Every horror fan has their blind spots, those subgenres or movements in movies that they just haven’t gotten around to for whatever reason. The two biggest for me are giallo (which thanks to the Criterion Channel I’m currently working on) and the films of the first decade of the 21st century. For me it was simply a matter of not having the time. As these films were coming out, I got married to my lovely, but non-horror-loving wife, and my children were born. I couldn’t usually get away to check out the latest Saw film or sneak Hostel 2 into my DVD player while the kid was taking a snooze on my lap. That’s just how things go. There’s also the fact that I was pretty devoted to critics like Roger Ebert at the time.
Though I still have respect for many of them, it’s no secret that most critics of the time were tough on horror to say the least, and seemed to have an extra dose of venom for these films in particular. But to be honest, much of the horror of that era has been written off in the years since, even by fans of the genre. Though much of it has remained popular, with several franchises birthed in the era continuing to this day, many see these films as escapist entertainment or a gross-out fix and not much more. In her debut book Millennial Nasties, author Ariel Powers-Shaub argues that these films not only have value, but great cultural relevance as well.
Right from the beginning, Powers-Shaub makes the argument for a new descriptor for the mostly American horror films of 2000-2010—Millennial Nasties. It’s a great moniker: descriptive, accurate, and affectionate rather than derogatory, as the “torture porn” label that is often slapped on the era is usually meant to be. She also makes it clear that this is not an academic work or a history, but her own thoughts and analysis on what makes these films notable and worthy of the Millennial Nasty label. And her examination of the era and analysis of individual films and themes within it is insightful and thought-provoking. The structure of the book is not linear but rather looks at overarching themes of the Nasties and gathers and examines a group of two or three films that best illustrate that theme. Three larger sections specifically cover the nastiest of the nasties—those movies that most defined the era, slashers, and remakes with subdivisions under each. It’s an effective structure that allows the author and readers to draw connections between various disparate films and the underlying fears they underscore.
Powers-Shaub has a clear affection for this decade and the types of films covered here. She describes them in her introduction as a “cozy nest of filth” before examining in depth the seven Saw films released that decade and the ways they inform and are informed by the other Millennial Nasties. “if the era was full of gritty, nasty, violent, gory, grainy films,” she writes, “the Saw series was the trunk from which those nasty branches grew” and provides a chart titled “Six Degrees of SAW-peration” to illustrate it. Throughout the book she discusses the major and minor titles that define the decade, including a few that may have slipped under your radar along the way. And it really isn’t necessary to have seen everything discussed to appreciate Powers-Shaub’s analysis as she offers plenty of context along the way. The book isn’t just a love fest either. Though Powers-Shaub clearly has great affection for the genre films of the era, she pulls no punches when it comes to condemning the casual misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, and racism that was rampant in films of the decade.
My one criticism of the book is that I believe it would have benefited from a more rigorous editorial process to tighten up certain passages and propel the discussion forward in a more efficient way at times. This is a small criticism, however, considering the strength of the analysis, which is considerable, and the persuasiveness of many of Powers-Shaub’s arguments. For example, reading Millennial Nasties has convinced me to rewatch and reconsider a few titles I had written off after a first viewing and finally watch a few I’ve never bothered to see before. I found this especially true of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead (2004), a film that I have avoided revisiting due to my devotion to the original, my resistance to the “fast zombie” movement, and to the cult of Snyder bros that has tended to sour me toward his films. But reading Powers-Shaub’s analysis has convinced me that I completely missed the point when I watched it for the first time twenty years ago. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it certainly did not resonate with me in a way that I think it could now thanks to Ariel’s astute examination of its characters and themes. As for what I haven’t seen…I’ll just keep that to myself for now.
That is just one example, though. There is plenty more in Millennial Nasties that may well make any reader want to revisit and rethink this much-maligned era of horror. For the already convinced there is much here to deepen your appreciation as well. Powers-Shaub’s “warts and all” love for this decade of horror is constantly on display in the best possible ways. It is clear that we as a society were “working through some shit” in the horror films of this decade and there was a great deal to work through, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the resultant political and cultural ramifications being the most immediate. “Torture porn” was a response to revelations of the use of torture in military prisons, home invasion mined the fear of “the other”—a long-standing theme of horror expressed in more brutal ways, as did the “vacation horrors” of Hatchet, Hostel, Turistas, and more. The particular blend of deep fears, gritty style, and brutal violence that defined the decade are expertly explored here and will leave readers wanting even more.
Millennial Nasties released on September 17 and is available from Encyclopocalypse Publications, a relatively young but exciting publishing house that has already released several books well worth checking out including the excellent Phantom Limbs: Dissecting Horror’s Lost Sequels and Remakes by Jason Jenkins, Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers by Janine Pipe, and several new novelizations of classic horror and exploitation films. Millennial Nasties can be purchased at www.encyclopocalypse.com and other online book retailers.
