While most people reading this are probably horror fans, I can imagine this would be super confusing for someone say, assigned to read it for a class, as there are a lot of inside jokes and references that you'd only get if you'd seen the movies. The book is also VERY repetitive, and has that "this was a dissertation" where each chapter was presented at a different conference so everything has to be explained like it's the first time it's being brought up. 

That said, this is a fun and fast read with some great history and an excellent filmography of stuff to watch to fill in any gaps in Black horror cinema. This also made me realize that Vin Diesel is never explicitly Black in anything, which blew my mind. No wonder he can just be like "John Cena is my brother now" and we require no explanation.