Alexandra West has written about genre films for The Toronto Star, Rue Morgue Magazine and Offscreen Film Journal. In 2012, she co-founded the Faculty of Horror podcast, exploring the films' analytical side. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments

Foreword by Stacie Ponder

Introduction

¿1.¿They Never Had It So Good: America in the 1990s

¿2.¿Imitate Us: America's Youth Culture

¿3.¿Co-Deads: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and My Boyfriend's Back (1993)

¿4.¿First Blood: The Crush (1993) and Fear (1996)

¿5.¿Generation Hex: The Craft (1996)

¿6.¿Bowling for Woodsboro: Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997) and Scream 3 (2000)

¿7.¿Hit and Run: I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

¿8.¿Circulate Widely: Urban Legend (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (1998)

¿9.¿Cutting Class: Disturbing Behavior (1998), The Faculty (1998) and Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)

10.¿Re-Generation: Halloween H20 (1998) and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

11.¿Lust for Life: Wicked (1998) and Idle Hands (1999)

12.¿The Millennium Approaches: Cherry Falls (2000), Final Destination (2000) and Scary Movie (2000)

13.¿It's All Coming Back to Me Now: Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) and Scream 4 (2011)

Conclusion

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Many critics and fans refer to the 1990s as the decade that horror forgot, with few notable entries in the genre. Yet horror went mainstream in the '90s by speaking to the anxieties of American youth during one of the country's most prosperous eras.
No longer were films made on low budgets and dependent on devotees for success. Horror found its way onto magazine covers, fashion ads and CD soundtrack covers. "Girl power" feminism and a growing distaste for consumerism defined an audience that both embraced and rejected the commercial appeal of these films.
This in-depth study examines the youth subculture and politics of the era, focusing on such films as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Scream (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Idle Hands (1999) and Cherry Falls (2000).