Shockers!: The ’70s Cinema of Trash, Terror and Sexploitation

Demonic teens, hillbilly horror, porno chic and rape-revenge: what spurred the radical, transgressive and often sadistic film of the ’70s? Shockers! takes an unprecedented look at the mainstream and obscure films of this generation, from America and beyond, arguing that often disreputable genres and cycles best shed light on the turbulence of the decade. Cult film experts explain how contemporary fears of intergenerational conflict and criminality – as well as newly permissive attitudes towards sex on screen – allowed previously illicit filmic imagery to proliferate in American and British classics, such as The Exorcist and A Clockwork Orange, as well as films from Australia, East Asia, Latin America and Europe. Rich with cultural and political context, this book offers the first global perspective on the shocking cinema of the ’70s.