I don’t know about you, but sometimes it occurs to me that we’re living through history. Not just historic moments, per se, of which I’ve been part of a few (mainly concerts like Desert Trip, Live 8, or the opening night of Roger Waters’ 2010 The Wall tour, to name just a few), but that the world and events and trends and moments that are happening right now will someday make the history books. This notion occurred to me while I was devouring Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie by author Clark Collis.
Due out September 12 from 1984 Publishing, Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie traces the rebirth and rise of horror films following the 1996 debut of Scream through 2013’s The Conjuring. It examines how and why Scream was able to help make horror an unstoppable theatrical force, and how it ushered in a new era of critical and commercial success for a genre that’s been around for decades. Along the way, the book looks at the various franchises and permutations horror delivered, from the torture porn of Hostel and Saw and the controversy of rocker Rob Zombie’s first film, House of 1000 Corpses to the commercial power of horror hits like Paranormal Activity and Insidious.
It didn’t take me long to read Collis’ book; a longtime writer for Entertainment Weekly and the author of the excellent You’ve Got Red On You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life, his writing style is easy and engaging, and he delivers details and narrative with the perfect mix of reporter and genre fan. As mentioned earlier, what stood out most while reading is that Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie details history I was part of. I was there for the first midnight screening of Paranormal Activity in Toronto when the film was having its on-demand rollout. I was there when House of 1000 Corpses first screened here as well. The movie freaked me out at first viewing, but it soon became a yearly Halloween watch.
Collis details the rise and return of zombie films, whether they’re running or shambling, including the popularity of Shaun of the Dead, the commercial success of the Resident Evil films, and the impact legendary director George Romero had on their creations; in turn, we also see how those films led to Romero’s own mid-2000s zombie return. I also remember being a part of these moments: loving the bleak ending of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead; seeing Shaun of the Dead in a Burbank movie theatre in September 2004; sitting in a screening of Diary of the Dead with one of its lead actresses giggling happily after seeing herself on screen.
For film buffs and historians, Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie accurately traces the impact horror had on audiences and Hollywood beginning in the late ’90s. For those of us who were there, though, the book might hit even harder, as Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie captures a time and place when horror history was being made and we, the audience, were always dying for more.
It’s a bloody good read.
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