Product Description
Definitive investigation into that controversial and inflammatory of all urban myths: the “snuff” movie. Including: Feature film, Mondo film, Death film, and a comprehensive filmography and index. Illustrated by rare and stunning photographs from cinema, documentary and real life, Killing for Culture is a necessary book which examines and questions the human obsession with images of violence, dismemberment and death, and the way our society is coping with a… More >>
Killing for Culture: Death Film from Mondo to Snuff
#1 by Anonymous on February 8, 2010 - 4:59 pm
With all of the hoopla surrounding Death/Snuff films (8mm and the older flick that mearly contained an interest in it “Videodrome”), someone had to break the field and shove it straight into our face. Those of us interested in it for pure curiousity sake can hardly find true information on the reasons behind such underground culture. The internet, though vast in knowledge hardly has a thing to offer. If your into Faces/Traces of Death films or are interested in the hows and whys, then this is definitely something to put on the shelf.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Jason Keeth on February 8, 2010 - 6:46 pm
A comprehensive collection of society’s infatuation and fetish of death on film.
This book’s mission will provide a very detailed look at the most controversial death films dating back to the early 60s.
A recommended read for any cinephile looking to broadening their understanding of influence of film on society.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Azathoth on February 8, 2010 - 8:09 pm
Another excellent book from Creation Books.
Kerekes and Slater provide a complete, at least as complete as it can be, history of death on film.
The subjects range from classic films such as Snuff(1976), Peeping Tom – Criterion Collection(1960), and Hardcore(1979) to Mondo documentaries and real death film such as Faces of Death Collection (Vols. 1-4), Traces of Death – 9th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, and the myth of the authentic snuff film.
A must have for anyone interested in film history and/or the Mondo/death genre of movie.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by Scott C. Smith on February 8, 2010 - 10:56 pm
“Killing for Culture” is a fascinating look at the subject of death in film and other media. Of particular note is the history behind the “Snuff” film, an urban legend that has persisted for years of movies where someone on-camera is murdered, for real. Of course, not one single frame of a snuff film has ever been uncovered, but that hasn’t stopped the legend from appearing, and re-appearing, over time.
In addition to the sections on snuff, other areas of the death genre are explored, from the “Mondo” films of the 1960s, to the present-day “Faces of Death” style gore feasts. It makes for a fascinating, if gruesome, study of the various death genres of film and video.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by N. P. Stathoulopoulos on February 9, 2010 - 12:11 am
Well, someone had to write this book, and the authors have done a very admirable job. They look at all types of “death film”, from snuff to mondo to mainstream films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990) and Man Bites Dog (1992) and other “deadly” things like the “Faces of Death” movies and such. This appears to be the best if not the only book on this subject matter. No other book looks at some of these films the way Killing For Culture does. As much as we would like to turn away from many of these films they represent interesting extremes and often serve to remind us of what exists and what is always around the corner–death. Its representations in cinema are often striking, controversial, disturbing, and whether we like it or not, memorable.
Rating: 4 / 5