SPECIAL ISSUE #5
When Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert famously launched their offensive against what they labeled as “Women in Danger films” in 1980, they effectively positioned slasher films as anti-feminist, exploitative, and lacking all artistic merit. But in the intervening years, this once much maligned sub-genre has enjoyed increasing acclaim for its subversive potential and reflection of cultural norms.
In the midst of a new explosion of slasher films (Halloween, Freaky, There’s Someone Inside My House, and the upcoming new Scream), this special issue asks what the slasher has become in the 21st century–in the “Neo-slasher” that has evolved from the classic slashers of the 1970s and 80s and the post-modern slashers of the 1990s. Read on to hear about new trends, landmark films, and explorations of new slasher media (including novels).
We have essays by Kelly Gredner, Jerry J. Sampson, Julia Aloi, Elizabeth Erwin, Vince A. Liaguno, Gwyneth Peaty, Dawn Keetley, Brian Fanelli, Nick Redfern, Alex Svensson, Paul A.J. Lewis, Douglas Rasmussen, Conner McAleese, Taylor Cole, Colby D. Johnson, Emma Kostopolus, Rebecca Gibson, Destiny Bonilla, and Melissa C. Macero.
Cover design by Alicia Berbenick.
Here is the special issue on The Neo-Slasher.
