The Blaxploitation Horror Film

Adaptation, Appropriation and the Gothic

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by Jamil Mustafa

Type

Studies

Subject

Genre > Horror

Keywords

horror, blaxploitation, gothic

Publishing date

2023

Publisher

University of Wales Press

Collection

Horror Studies

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 272 pages
5 ¼ x 8 ½ inches (13.5 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-78683-997-8

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Book Presentation:
A comparative analysis of how mainstream and Blaxploitation horror films interpret and adapt classic Gothic tales.

This book is the first to put Blaxploitation horror films such as Blacula in conversation with both mainstream horror movies and classic Gothic stories. Jamil Mustafa argues that mainstream horror films adapt while Blaxploitation horror films appropriate the vampire, the Frankenstein monster, the evil spirit, the zombie, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the werewolf for their unique audiences and purposes. Ultimately, he reveals how Blaxploitation horror films reinvent the archetypes of Gothic fiction and film, not to exploit but to satisfy Black audiences.

Press Reviews:
"This clearly written and well researched book, deeply informed by adaptation theory, is now the definitive study of Gothic “Blaxploitation” movies since the 1970s. Not only does it analyse such films as films, more completely than they have ever been treated, but it also connects them thoroughly to (adding new revelations about) the civil and gay rights movements, Black Gothic writing, and the long history of Gothic texts and monsters that these films develop and critique."
Jerrold E. Hogle, professor of English emeritus, University Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona

"This lucid and compelling book represents the most substantial and rigorous analysis of Blaxploitation and horror cinema. Never shying away from the controversies of the Blaxploitation genre, Jamil Mustafa succeeds in exploring these extraordinary horror movies in detailed aesthetic, socio-historical and theoretical contexts. It is a pioneering and frequently brilliant study, essential reading for anyone interested in any aspect of race and the horror film."
Professor Richard J. Hand, University of East Anglia

See the publisher website: University of Wales Press