New book on 21st century British horror films

Johnny Walker’s book Contemporary British Horror Cinema: Industry, Genre and Society has just been published by Edinburgh University Press. This is of course only the second ever volume devoted to 21st century UK frightflicks.

Johnny lectures in Media at Northumbria University. Before heading up north he did his PhD here in Leicester at De Montfort University and we would occasionally quaff a few pints together and discuss Jason Impey films. He has written a number of pieces for magazine and academic journals, and spoken at various events, but Contemporary British Horror Cinema is his first book.

Where my own Urban Terrors: New British Horror Cinema 1997-2008 (which Johnny cites in his own work) took a populist approach to the subject matter, CBHC:IGS is much more of an academic work, full of citations and references. But it’s a historical rather than analytical or theoretical work, so don’t be too alarmed. I’d like to think that my book and Johnny’s are complementary.

The book will be launched on 13th November at the Abertoir Horror Film Festival in Aberystwyth (which is a bit better than the last minute launch in the Leicester University bookshop which I managed...)

Now here’s the bad news. Academic books are eye-wateringly expensive and this one will set you back seventy quid. There is a cheaper softback version on the way next year, so you may want to wait for that.

Expect a more detailed review in due course when I’ve read it.

• Publisher's website
• Amazon.co.uk

Publisher's blurb:

Combining industry analysis, interviews and detailed textual readings, this book examines the post-millennial revival of Combining industrial research and primary interview material with detailed textual analysis, Contemporary British Horror Cinema looks beyond the dominant paradigms which have explained away British horror in the past, and sheds light on one of the most dynamic and distinctive yet scarcely talked about areas of contemporary British film production. Considering high-profile theatrical releases, including The Descent, Shaun of the Dead and The Woman in Black, as well as more obscure films such as The Devil s Chair, Resurrecting the Street Walker and Cherry Tree Lane, Contemporary British Horror Cinema provides a thorough examination of British horror film production in the twenty-first century.