‘John Carpenter has harsh words for Rob Zombie’: Fan Nostalgia, the Halloween Franchise, and the Authenticity of the Horror Auteur

In the last decade there has been an increasing desire for authenticity within horror fandom, with genre icons such as John Carpenter, increasingly held up as auteurs who have had their work stolen from them by greedy Hollywood studios. Blumhouse has utilised fan nostalgia as a promotional tool to reaffirm their own authority as creators. By wielding original actors, locations, creators, crew members, and even locations, as signifiers of their own authenticity, Blumhouse is able to win the support of the fan community. Fan reactions, and attitudes to both Halloween 2018 and the other sequels will be explored and analysed and this will act as a case study for the wider practice of studios harnessing notions of authenticity and fan nostalgia for further box office reward. Whilst addressing the criticisms of nostalgia for profit, the possible positive impacts of this approach will also be considered, in order to negotiate the complex power relations between producer and fan audience positions. This chapter explores the rhetoric of authenticity, audience research into fan responses, and the positives and negatives of nostalgia-based marketing in horror.