Baylor University ● Dept. of Communication Studies ● Spring 2010
Class: Monday / Wednesday 2:30–3:45 p.m., Castellaw 138 Screening: Monday 6:00–10:00 p.m., Castellaw 101
Professor: Dr. James Kendrick
Office: Castellaw 119 Hours: Mon./Wed. 1:00–2:00 p.m., Tues./Thurs. 10:00–11:00 a.m. All other times by appointment
Phone: 710-6061 E-Mail: [email protected] Web Site: http://homepages.baylor.edu/james_kendrick
Course Description
The horror genre is one of the oldest of cinematic genres, drawing its power from both a legacy of Gothic and Romantic literature and the camera’s newfound possibilities for depicting fantastic subjects via special effects and trickery. Yet, horror has long been a disreputable genre, maligned for its unashamedly sensationalistic nature and horrifying imagery, which has become even more extreme in recent decades with the advent of make-up special effects and CGI. This course will present a critical/historical survey of the cinematic horror genre as it has developed primarily in the United States and Western Europe from the silent era to the end of the 20th century. Along the way we will discuss the development and refinement of the genre’s codes and conventions, the relationship of horror to various social and cultural norms, the intersections between horror and science fiction, and the range of ideologies the genre has represented over the years, from FDM 4396 The Horror Film // Spring 2010 page 2
reactionary conservatism to social subversion. By the end of the semester, students will have a better understanding of:
the aesthetic, narrative, and generic characteristics of “the horror film”;
the psychological functions of horror;
how the genre has developed over time; and
the social/ideological functions of horror.
Required Texts
Clarens, Carlos. An Illustrated History of Horror and Science-Fiction Films: The Classic Era, 1895–1967. New York: De Capo Press, 1997.
Jancovich, Mark, ed. Horror, the Film Reader. London: Routledge, 2001.
Worland, Rick. The Horror Film: An Introduction. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.
Additional readings available on Blackboard (http://my.baylor.edu)
Recommended Text
Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film, 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2008.
About the Course
Readings and Discussion
The reading load for some weeks will be pretty heavy, but it is extremely important that you do all the readings before coming to class because they will form the foundation on which lectures and discussions will be built. All of the readings that are not in one of the assigned books will be posted as a PDF file under “Course Documents” on Blackboard (http://my.baylor.edu). We will spend class time working together through all the issues raised in the readings, and you’ll find it is a much more rewarding and enriching experience if you come prepared to ask questions and offer your thoughts.
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Screenings
Every Monday evening from 6:00 to 10:00 we will screen one or more films that will correspond with the topics we are covering in class that week. These screenings are mandatory and absolutely necessary for the course, therefore they count as a class meeting.
Note: As this is a course on the horror genre, we will be screening and studying films that include graphic, frightening, and potentially disturbing images of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. As adults in a university setting, I expect you to approach these films with the seriousness of any subject of study in college. If you have genuine objections to viewing such material, I highly recommend you choose a different course.
Expected Behavior During In-Class Screenings:
The films we watch will often provoke various responses, which is not only acceptable, but expected. Involuntary responses such as laughter and gasps are fine, but under no circumstances should you talk during the screening. It not only distracts you, but others around you.
You should take notes during the screening. On double-feature nights, we will take a short break after between films, and this is a good time to jot down your thoughts, responses, feelings, etc. so you will be better prepared to engaged in later class discussions.
If you must leave during a film screening for a bathroom break or some other emergency, please be as quiet as possible when exiting the room.
Any and all electronic devices, including iPods, PDAs, and especially cell phones, must be turned off during class. You may use a laptop during class to take notes, but it must be shut off during any in-class screenings because the light from the screen is distracting to others.
Assignments
Your grade in this class will be based on the following:
Class Participation and Attendance (20%)
Participation is essential to the learning process, so it is important that you attend class and be prepared to participate actively in discussions. Participation entails your having read the assigned materials and actively taking part in class discussions. I do not expect you to contribute vocally in every single class period, but I do expect that you will contribute consistently throughout the FDM 4396 The Horror Film // Spring 2010 page 4
semester. Even when you are not talking in class, participating entails being awake, alert, and intellectually engaged during both in-class discussions/lectures and the film screenings. You are allowed four personal/sick days to use at your discretion for the lecture/ discussion classes and the screenings (these include excused absences). You will lose 10 points off your participation grade for each additional absence. The university mandates that you attend at least 75% of all classes. Therefore, if you miss more than 8 classes and/or screenings, you automatically fail.
