Contemporary Thai Horror Film: A Monstrous Hybrid (Traditions in World Cinema)

Book info: Contemporary Thai Horror Film: A Monstrous Hybrid (Traditions in World Cinema) (Paperback, 224 pages) – Edinburgh University Press, 2025. Language: English.

This book focuses on the most significant and dominant characteristic of Thai cinema throughout its history: the Thai incarnation of the horror genre and the central role this plays in Thailand’s film industry. Tracing the development of Thai cinema throughout wider contextual changes, the book explores the influence of audiences and viewing scenarios from previous decades upon this industry today. Most evident in the popular horror genre, close analysis of films demonstrates a specific style of Thai cinema as well as the wider social forces (both formal and thematic) that have shaped Thai cinema as a national industry. Looking at these films through a framework built from horror theory, this book questions our understanding of ‘horror’ as a generic category when we move outside of its traditional Euro-American origins and the voyeuristic viewing scenario often associated with the genre.

Editorial Reviews Review

This book is a major contribution to the study of Thai cinema, offering a comprehensive analysis of one of its most popular genres and its key productions, emphasizing the industry dynamics and audience practices that contributed to its development. It is an essential text for any scholar engaging with Thai horror film.

-- Katarzyna Ancuta, Chulalongkorn University

Ranging from the earliest days of Thai cinema to the streaming platforms of today’s digital age, this is a sophisticated and highly knowledgeable study of Thai horror cinema and the cultural contexts it both articulates and interrogates. Essential reading for those with an interest in the nation, the region, and the genre.

-- Linnie Blake, Manchester Metropolitan University About the Author Mary Jane Ainslie is Associate Professor in Film and Media at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China Campus. She is the author of ‘Contemporary Thai Horror Film: A Monstrous Hybrid’ (EUP, 2023) and Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Malaysia: Malay Nationalism, Philosemitism and Pro-Israel Expressions (2019) as well as the co-editor of Southeast Asia On Screen: From Independence to Financial Crisis (1945-1998) (2020) and Thai Cinema: The Complete Guide’ (2015).