Monsters From The Id: The Rise Of Horror In Fiction And Film

In this study of horror from Frankenstein to modern Hollywood, Jones (author of several critiques of contemporary culture) shows that the moral order, when suppressed, reasserts itself as an avenging monster in the midst of the chaos and suffering of cultural revolution. Following the route of the genre from its origins in France to England, Germany, and America, he argues that horror is a product of a guilty conscience that will not admit its own wrongdoing, and that individuals in the culture can escape this dynamic only by acknowledging the demands of an objective moral order. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)