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sshelfuntil1989,whenErrolMorris,directorofTheThinBlueLinebroughtHenrytotheTellurideFilmFestival（VillageVoice1990,59）.AmongtheobstaclesthefilmfacedwastheunwillingnessoftheMotionPictureAssociationofAmerica（MPAA）togiveitanRrating.Thereason?

Its"

disturbingmoraltone"

（McDonough1990,59）.FearfulbecauseanXratingmeansdeathattheboxofficefornonpornographicfilms,distributorslostinterest.EventhedirectorJohnMcNaughtonexpressedconcernoverwhetherthefilmwouldfindanaudience.AshetoldVariety,"

[Henry]maybetooartyforthebloodcrowdandtoobloodyfortheartcrowd"

（quotedinStein1990,59）.McNaughton'

sconcernandtheMPAA'

sjudgementrestedonthefilm'

stendencytoplaywithandagainsttheconventionsofthecontemporaryhorrorgenre.Whatmakesitaninnovativeanddaringfilmalsomakesitdifficulrtoclassify.Thisholdstrueaswellforthepostmodernhorrorfilm,ofwhichHenryosemblematic.

Theboundariesofanygenreareslippery,butthoseofthepostmodernhorrorfilmareparticularlytreacheroustonegotiatesinceoneofthedefiningfeaturesofpostmodernismistheaggressiveblurringofboundaries.Howdowedistinguishhorrorfromotherfilmgenreandthepostmodernhorrorfilmfromotherhorrorfilms?

InthischapterIwillarguethatthecontemporaryhorrorgenre,i.e.,thosehorrorfilmsproducedsinceabout1968,canbecharacterizedaspostmodern.Iwillformulateaworkingdefinitionofthepostmodernhorrorgenrebasedongeneralizationsdrawnfromthestudyoffilmswhichculturalconsensusdefinesashorrorfilms,thoughnotnecessarilyaspostmodernones.Inthecourseofdelineatingthepostmodernfeaturesofthecontemporaryhorrorgenre,Iwilldifferentitfromitspriorclassicalincarnation.

THEQUESTIONOFPOSTMODERNISM

InMonstersandMadScientists:

ACulturalHistoryoftheHorrorMovie,AndrewTudor（1989）chartsthedevelopmentoftheAnglo-Americanhorrorgenre,Theprimarydistinctionthedrawsisbetweenthepre-sixties（1931-1960）andthepost-sixties（1960-1984）genre,termsthatroughlycorrespondtomyuseof"

classical"

and"

postmodern."

Tudorparentheticallyalignsthepost-1960sgenrewithpostmodernismandthe"

legitimationcrisis"

ofpostindustrialsocietybywhichhemeansthefailureoftraditionalstructuresofauthority（1989,222）.AlthoughTudordoesnotinvolvehimselfindiscussionsofthepostmodernismperse,hedoespointoutthatthelegitimationcrisisoflatecapitalismmaybethesalientsocialcontextinwhichtogroundthecontradictionsofthepost-sixtieshorrorgenre.Butbeforewecanaddressthepostmodernelementsofthecontemporaryhorrorfilm,wemusttacklethethornyissueofdefiningpostmodernism.

Socialtheoristsrepresentisasawidespreadandelusivephenomenon,asyetunclearlydifined,itsamorphousboundariesarehardtopindown.AndreasHuyssenportraysitasbothahistoricalconditionandastyle,"

partofaslowlyemergingculturaltransformationinWesternsocieties,achangeinsensibility"

（repr.1990,234）.ToddGitlinassociatespostmodernismwiththeerosionofuniversalcategories,thecollapseoffaithintheinevitabilityofprogress,andthebreakdownofmoralclarities（1989,353）.Jean-FrancoisLyotardcharacterizestheposrmodernasentailingaprofoundlossoffaithinmasternarratives（claimstouniversalTruth）anddisenchantmentwiththeteleologyofprogress（1984,xxiv）.CraigOwensindentifiesitwith"

acrisisof[Western]culturalauthority"

（1983,57）.

Formypurposes,thepostmodernworldisanunstableoneinwhichtraditional（dichotomous）categoriesbreakdown,boundariesblur,institutionsfallintoquestion,Enlightenmentnarrativescollapse,theinevitabilityofprogresscrumbles,andthemasterstatusoftheuniversal（readmale,white,monied,heterosexual）subjectdeteriorates,Consensusinthepossibilityofmasteryislost,universalizinggrandtheoryisdiscredited,andthestable,unified,coherentselfacquiresthestatusofafiction.Althoughthepoliticalvalenceofpostmodernismissubjecttodebate,thereismuchtobesaidfortheprogressivepotenialofthisparadigmshift.

