Video Series: Epistemic Doubt in the Postmodern Slasher Whodunit

Many postmodern slasher films such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer are murder-mysteries that invite viewers to guess the killer's identity. In this video series, Dr Steve Jones argues that the invitation to play detective is a trap. Through withholding, misdirection, false information, and by turning fans' own subgenre knowledge against them, these films keep viewers at an epistemic disadvantage. Resultantly, these whodunit movies illuminate the tone of irony, paranoia and cynicism that characterises the postmodern slasher phase.

The series can be viewed in six parts (start here), or as a single long-form video (here).

The series is  based on material from Steve’s book The Postmodern Slasher Film, which is available in paperback in July 2026 from Edinburgh University Press. For more details about the book, visit Steve's website.

For a video on Intertextuality in Urban Legend, click here.

For a video on the Metamodern Slsher Film, click here.