当前位置: X-MOL 学术Journal of Popular Film and Television › 论文详情
Our official English website, www.x-mol.net, welcomes your feedback! (Note: you will need to create a separate account there.)
THE 1990S TEEN HORROR CYCLE: FINAL GIRLS AND A NEW HOLLYWOOD FORMULA By Alexandra West. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2018. 185 pages. $29.95 paper.
Journal of Popular Film and Television ( IF 0.5 ) Pub Date : 2019-04-03 , DOI: 10.1080/01956051.2019.1608787
Alissa Burger 1
Affiliation  

I n The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula, Alexandra West provides a critical analysis of this frequently overlooked period in horror-film history. As West explains in her introduction, this lack of serious consideration is a result of critics, fans, and historians seeing this cycle of films as “a Hollywoodized iteration of the now beloved slasher subgenre of 1970s and 1980s horror ... something sleek and refined and ready for mass consumption” (3). Distinguishing features of these films that contribute to this dismissal include mass-marketing and crosscommercialization, with 1990s teen horror films drawing on familiar faces from popular television shows, such as Katie Holmes’s appearance in Disturbing Behavior (1998) and Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) aiming to draw in teen fans already familiar with Holmes from the hit show Dawson’s Creek (1998– 2003). While some critics have used this mass audience appeal to challenge the validity of these films as significant entries into the horror genre, West chooses to instead focus on their historical significance, pointing out that “[t]hese films hit at the right place, at the right time and, for a brief period, were an omnipresent force in the film industry” (3). Following her introduction, West provides contextualizing chapters on 1990s America and youth culture, then shifts her attention to close reading and analysis of specific films, which are chronologically and thematically grouped. Chapter 3 addresses the role of the undead in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and My Boyfriend’s Back (1993), while chapter 4 explores films that examine dangerous facets or consequences of female sexuality with The Crush (1993) and Fear (1996). Chapter 5 is a close reading of the 1996 film The Craft. The next three chapters explore film series, as chapter 6 focuses on the original Scream trilogy (1996, 1997, 2000); Chapter 7 considers I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel (1997, 1998); and chapter 8 discusses Urban Legend (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000). The following chapters return to a more thematically based organization, with chapter 9 focusing on high school horrors with Disturbing Behavior, The Faculty (1998), and Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Chapter 10 examines the sequels Halloween H20 (1998) and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) and chapter 11 looks at Wicked (1998) and Idle Hands (1999), drawing these two very different films—in terms of both subject matter and tone—together under the theme of “lust for life” (131). Chapter 12 marks the end what West defines at the 1990s teen horror cycle (3), looking at three notable films from the year 2000: Cherry Falls, Final Destination, and the parody film Scary Movie. West includes an additional chapter addressing continuations of film series from this cycle, highlighting Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006), and Scream 4 (2011). West’s major contribution with The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle lies in her serious consideration of films which have to this point received very little critical attention. As a film cycle that has often been dismissed as being overly commercial or outside the scope of consideration of “real” horror, West’s is the first book to take up this thread of analysis. West does an admirable job of identifying and engaging with key themes and approaches that are influential in these films, including intertextuality, feminism and the evolution of the Final Girl, and shortcomings in representation. An excellent example of intertextuality West considers is the original Scream trilogy, in “its adherence to, attention to and ultimate rejection of elements of the slasher film formula, allowing the slasher film to revive in popularity for a new audience. Scream is a film that both acknowledges and challenges what horror films are, and in particular what slasher films were” (63). West also addresses a range of other types of intertextual engagements, from the cross-marketing of casting actors like Holmes to appeal to the teen audience, the referential shorthand of including iconic horror actors like Robert Englund in Urban Legend, and the intersection of horror and genre critique in the Scream series. West also brings a new perspective to the discussion of the Final Girl, as first established by Carol Clover in her classic Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992). West argues that “The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle was in many ways indirectly (and occasionally directly) feminist” (9), including the refocus of the narrative and audience identification with the Final Girl rather than with the killer. In addition to building on and responding to Clover’s foundational discussion of the Final Girl, West makes a productive connection between survival and trauma. West’s development of this connection is especially effective in her considerations of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in Scream 2 and Scream 3 and throughout the I Know What You Did Last Summer films, each of which “focus on the survivors and the trauma inherent in violence rather than the villain who may or may not make an appearance in his or her original form but will certainly cast a long shadow over the proceedings” (89), again underscoring the narrative shift from the killer(s) to the survivors. Finally, while West addresses the empowerment inherent in shifting the narrative from the killer to these Final Girls, she also notes the ways in which representation continues to be problematically limited in this film cycle, specifically when considering race and class. As she demonstrates through her close reading of these films, there are only two that include non-white characters in significant roles: Rochelle (Rachel True) in The Craft and Hallie (Elise Neal) in Scream 2. Similarly, the main characters of films within this cycle are overwhelmingly middle-class and, once again, there are only two notable examples of loweror workingclass characters, with Nancy (Fairuza Balk) in The Craft and Leigh Ann (Katie Holmes) in Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Diversity of representation (or lack thereof) remains a significant issue in popular film and television, and West’s—albeit brief—analysis of it in these particular films and the larger film cycle offers a productive example of its significance and potential impact for further exploration in the wider discourse of popular culture. While West’s work is inventive and original in its address of 1990s teen horror films and explores several significant patterns and themes within this cycle, there are BOOK REVIEWS

中文翻译:

1990年代青少年恐怖循环:最终女孩和新的好莱坞方程式(Alexandra West)。北卡罗来纳州杰斐逊:麦克法兰,2018. 185页。29.95美元的纸张。

