Necessary Death

What Horror Movies Teach Us About Navigating the Human Experience

Preston Fassel, Chris Grosso

• Publisher: Health Communications Inc
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9780757324895
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Based on very real and practical commentary, life experience, and occasionally, tongue-in-cheek-misfortunes of horror legends, Necessary Death explores how the horror genre, its motifs, and its characters offer individuals a unique opportunity for insight and understanding of their own lives. Necessary Death looks back on several iconic horror films and finds that maybe the genre wasn't ever really just about men in hockey masks chasing good looking coeds through old dark houses. Even a cursory examination of the horror convention will reveal a plethora of stories from recovering addicts, survivors of trauma and sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and minorities. So what, then, can this genre so concerned with death teach us about being alive—and how can we apply those lessons in our day-to-day existence? Using some of the most quintessential movies in the genre, Chris Grosso and Preston Fassel invite readers to an in-depth examination of the human condition—its fears, anxieties, hopes, joys, sorrows, and everything in-between—and how it's all grist for our personal and collective evolutionary mill. A hallmark of the genre is how horror films force their characters to find some semblance of inner strength and wherewithal in order to stand up to the monster, ghost, or villain that is trying to take their lives. Through fascinating discussion of this and other elements, Fassel and Grosso relate these films' dark subject matter and characters to real world issues people face every day, showing that there's something deep within us that, if even just metaphorically, can relate to the pain in these stories. This sharp analysis is complimented by exercises that prompt readers to consider gratitude, forgiveness, determination, and bravery in the face of adversity. An unusual mix of film study and self-help, Necessary Death might surprise or even shock readers, but it will also enlighten, educate, and most importantly hearten those looking for an unexpected source of inspiration.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Foreword
• Preface: Horror and Healing Forever
• Preface: My Love Affair with Horror
• Author’s Note
• Chapter 1: Becoming Your Best Self Isn’t Just a Dream: Freddy Krueger from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’
• Chapter 2: Taking a Chain Saw to the Unnecessary Masks We Wear: Leatherface from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’
• Chapter 3: On Embracing Yourself and Finding Your Own “Losers’ Club”: Pennywise from ‘It’
• Chapter 4: The Power of Christ Compels Us to Explore Spirituality and Religion: Reagan MacNeil from ‘The Exorcist’
• Chapter 5: Brains!… and Mindfulness: Tarman from ‘Return of the Living Dead’
• Chapter 6: Sinking Our Teeth into Life’s Problems One Bite at a Time: Bruce the Shark from ‘Jaws’
• Chapter 7: Letting Ourselves (and Others) off the Hook: Daniel Robitaille from ‘Candyman’
• Chapter 8: The Guts of What Really Going with the Flow Looks Like: The Thing from ‘The Thing’
• Chapter 9: Strangers in Strange Lands (and Learning to Make Our Way): Yautja from ‘Predator’
• Chapter 10: The Hell That Is Life Lived Without Gratitude: Pinhead and the Cenobites from ‘Hellraiser’
• Chapter 11: Hatchets, Sleeping Bags, and Childhood Trauma: Jason Voorhees from ‘Friday the 13th’
• Chapter 12: The Blackest Eyes, the Devil’s Eyes, and Carl Jung’s Shadow Self: Michael Myers from ‘Halloween’
• Chapter 13: A Blood-Soaked Exploration of Guilt and Shame: Carrie White from ‘Carrie’
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Notes
• Copyright