Hong Kong Horror Cinema - by Gary Bettinson & Daniel Martin (Paperback)

About the Book

Hong Kong Horror Cinema offers new insights into the history of Hong Kong horror through case studies of classic films and through a detailed consideration of their aesthetic power, economic significance, and cultural impact in both the global and domestic market.

Book Synopsis

Dumplings stuffed with diabolical fillings. Sword-wielding zombies. Hopping cadavers. Big-head babies. For decades, Hong Kong cinema has served up images of horror quite unlike those found in other parts of the world. In seminal films such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Rouge, The Eye, Dumplings, and Rigor Mortis, the region's filmmakers have pushed the boundaries of genre, cinematic style, and bad taste. But what makes Hong Kong horror cinema so utterly unique? Why does it hold such fascination for "serious" cinephiles and cult fans alike? Hong Kong Horror Cinema is the first English-language study of this delirious and captivating cinematic tradition, offering new insights into the history of Hong Kong horror through case studies of classic films and through a detailed consideration of their aesthetic power, economic significance, and cultural impact in both the global and domestic market.

From the Back Cover

Hong Kong Horror Cinema Edited by Gary Bettinson and Daniel Martin Dumplings stuffed with diabolical fillings. Sword-wielding zombies. Hopping cadavers. Big-head babies. For decades, Hong Kong cinema has served up images of horror quite unlike those found in other parts of the world. In seminal films such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Rouge, The Eye, Dumplings, and Rigor Mortis, the region's filmmakers have pushed the boundaries of genre, cinematic style, and bad taste. But what makes Hong Kong horror cinema so utterly unique? Why does it hold such fascination for "serious" cinephiles and cult fans alike? Hong Kong Horror Cinema is the first English-language study of this delirious and captivating cinematic tradition, offering new insights into the history of Hong Kong horror through case studies of classic films and through a detailed consideration of their aesthetic power, economic significance, and cultural impact in both the global and domestic market. Gary Bettinson is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Lancaster University Daniel Martin is Associate Professor of Film Studies at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Review Quotes

"Bettinson (Lancaster Univ., UK), Martin (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), and their ten fellow contributors take on the horror genre. But not just any horror genre; this is Hong Kong, and all Hong Kong productions differ from those of mainland China . . . Bettinson and Martin's collection is the first study of Hong Kong's contribution to the horror genre."-- CHOICE, A. Hirsh, Central Connecticut State University

About the Author

Gary Bettinson is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Lancaster University. He is the author of The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai: Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance (Hong Kong University Press, 2015) and editor of Asian Cinema (Intellect Press).

Daniel Martin is Associate Professor of Film Studies in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). His recent research concerns the international circulation of films from East Asia. He is the author of Extreme Asia: The Rise of Cult Cinema from the Far East (Edinburgh University Press, 2015), co-editor of Korean Horror Cinema (Edinburgh University Press, 2013).