The first of its kind, this study examines the exemplars of hardcore horror—Fred Vogel’s August Underground trilogy, Shane Ryan’s Amateur Porn Star Killer series and Lucifer Valentine’s “vomit gore” films.
The author begins with a definition and critical overview of this marginalized subgenre before exploring its key aesthetic convention, the pursuit of realist horror. Production practices, exhibition and marketing strategies are discussed in an in-depth interview with filmmaker Shane Ryan. Audience reception is covered with a focus on fan interaction via the Internet.

James Aston is program leader for screen at the University of Hull film studies undergraduate program. He lives in Willerby, United Kingdom.

James Aston
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 240
Bibliographic Info: 19 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6888-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3353-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Introduction: Beyond Videodrome—An Archaeology of 21st-Century Hardcore Horror 1
One. “Not like how Hollywood shows us”: A Definition of Hardcore Horror in the 21st Century 15
Two. The Genealogy of Extremity in North American Film 30
Three. Global Currents of Extreme Horror 55
Four. “A malignant, seething hatework”: The Films of Hardcore Horror in the 21st Century 80
Five. The Realist Aesthetic of Hardcore Horror 110
Six. “These movies have brought me many problems”:
Performance and the Traumatized Self Within Hardcore Horror 131
Seven. Hardcore Horror Production: An Interview with Amateur Porn Star Killer Director Shane Ryan 153
Eight. “I’ll pay you in cash to slip this thread into the purge”: Navigating Fandom in Hardcore Horror 172
Conclusion: “It has no redeeming features whatsoever that I could discern”—The Cultural Value of Hardcore Horror 198
Chapter Notes 205
Bibliography 221
Index 229