The world as we've seen it through Stephen King's eyes began in October 1957 when he was only 10 years old. Watching Hugh Marlowe in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, he was terrified by the snarling geriatric faces of the aliens, so far removed from the handsome Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still that had been released a few years before. His fear was an intoxicant, and his love of horror and science fiction was born that day. Danse Macabre is a study of how these two genres have mixed and mingled in movies and print from the 1950's through the late 1980's.
King titled this study "Danse Macabre" because the art of bringing fear is rhythmic in nature. There may be an uncivilized level of disgust, a growing uneasiness, a horrid unbelievability, but steps must be taken, and rational thought must be pacified and wooed. Psychologically and emotionally, as an audience, we are asked to the dancefloor, knowing full-well it will end badly. We will embarrass ourselves, tripping and falling to the ground, flailing in our own piss and hoping no one else witnessed it.
Without being too academic in this review, this is a book about the roots of what is horrifying. War, disease, loss: things we can't control are given a face and are sent after us. Technology is bigger than us, monsters are built or arrive unexpectedly, people we love are changed, dreams run amok. And suddenly, we can't seem to get out of our own way.
The horror genre is simply a mask for what ails us. And King knows that not everyone will agree with his assessment of its history. At times, I was applauding his understanding of group criticism toward certain movies or media, and other times- well, not so much. But no one can say that he hasn't done his homework. His view of the modern American horror movie and horror fiction has shaped him and reading Danse Macabre was like listening to a really long lecture and having the attention span to see it to the end.
Every chapter held revelations and it was difficult not to get excited about some B/W film that was released before I was even born, as if it were a new release.
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I'm so totally in love with Stephan King, it's not even funny. And that began roughly around the time I turned ten. Lol. I've read Danse Macabre and loved it. You're absolutely right that it's like getting a lecture from your very favorite professor. I came away feeling very "in the know". =]
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PS- I've also read like a zillion biographies of him and "On Writing" because I'm kind of like a crazy stalker.
thank you, princess!
ReplyDeletei was having browser issues when i wrote this. it took me almost 2 HOURS to fix the problem.
as i was reading the book, i had about 4 MILLION points i wanted to make. i even DREAMNT the entire review and it was awesome.
but then, when i was writing it...stupid internet! so i just pounded out a quick review. seriously, for anyone who loves old sci-fi and horror movies, this is a hell of a read.