在1990年代的青少年恐怖周期:最终的女孩和新的好莱坞惯例中,亚历山德拉·韦斯特(Alexandra West)对恐怖电影历史上这个经常被忽视的时期进行了批判性分析。正如韦斯特在导言中解释的那样,这种缺乏认真考虑的原因是评论家,影迷和历史学家将这段电影视为“ 1970年代和1980年代恐怖片的好莱坞化版本……时髦而精致。并准备大量消费”(3)。这些电影的主要特征包括大规模营销和跨商业化,1990年代的青少年恐怖电影借鉴了受欢迎的电视节目中的熟悉面孔,例如凯蒂·霍尔姆斯(Katie Holmes)的《干扰行为》(1998)和《教夫人》。Tingle(1999)的目标是从热门节目Dawson's Creek(1998-2003)中吸引已经熟悉福尔摩斯的青少年歌迷。尽管一些评论家利用这种大众观众的吸引力来挑战这些电影的有效性,作为恐怖题材的重要条目,但韦斯特选择取而代之的是关注其历史意义,并指出“这些电影在正确的地方,合适的时机,并在短时间内是电影界无所不在的力量”(3)。在她的介绍之后,韦斯特提供了有关1990年代美国和青年文化的情境化章节,然后将注意力转移到仔细阅读和分析特定电影上,这些电影按时间顺序和主题进行分组。第3章探讨了亡灵在吸血鬼猎人巴菲(1992)和我的男朋友的背(1993)中的角色,而第4章则通过《 The Crush(1993)》和《 Fear(1996)》探讨了检查危险方面或女性性行为后果的电影。第5章是1996年电影《手工艺》的细读。接下来的三章探讨电影系列,第六章重点介绍原始的《尖叫》三部曲(1996年,1997年,2000年)。第7章认为《我知道你去年夏天做了什么》及其续集(1997、1998);第8章讨论了《城市传奇》(1998年)和《城市传奇:最终剪辑》(2000年)。接下来的章节将以主题为基础进行组织,第9章重点关注具有令人不安行为的高中恐怖行为,《学院》(The Faculty)(1998年)和《 Tingle太太的教学》。第10章研究了续集Halloween H20(1998)和The Rage:Carrie 2(1999),第11章研究了Wicked(1998)和Idle Hands(1999),在主题和语气方面将这两部截然不同的电影放在一起,以“生活的欲望”为主题(131)。第十二章标志着西方在1990年代青少年恐怖周期中所定义的终结(3),着眼于2000年以来的三部著名电影:《樱桃瀑布》,《最终目的地》和模仿电影《恐怖电影》。韦斯特还增加了一章,讲述这一周期电影系列的延续,重点介绍了《城市传奇:血腥玛丽》(2005年),《我永远知道你去年夏天做什么》(2006年)和《尖叫4》(2011年)。韦斯特在《 1990年代青少年恐怖周期》中的主要贡献在于她对电影的认真考虑,到目前为止,这些电影很少受到批评。作为经常被认为过于商业化或超出“真实”恐怖考虑范围的电影循环,West's是第一本采用这种分析方法的书。韦斯特在确定和参与影响这些电影的关键主题和方法方面所做的令人钦佩的工作,包括互文性,女权主义和《最终女孩》的演变,以及代表作弊。韦斯特认为,互文性的一个很好的例子是原始的《尖叫》三部曲,“它坚持,关注并最终拒绝了鞭击电影公式中的元素,从而使鞭击电影在新观众中重新流行起来。《尖叫》是一部既承认又挑战恐怖片,尤其是恐怖片的电影,”(63)。韦斯特还处理其他多种类型的互文互动活动,从像福尔摩斯这样的演员的交叉营销到吸引青少年观众,包括像《城市传奇》中的罗伯特·恩格隆德这样的标志性恐怖演员的参考速记,以及《尖叫》系列中恐怖与流派批评的交集。韦斯特(Carol)最初在卡罗尔·克洛弗(Carol Clover)的经典电影《男人,女人和电锯:现代恐怖片中的性别》(1992年)中确立了讨论的最终视角。韦斯特认为,“ 1990年代的青少年恐怖周期在许多方面都是间接(有时是直接)的女权主义者”(9),包括将叙事和观众认同的重心转移到《最终女孩》上,而不是在杀手上。除了建立和回应三叶草对《最终女孩》的基本讨论外,韦斯特还在生存与创伤之间建立了富有成效的联系。韦斯特对这种关系的发展在她对《尖叫2》和《尖叫3》中的西德尼·普雷斯科特(内夫·坎贝尔)以及《我知道你去年夏天做了什么》的整个电影中的考虑尤其有效,其中每部电影都“关注幸存者和暴力固有的创伤而不是小人,他们可能会或可能不会以他或她的原始身份出庭,但肯定会对诉讼程序蒙上阴影”(89),再次强调了叙事从杀手到幸存者的转变。最后,尽管韦斯特谈到了将叙事从杀手转移到这些最终女孩所固有的权力,但她还指出,在这个电影周期中,代表权仍然受到问题的限制,特别是在考虑种族和阶级时。正如她通过仔细阅读这些电影所展示的那样,只有两个角色扮演非白人角色,其中一个是角色:The Craft的Rochelle(Rachel True),另一个是Scream 2的Hallie(Elise Neal)。同样,在这个周期内,电影的主要角色绝大多数是中产阶级,一次是同样,只有两个值得注意的低等工人阶级角色的例子,《手工艺》中的南希(Fairuza Balk)和《丁格太太教学》中的利·安(Katie Holmes)。代表性的多样性(或缺乏代表性)在流行电影和电视中仍然是一个重要的问题,而韦斯特的(尽管很简短)对这些特殊电影的分析以及较大的电影周期提供了一个有意义的例子,说明了其重要性和对进一步探索的潜在影响。流行文化的广泛论述。
更新日期:2019-04-03
down
wechat
bug