This is the first edited collection addressing the Saw franchise, which to date is the highest grossing horror series of all time. The films are often derided by critics as ""torture porn,"" and as just an excuse to show blood and gore.

This collection of fresh essays by academic authors from Europe, America and Australia addresses the cultural, religious and philosophical themes that run through the films, covering such themes as how the franchise reflects a post-9/11 shift in US popular culture towards increasing pessimism and how it may be read as a metaphor for the subsequent ""war on terror""; how the series explores such issues as freewill and determinism; representations of the body; and a Deleuzian perspective to the franchise.

About the Author
James Aston is Director of Studies for Film at the University of Hull, UK, and his principal research interests focus on the field of cinematic representations of the past especially in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s and post-9/11. He lives in Larkin Hull, United Kingdom.

John Walliss is Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the Faculty of Sciences and Social Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, UK. He has published widely in several areas, such as the sociology of religion, new religious movements and violence, religion and popular culture, and fan cultures.


Book Information
ISBN 9780786470891
Author James Aston
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
Weight(grams) 273g