ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book denotes a kind of axiomatic point, the rise of right-wing populism and the decline of US democracy in the post-9/11 United States is substantiated within the films under analysis and is something that can be read throughout the texts. It prescribes the contemporary American horror genre's redeeming social merit through the research's recognition of the rich intersections of Post-9/11 Heartland Horror's socio-political underpinnings, aesthetic range and critical capabilities. Such potentiality enables the subgenre to shrewdly tap into the post-9/11 zeitgeist. This book demonstrates, however, that the subgenre utilises an imagined geography, and that the power invested in such profoundly informs the texts while influencing the films embedded cultural representations. It explains by virtue of the Post-9/11 Heartland Horror film, that some audiences may have been able to achieve a deeper understanding of this tumultuous cultural moment.
