of reference for future scholars of Craven’s oeuvre. Every nook and cranny of Craven’s career is explored from the use of “rubber reality,” to his tendency to explore the monstrousness of family and nature, to his neglected work on made-for-television films, to his lesser appreciated works like My Soul to Take (2010) and Swamp Thing (1982), and much more.”

— Todd K. Platts, Piedmont Virginia Community College

A Critical Companion to Wes Craven

A Critical Companion to Wes Craven

ALSO AVAILABLE