As is well known, the horror film generally presents a situation where normality is threatened by a monster. From this premise, 'Theatricality in the Horror Film' argues that scary movies often create their terrifying effects stylistically and structurally through a radical break with the realism of normality in the form of monstrous theatricality.

André Loiselle is dean of humanities and professor of fi lm studies at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, Canada. He has published over 40 refereed articles and chapters in anthologies, as well as a dozen books, including The Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul (2015, with Gina Freitag), Stages of Reality: Theatricality in Cinema (2012, with Jeremy Maron), Denys Arcand's "Le Déclin de l'empire américain" and "Les Invasions barbares" (2008) and Cinema as History: Michel Brault and Modern Quebec (2007).

1. Introduction: Of Monsters and Monstration; 2. Horror, Realism and Theatricality; 3. The Theatricality of Monstrous Villainy in Film Adaptations of Horror Plays; 4. The Theatre as Locus Horribilis: Staging the Paradox of Tragic Horror; 5. The Theatricality of Horror: Characters, Unities and Styles; 6. Conclusion: The Theatricality of Horror Spectatorship; Bibliography; Index.