The Horror of It All

Seasoned horror film critic and filmmaker Rockoff (Going to Pieces) attempts to analyze the genre’s high and low points in this series of personal essays that, taken as a whole, is not entirely effective. His book hops back and forth between the author’s autobiography and his perspective on horror films (along with heavy metal and other related art forms). These chapters often have little relation with one another, but they can nevertheless be entertaining, as seen in Rockoff’s point-by-point breakdown of the 1980s PMRC congressional hearings over “explicit content” in various media. Rockoff’s stated purpose is to provide criticism by way of the “collective unconscious,” as though his own experiences are representative of the vast majority of horror buffs. However, given that most of his opinions on various films are contrary to prevailing sentiment—as made abundantly clear in his objections to the “Horror Commandments”—it seems that Rockoff doesn’t represent most horror fans, and his knowledge is too deep and his references are too obscure to appeal to the average moviegoer. Without a satisfactory thesis, Rockoff’s prose, though amusing, feels directionless. (May)