Horror Film and Psychoanalysis. Freud's Worst Nightmare (2004).pdf

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Horror Film and Psychoanalysis

In recent years, psychoanalytic theory has been the subject of attacks from

philosophers, cultural critics, and scientists who have questioned the cogency

of its reasoning as well as the soundness of its premises. Nevertheless, when

used to shed light on horror cinema, psychoanalysis in its various forms has

proven to be a fruitful and provocative interpretative tool. This volume seeks

to ﬁnd the proper place of psychoanalytic thought in critical discussion of

cinema in a series of essays that debate its legitimacy, utility, and validity as

applied to the horror genre. It distinguishes itself from previous work in this

area through the self-consciousness with which psychoanalytic concepts are

employed and the theorization that coexists with interpretations of particular

horror ﬁlms and subgenres.

Steven Jay Schneider is a scholar of cinema and philosophy. He is the author

of Designing Fear: Aesthetics of Cinematic Horror and editor of New Hollywood

Violence , among other publications.

Cambridge Studies in Film

General Editors

William Rothman, University of Miami

Dudley Andrew, University of Iowa

Cambridge Studies in Film is a series of scholarly studies of high intellectual

standard on the history and criticism of ﬁlm. Each book examines a different

aspect of ﬁlm as a social and cultural phenomenon, setting standards and

directions for the evaluation and deﬁnition of ﬁlm scholarship. Designed

for both ﬁlm enthusiasts and academic readers, the series is international in

scope of subject matter and eclectic in terms of approach and perspective.

Cambridge Studies in Film provides a foundation in the theory and philoso-

phy of the emerging visual media that continues to shape our world.

Selected titles from the series

The ‘I’ of the Camera: Essays in Film Criticism, History, and Aesthetics , by William

Rothman

The Cinema of Satyajit Ray , by Darius Cooper

Documentary Film Classics , by William Rothman

John Huston’s Filmmaking , by Lesley Brill

Projecting Illusion: Film Spectatorship and the Impression of Reality , by Richard

Allen

Interpreting the Moving Image , by Noel Carroll