"This book argues that a succession of filmmakers working in horror have used the genre to challenge the status quo. Spanning the decades from the 1930s onwards this critical text examines the work of producers and directors as varied as George A. Romero, Pete Walker, Michael Reeves, Herman Cohen, Wes Craven and Brian Yuzna"--;Introduction -- Anti-eugenics: Frankenstein (1931) and Freaks (1932) -- anti-1940s home front propaganda: Cat people (1942) and The curse of the Cat people (1944) -- Anti-1950s Cold War conformity: the films of Herman Cohen -- Anti-establishment 1960s-1970s Britain: the films of Michael Reeves and Pete Walker -- Anti-Vietnam: Night of the living dead (1968), Deathdream (1972) and The crazies (1973) -- Anti-Hollywood violence and dark counterculture: Last house on the left (1972) and The Texas chain saw massacre (1974) -- Counterculture revolution: Shivers (1975), Blue Sunshine (1978) and Dawn of the dead (1978) -- Anti-"reaganomics": Henry-portrait of a serial killer (1986) and American psycho (2000) -- Anti-1990s materialism: Brian Yuzna and Splatstick -- Anti-new puritanism: Teeth (2007) and American Mary (2012) -- Afterword: Subversive horror cinema post-9/11.