I really liked this book for its broad sweep of the impact of horror movies on our psyche and our culture. It does a nice job putting the genre into context (the overview of the history and themes of horror movies is intriguing to think about and really well explored). I think what really impressed me about the book was how many examples Nesseth used in the writing. It would have been easy to generalize and make some points using a few movies, but there is a wide range of horror films that the book utilizes. Everything from main stream to independent films gets a mention, and I appreciate that the quality of films analyzed was not just blockbuster movies..

Perhaps a second edition would include a chapter on the influence of CGI elements in horror movies. I think there's some fascinating research to look at in the common years about whether they have improved or decreased the scare factor of movies. After all, do Syfy channel horror movies really get classified as true horror, or at least, should they be?

If you are a film buff, into pop culture, cultural history, or how those intersect with our psychology, please read the book. You'll gain a few more films to your watchlist as well.