Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in Found Footage Horror

Through an identification of key case studies both mainstream and lesser known, Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in American Found Footage Horror Cinema argues that found footage horror cinema is uniquely able to confront a pervasive contemporary culture of anxiety and trauma. This book traces how and why the subgenre has continued to endure, even as we enter a post-cinematic landscape.

Through three distinct sections, Blood on the Lens proposes key observations on the found footage horror subgenre. She questions how these films engage with national trauma, the common themes of this body of films and how they relate to wider anxieties. In addition, McMurdo investigates the effect various cultural movements have had on the aesthetics of found footage horror, how these films position their spectator and encourage an active viewing mode, and how the line between fiction and fact is blurred both paratextually and within the films themselves.

Shellie McMurdo lectures at the University of Hertfordshire, and is a co-convenor of the BAFTSS Horror Studies Special Interest Group. She is the author of Devil’s Advocates: Pet Sematary. Shellie has also published on the true crime fandom, school shooters and American Horror Story, post-peak torture horror, and the role of found footage horror in Blumhouse Productions. Her research focuses on contemporary North American horror cinema, cultural trauma, and the use of analogue media in horror narratives.