Global Horror Cinema Today, Reviewed

Global Horror Cinema Today: 28 Representative Films from 17 Countries, authored by film critic Jon Towlson, is an engaging snapshot of emerging international horror cinema, largely highlighting works from the last 10-plus years. While reading this broad-strokes perspective on the genre’s recent filmic history, horror fans will want to have Letterboxd open to keep tabs—so many amazing movies, so little time.

Beginning with a brief overview of the start of the horror wave in the ’90s with films like The Blair Witch Project, Towlson emphasizes that this book is a shorthand resource, a place to begin research into these trends. As such, Global Horror Cinema Today serves as an excellent springboard for fans and academics alike who are interested in expanding their movie-watching horizons. Detailing works from countries ranging from Mexico to Iran, Towlson’s work spotlights many movie titles that Shudder and Netflix subscribers will find familiar (and likely be deeply fond of): Tigers Are Not Afraid and Under the Shadow, among others. Towlson also highlights the important contributions of Black and Indigenous filmmakers, along with feminist perspectives.

The role of film festivals, as well as easier access to technology and distribution, is also not to be neglected. Horror film festivals, as well as broader genre ventures, have proven to be essential for helping niche films find their audiences. Paired with specialist distribution companies dealing with movies, fans have no shortage of content that’s relatively accessible, which in turn has spurred an upsurge in blogs and other fan-driven projects. Towlson’s own expertise as a film critic makes Global Horror Cinema Today an especially approachable read for those new to the genre, while also demonstrating knowledge to bring something new to veterans alike. The author’s dedication to the genre also suffuses the text with a sense of excitement about where things go from here.

For horror fans, Global Horror Cinema Today serves as an excellent guide to some of the best in horror films from across the world. Government incentives, fan-driven projects, film festivals, and access to necessary technology and distribution have all combined to make for a great time to be a horror fan, and the easiest time to get into the genre if you’ve been curious for a while.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Article written by Laura Kemmerer

Laura tuned into horror with an interest in what these movies and books can tell us about ourselves and what societies fear. She is most interested in horror focused around the supernatural, folklore, the occult, Gothic themes, haunted media, landscape as a character, and hauntology (focusing on lost or broken futures).