The horror genre has long been subjected to contempt, moral scrutiny, and outright censorship. While UK readers may be familiar with the video nasty crusade of the 1980s, one of horror’s most formidable foes, with a staggering influence unknown or forgotten to most, is none other than the Catholic Church.

As succinctly explained by the title (and the amusing cover image of a pope replacing Max Von Sydow in The Exorcist poster), The Vatican Versus Horror Movies explores decades of a conflict between genre films and Catholicism. With the Segnalazioni Cinematografiche (“Film Reports”), a regularly distributed film review pamphlet published by the Centro Cattolico Cinematografico (“Catholic Film Centre”) starting in the 1930s, the Church passed its judgement over every variety of horror film. They snuffed out Psycho’s Italian box office chances, wrote eloquent yet ultimately disapproving reviews of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, and reckoned with nunsplotiation films where they were the subject of direct critique.

Guiding us through this history is Matt Rogerson, who, as childhood stories in their preface reveal, is the perfect person for the job. Rogerson (he/they) grew up Roman Catholic in the UK in the 80s, with a healthy diet of his father’s pirated video nasties that he would sneakily devour while his parents slept upstairs. After growing disillusioned with the religion and only more enamoured with the genre, Rogerson discovered the Segnalazioni Cinematografiche and, after years of learning a new language, translated a plethora of editions, which have formed the basis of their book.

Wading through hundreds of horror films across the 20th century, Rogerson deftly identifies and explains patterns in the genre while connecting them to the CCC’s morality. He considers the rise of Italian horror—as led by filmmakers like Mario Bava—in the context of the country’s secularisation, while evaluating the Nazisploitation subgenre in dialogue with Italy’s fascist history. The research is also organised by the Church’s reaction to specific sins: one chapter is dedicated to cannibalism, another to the rape/revenge genre. Rogerson’s investigation into the latter subject yields particularly interesting results, with a comparative analysis revealing that the Church was more prone to condemn the depictions of “revenge” in the film rather than those of rape.

Covering a dense history in a brisk 220-page account, The Vatican Versus Horror Movies is sure to be an absorbing read for any fan of horror history. Moreover, as it’s no spoiler to reveal who eventually won the titular battle, it’s a testament to the power of a disruptive genre that cannot be repressed.

The Vatican Versus Horror Movies is available now from McFarland Books