Games of Terror is actually an extended version of Vera Dika's NYU cinema studies PhD dissertation from the mid-1980s. She examines the 'slasher' film from a psychoanalytic point of view and carefully reviews several 'canonical' entries in the genre.
Most movie fans don't delve into film theory, as it is not an easily accessible academic world for most moviegoers, and certainly not for the casual Jason or Freddy fan. That said, Games of Terror is still a careful and deliberate effort to define and analyze a body of films, discuss persistent themes, story elements, and plot points, and comment on meaning. Dika spends a good amount of time defining the gener (the "stalker cycle"),
The resulting 'what it all means' is really food for thought, and some of it is interesting and may even spark discussion. Again, this is not Sergei Eisenstein or an examination of experimental films of the 1960s, but it's always intriguing to read a serious critical analysis of what is often considered low-brow entertainment. Many fans may indeed wonder if there's something really 'there', or if it's just a bunch of hacks trying to make a buck by following a tried and true formula. Freudian-themed palimpsest? Or Canadian-made, quick-buck tax flick?
Looks like the book is out of print, and I see whopping prices from second market sellers for the hardcover (I don't believe there was ever a paperback). Difficult to recommend at such high prices. I would check out libraries...and if you live in NYC, a reading membership at NYU library would be cheaper than some of the prices I've seen!
