Hanich looks at fear at the movies - its aesthetics, its experience and its pleasures--in this thought-provoking study. Looking at over 150 different films including Seven, Rosemary's Baby, and Silence of the Lambs, Hanich attempts to answer the paradox of why we enjoy films that thrill us, that scare us, that threaten us, that shock us -affects that we otherwise desperately wish to avoid.

Julian Hanich received a PhD in Film Studies from the Free University Berlin.

List of Figures Acknowledgments Part I Introduction Chapter One: How to Describe Cinematic Fear, or Why Phenomenology? Chapter Two: Multiplexperiences: Individualized Immersion and Collective Feelings Part II Chapter Three: Frightening Fascination: A Phenomenology of Direct Horror Chapter Four: Intimidating Imaginations: A Phenomenology of Suggested Horror Chapter Five: Startling Scares: A Phenomenology of Cinematic Shock Chapter Six: Anxious Anticipations: A Phenomenology of Cinematic Dread Chapter Seven: Apprehensive Agitation: A Phenomenology of Cinematic Terror Part III Chapter Eight: Moments of Intensity: Lived-Body Metamorphoses and Experienced Time Chapter Nine: Moments of Collectivity: The Cinema of Fear and Feelings of Belongingness Chapter Ten: The End Notes Bibliography Index