Description
This course explores the 100+ year history of Horror films from around the
world, arranged on a timeline from 1920 to present. The fact that our interest in monsters, zombies,
vampires, aliens, demons, slashers, serial killers, haunted houses, creepy dolls, and/or possessed
children continues to thrive reflects an ongoing collective interest in the darker side of things, and a
desire not only to investigate the things that scare us but experience fear for ourselves. Some of the
questions we will be investigating in this course include: What cultural function does horror serve?
What pleasure(s) do we derive from horror? What do these films reveal about societal fears? What
does our response to these films reveal about ourselves?