Religion and Horror on the Silver
Screen
Douglas E. Cowan
Baylor University Press 2008
From
the first time I saw “Hellraiser” I became intrigued by the interaction between
religion and horror. While it can be seen overtly in such films as The Exorcist
or Stigmata to name just a couple, we also find religious themes and images
throughout the vast majority of horror films, the question of course is why ? I
have been surprised there has not been more books exploring this question –
indeed Sacred Terror is one of the first on the subject.
Cowan
explores religion and horror in cinema in an erudite and provocative manner. He
argues that regardless of whether religious beliefs are empirically real, the
various questions that are explored within religion are also explored within
horror cinema, it could be said they “speak the same language” and that there
is an intersection between the imagery and iconography in common use.
Cowan
argues that horror films are excellent vehicles for externalizing the fears
that lie inside our selves: of evil; of sex; of desire; of places we perceive
are being imbued with meaning; of a change in the order of the world; of death,
of dying badly; of fanaticism; and of the power-and the powerlessness-of
religion.
Cowan
explores religion and horror from a thorough grounding in the academic study of
religion as well as a solid understanding of horror cinema. Of course,
ultimately, there are various ways to interpret the religious themes of horror.
Cowan
also explores various academic theories regarding the nature of religion and
the concept of the holy and its relationship to horror and terror. It is
intriguing that throughout the history of religion there has always been a
place for the scary story (whether it be the myths of the Old Testament or the
wild tales of the Hindu Puranas) and so many of these themes now seem to have
found their way into horror cinema.
While
some may see that certain impulses, banished by science and rationalism,
resurface in horror films—an approach especially popular with students of Carl
Jung . Others see that cinema as the “new post modern religion”, a way to
explore the search for meaning in a secular, post modern world where religious
myths and legends have lost their potency and significance and are now
relegated to the world of superstition.
However
you wish to view it, Sacred Terror
offers some fascinating insights into the intersection between horror and
religion. However, the general reader should be aware that this text is based
within the world of “academic discourse” and may prove heavy going for those
without a background in religious studies.
This review will appear in Volume 2:1
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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