Clearly,thetermpostmodernismacknowledgesashiftfrommodernism,onenotcleatlydefinedandunabletostandasaseparateterm.Butthisculturaltransformationwasnotusheredinbyanapocalypticendingoracleanbreak.Itwasandcontinuestobeamatterofunevendevelopment,where,toheedawarningissuedbypostmodernists,developmentcannotbeconflatedwithprogress.Insofaraswecanconceptualizethisculturaltransformationasabreak,itmightbemorefruitfultospeakofitasastressbreak,nottheresultofanoriginarytraumaticeventbutthecumulativeoutcomeofrepetitivehistoricalstressesincludingtheHolocaust,Hiroshima,theColdWar,Vietnam,theanti-warmovement,andthevariousliberationmovementsassociatedwiththesixties:

civilrights,blackspower,feminism,andgayliberation.Indeed,theimpetustosituatepostmodernismasasixtiesorpost-sixtiesphenomenonliesinthecelebrated（orscorned）associationofthatperiodwithculturalcontradictionsandresistancetoauthoritythatfiguresoprominentlyindiscussionsofthepostmoderntoday.

THERELAIONSHIPOFPOSTMODERNISMTOPOPULARCULTURE

Thecontemporaryhorrorgenreissometimescriticizedinmodernisttermsforbeingalignedwiththedegradedfromofpleasure-inducingmassculture.Criticsrelegatethecontemporarygenretotheranksofideologicallyconservativecultureandexcoriateorlauditforpromotingthestatusquothroughitsreinforcementofsuchclassicalbinaryoppositionsasnormal/abnormalsexuality.Indeed,inDreadfulPleasures（1985）,JamesTwitchellportraysthehorrorfilmasamoralitytalethatdemonstratesthedangersofsexualityoutsidetheheteromonogamousunclearfamily.

Incontrast,thevexedrelationshipofthecontemporaryhorrorfilmtopostmodernismisrarelyarticulated.Whenthecontemporarygenreisassociatedwithpostmodernismitisoftentodiscreditoneorboth.ForKimNewman,"

thepostmodernhorrorfilm"

referstothoseeightieshorrorfilmscharacterizedbycamp.ThiscomicturnsignalsforNewmanadegneration,adyingoutofthegenre'

scapacitytodepict"

thehorrorsandneurosesoftheage"

afunctionheclaimsisnecessarytoculturebutonethathasbeendisplacedanddispersedacrossothergenresthatarethemselvesincreasinglyhybirdinform（1988,211-15）.Hespeaksasadisappointedhorrorfanforwhom"

postmodernhorrorfilms"

failtodowhattheyarefittedtodo.TaniaModleski,ontheotherhand,isnofanofthegenre.In"

TheTerrorofPleasure:

TheContemporaryHorrorFilmandPostmodernTheory,"

sheclassifiescontemporaryhorrorfilmsasanexpressionofpostmodernismandconcludesthattheformerillustratewhatismostperverseaboutthelatter.Thispositionbearsclosercloserinspection.

Althoughinprinciplepostmodernismerodesallbinaryoppositions,Huyssenlocatespostmodernism'

sdefiningfeatureinitschallengetomodernism'

sgroundingdistinctionbetweenhigh（artworld）cultureandlow（mass）culture.Postmodernismblurstheboundariesbetweenartandmassculture.Ironically,asbothHuyssen（repr.1990241）andModleski（1986156）argue,manypostmodernistsunselfconsciouslyreproducethehighculture/lowcultureoppositioninitsmodernistFrankfurtSchoolformintheirownwork.Theysay,ineffect,thatmasscultureproducepleasure,whichinscribestheconsumerintothedominatebourgeoisideology.Incontrast,thedecenteredtextproducesjouinssanceandtakesanadversarialstanceagainstbourgeoissociety.Modleskialignsthecontemporaryhorrorfilmwiththeletterformbutquestionsitsvalueforfeminism.

Modleskiidentifiesthefollowingaspostmodernelementsofthecontemporaryhorrorfilm:

open-endednarratives,minimalplotandcharacterdevelopment,and（relatedly）thedifficultyofaudienceindentificationwithundevelopedandunlikeablecharacters.Modleskiarguesthethedecentered,disorderedhorrorfilm,liketheavant-garde,changestextualcodesinordertodisruptnarrativepleasure,andthatassuchitisaformifoppositionalculture.（Huyssennotesthatpostmodernismappropriatesandrecylesmanyofmodernism'

saestheticstrategies,liketheonesModleskiindicates.）Modleskialignsthehorrorfilmwithpostmodernismandbothwiththedisriptionofpleasureforwomen,giventhelengthstowhichwomenhavehistoricallybeendeniedpleasure,andconsequentlytoquestionthelimitsofpostmodernismforfeminism.

Modleskiraisesimportantquestions.Butherdepictionofthecontemporaryhorrorfilmsisflawedandthereforehercomclusionisflawed.Shefailstograspthewaysinwhichthecontemporaryhorrorispleasurable,notonlyforamaleaudiencebutalsoforafemaleaudience.Althoughthehorrorfilmisnotnecessarilycriticalorradical,itdoescontain,asHutssensuggestsforpostmodernism,"

produc