Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies

by Jim Harper

The "slasher" movie is the bloodiest incarnation of the modern horror film, tainted by criticisms of misogyny, yet remaining-on and off-a box-office draw for 30 years. Combining in-depth analysis with over 200 film reviews, Legacy of Blood is the most comprehensive examination of the slasher movie and its conventions to date, from Halloween and the notorious I Spit on Your Grave , to Scream -the redefining genre hit of the '90s-and beyond.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Film

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Miguel Arsénio · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb on this one mentions that the book includes an "in-depth analysis of the slasher movie" or sonething like that. Hardly! What it does include is a good chronology of slasher movies and how they did at the box office and how they were received. That's something you can easily check on the internet. The second part of the book is filled with some reviews that are not too interesting or informative.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of the genre. The explanation of the tropes as well as the cataloguing of the films is thorough and fascinating. At times, he seems a bit dismissive of the claims regarding misogyny though.