Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography with an Introduction

The release of Silence of the Lambs in 1991, which swept the major Academy Awards categories, legitimized the serial killer movie, a genre that dates back as far as the silent era. From Absence of the Good to Zodiac Killer, this reference work allows a detailed study of the development of the serial killer film as a distinct genre with its own character types, narrative patterns and styles. An introduction outlines the historical evolution of this film genre and covers the whole range of cinematic interpretations from the response to Jack the Ripper and other real life serial killers through the late 1960s on to the current state of the genre. The filmography covers over 500 feature films and select television movies. Each entry contains the main credits, a synopsis, a summary of the film's merits and discussion of how they fit into the genre's themes and structures.