ABSTRACT
Whether it is possible to feel sympathy or empathy for fictional characters, and how these emotive patterns rely (or not) on identification, has been the subject of numerous theoretical and philosophical works and remains an important part of debates on cinematic affect and emotion. 1 In this chapter, I want to further these discussions by focusing on the affective moment viewers experience when they are wilfully confronted with on-screen mutilation. Because of the extreme nature of its images by Hollywood standards, and because it normally abuses bodies in a spectacular manner, my focus falls upon the horror film, although it would be possible to argue that, where the treatment of mutilation is similar, as in dark thrillers, the same conclusions would apply. I argue that the capacity which graphic images have to elicit corporeal reactions from viewers needs to be understood along kinaesthetic lines – namely, the ability to apprehend the value and cause of movement, and of corporeal vulnerability.
