Kendall R. Phillips is Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University, USA. His publications include Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture (2005), Dark Directions: Romero, Craven, Carpenter and the Modern Horror Film (2012) and A Place of Darkness: The Rhetoric of Horror in Early American Cinema (2018).

Chapter 1. Introduction: Echoes of Refusal.- Chapter 2. A Certain Tendency in Post-Occupy Cinema: The Cabin in the Woods, The Purge, and Snowpiercer.- Chapter 3. "You Get What You Fucking Deserve": Joker and the Fantasies of Refusal.- Chapter 4. Of Gods and Monsters: Grief, Betrayal, and Failure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chapter 5. Conclusion: Endgame?./