Postmodern horror is a horror film related to the art and philosophy of postmodernism including self-awareness of certain cliches and tropes to the point of parody. Examples of this type of film include George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, John Carpenter's slasher film Halloween, and Wes Craven's Scream.
Background Postmodern horror, which emerged in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, is defined by several key characteristics. These include the disruption of everyday life through violence, the crossing and violation of boundaries, and a critique of rationality as a reliable framework. It also rejects traditional narrative closure, instead offering open-ended or unresolved storytelling. Additionally, it creates a confined experience of fear for the audience, fostering a sense of immersion.
Examples of this include the famous "rules of surviving a horror movie" speech from Wes Craven's 1996 slasher film Scream and the self-aware characters (including the main protagonist) slowly realizing they're living the plot of one in the 1990 precursor There's Nothing Out There.RIP Wes Craven, Dead at 76. Here Are 3 Time He Perfected Postmodern Horror|Fast CompanyA Scary Hollywood Rip-Off - The AtlanticWatch: Charlie Lyne’s Copycat, A Short Film About the Proto-Scream|Filmmaker MagazineThe Obscure 1990 Horror Movie That May Have Inspired Wes Craven's Scream|Mental Floss
Examples of postmodern horror films Bride of the Monster (1955) Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) Night of the Ghouls (1959) Psycho (1960)Why Do Movies Feel So Different Now? - Thomas Flight on YouTube Persona (1966) Spider Baby (1967) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Targets (1968) Necromania (1971) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) House (1977) Halloween (1978) Dawn of the Dead (1978) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) The Brood (1979) Alien (1979)Alternate Americas: Science Fiction and American Culture - Google Books The Shining (1980) The Evil Dead (1981) The Howling (1981) The Entity (1982) The Thing (1982) Videodrome (1983) The Toxic Avenger (1984) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)Recreational Terror - Google Books Re-Animator (1985) Fright Night (1985) Chopping Mall (1986) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Evil Dead II (1987)The Monstrous-feminine - Google Books (pg.73) Anguish (1987)Anguish (1987) Beetlejuice (1988) Lady in White (1988) Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)New on DVD and Blu-ray|The WeekGremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Movie Review from Eye for Film Candyman (1992) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (PG) - The Washington Post Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) From Dusk till Dawn (1996) Scream (1996) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Bride of Chucky (1998) The Blair Witch Project (1999) American Psycho (2000)Culture War: How the '90s Made Us Who We Are Today (Whether We Like It Or Not) - Google Books (ch. "Indie-Pendent's Day") Final Destination (2000) Scary Movie (2000) Mulholland Drive (2001) Party Monster (2003) Shaun of the Dead (2004) Night Watch (2004)Who Was "Night Watch" Filmed for? A Parody of Russian Postmodernism|Zen Inland Empire (2006) Drag Me to Hell (2009) Antichrist (2009)Antichrist: Chronicles of a Psychosis Foretold · Senses of CinemaPostmodern Family Romance, Antichrist Shutter Island (2010) The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Frankenweenie (2012)Postmodernism in Tim Burton's Frankenweenie on HSE Design ParaNorman (2012) Hotel Transylvania (2012) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter directed by Timur Bekmambetov (review) The Final Girls (2015) Get Out (2017) The House That Jack Built (2018)(PDF) The House that Lars Built - academia.edu Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)Bad Times at the El Royale: A Postmodern Thriller in the Spirit of Trier and Tarantino In Fabric (2018)In Fabric (2019) Us (2019) Midsommar (2019) Last Night in Soho (2021) Nope (2022) Razzennest (2022)'Razzennest' review - Projected Figures'Razzennest' review - ScreenAnarchy X film series (2022–2024)Pearl: Ti West's Post-Modern Slasher Trilogy Reaches Its Bloody Mid-Point - Original Cin Beau is Afraid (2023)Why the Postmodern Structure of Ari Aster's 'Beau is Afraid' Works Masterfully - No Film School Late Night with the Devil (2023)David Dastmalchian on Late Night With the Devil: Interview|Consequence A Different Man (2024)A Different Man - Film Freak Central The Substance (2024)The Best Films of 2024 - Michigan Daily Dracula (2025) I Saw the TV Glow (2025)“I wasn’t a child of arthouse cinema. I was a child of television”: Jane Schoenbrun on I Saw the TV Glow|Sight & Sound Good Boy (2025)New Wave Post-Modern Horror's Use of POV on Bloody Disgusting Weapons (2025)Postmodern, a list of films by Johannes F. Schiller · Letterboxd Backrooms (2026)Backrooms Teaser – Blunt Magazine The Bride! (2026)God Forbid ‘The Bride!’ Get a Little Motion – The RingerAwardsWatch – ‘The Bride!’ Review: Maggie Gyllenhaal Goes For Baroque in Messy, Misguided Post-Modern Monster Movie (D) Buddy (2026)Reviews ‘Buddy’ review: A kids’ TV show takes a deadly turn in smart, fresh horror comedy|Screen DailyBuddy (2026)|Deep Focus
List of directors associated with postmodern horror Ed WoodBad For Good (PDF) George A. Romero David Cronenberg Wes CravenTowards an Earnest Cinema John Carpenter David Lynch Sam Raimi Lars Von Trier Tim Burton Edgar Wright Timur Bekmambetov Drew Goddard Jordan PeeleCan I Live? Contemporary Black Satire and the State of Postmodern Double Consciousness on JSTORJordan Peele on 'Get Out' and writing for the Black audience Casper Kelly Johannes Grenzfurthner Ari Aster Ti West
See also
Postmodernist film Social thriller Extreme cinema Vulgar auteurism Art horror Folk horror American New Wave Indiewood Analog horror
References
Further reading Prince, Stephen The Horror Film, Rutgers University Press 2012
External links How Horror Became a Hair–Raising, Revolutionary Genre on Fair Observer