Horror Noire

<p>From <i>King Kong</i> to <i>Candyman</i> the boundary-pushing genre of horror film has always been a site for provocative explorations of race in American popular culture. This book offers a comprehensive chronological survey of Black horror from the 1890s to present day.</p><p>In this second edition Robin R. Means Coleman expands upon the history of notable characterizations of Blackness in horror cinema with new chapters spanning the 1960s 2000s and 2010s to the present and examines key levels of Black participation on screen and behind the camera. The book addresses a full range of Black horror films including mainstream Hollywood fare art-house films Blaxploitation films and U.S. hip-hop culture-inspired Nollywood films. This new edition also explores the resurgence of the Black horror genre in the last decade examining the success of Jordan Peele’s films <i>Get Out</i> (2017) and <i>Us </i>(2019) smaller independent films such as <i>The House Invictus</i> (2018) and Nia DaCosta’s sequel to <i>Candyman </i>(2021). Means Coleman argues that horror offers a unique representational space for Black people to challenge negative or racist portrayals and to portray greater diversity within the concept of Blackness itself.</p><p>This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how fears and anxieties about race and race relations are made manifest and often challenged on the silver screen.</p>