The Horror Film

With legions of fans and detractors alike, the horror film is one of the most popular, varied, and complex film genres. What makes them so revolting and dreadful yet keeps us coming back and unable to look away?

This course asks this question, and others pertaining to horror’s aesthetic, cultural and historical significance, in a survey of horror films past and present, in the US and internationally. As a study of a single film genre, this course too assesses the significance of genre to how the film industry works, how viewers engage with generic conventions, and how film genres and culture change over time. Also, horror films often tap into sublimated cultural anxieties that expose social tensions and contestations over gender, race and class inequities

3 hours lecture, 3 units of credit

Transfer acceptability: CSU