Weekly Critical Responses (20%)
Each week you will be expected to write a critical response relating to that week’s assigned reading(s) and screening(s) and post it to Turnitin.com through Blackboard (http://my.baylor. edu) by noon (12:00 p.m.) on Wednesday. Screening responses are not accepted late for any reason, so do not e-mail me your response after the deadline. I will not accept it. If more than one film was screened, you may respond to one or both. The response should be no less than 300 words in length and should demonstrate an attempt to integrate the class screening with that week’s reading, lectures, and/or in-class discussions. That is, it should not be a listing of what you “liked” or “didn’t like” about the film. Instead, it is an opportunity for you to show me how you are connecting the films we screen with the topics we’re covering in class. You will get full credit for the response only if it (1) is well written and thoughtful, (2) meets the minimum length requirement, and (3) addresses meaningful elements of the film(s) screened that week and how they relate to one or more of the readings. Otherwise, you will receive no more than half-credit. To submit your response, log in to Blackboard (http://my.baylor.edu) and click on this course. Click on “Assignments” in the lefthand column. This will bring you to the Assignments page where you should see a “View/Complete” link for that week’s screening response. Click on that link and upload your paper on the next page.
Exams (60%)
There will be three in-class exams, including the final. Each exam will be comprised of fill-in- the-blank, multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions and will be completed in-class.
Make-Up Exam Policy: The only valid excuses for missing a scheduled exam are serious illness or a death in the family. If you miss an exam for either of these reasons, you will need to let me know ahead of time, provide verifiable documentation, and schedule a make-up exam. Otherwise, there are no make-up exams for any reason. No exceptions.
Graduate Students
If you are a graduate student taking this course, in addition to fulfilling all the stated requirements in the syllabus, you are also required to write a 15–20-page theoretical/analytical paper and present it in class before the end of the semester. I will assign the paper with more details later in the semester. The paper will count as 30% of your grade and your exams will each count only 30%, instead of 60%.
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Academic Integrity
In this class, there is an absolute zero tolerance policy on cheating in any form, including plagiarism. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the university’s policies and what constitutes plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty in the Baylor Student Handbook (http://www.baylor.edu/student_policies). If you are caught cheating in any way, at the minimum you will receive a zero for that assignment, although the penalty may be more severe, depending on the circumstances. All instances of cheating will be reported to the university’s Honor Council.
Student With Special Needs
If you have any special learning needs, please see me during the first week of class so we can be sure you get the proper accommodations. However, before seeing me you must first register with the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA) (http://www.baylor.edu/oala).
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Course Schedule
Week 1—Defining Horror and Its Origins
Jan. 11 Course Introduction
Screening: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); Creepshow (1982)
Jan. 13 Worland, Chpt. 1 and Chpt. 2 (pp. 25–31) Caroll, “Why Horror?,” in Jancovich Clarens, “Foreword”
Week 2—The Beginnings of Horror Cinema and German Expressionism
Jan. 18 No class or screening—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan. 20 Worland, Chpt. 2 (pp. 32–49) Clarens Chpt. 1–3
Week 3—Hollywood Horror in the 1920s and ’30s
Jan. 25 Worland, Chpt. 2 (pp. 50–69) Clarens, Chpt. 4 (pp. 59–87) O’Flinn, “Production and Reproduction,” in Jancovich
Screening: Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931)
Jan. 27 Clarens, Chpt. 4 (pp. 87–103) Worland, Chpt. 6 Berenstein, “Horror for Sale,” in Jancovich
Week 4— Psychoanalysis and Hollywood Horror-Noir of the 1930s and ’40s
Feb. 1 Worland, Chpt. 2 (pp. 69–75) Clarens, Chpt. 6
Screening: The Wolf Man (1941), Cat People (1942), The Seventh Victim (1943)
Feb. 3 Worland, Chpt. 7 Davis, “Horror Meets Noir” [Blackboard]
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Week 5—Atomic Fears in the McCarthy Era
Feb. 8 Worland, Chpt. 3 (pp. 76–85) Clarens, Chpt. 7
Screening: Them! (1954), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Feb. 10 Worland, Chpt. 8
Week 6—The British Invasion in the 1950s
Feb. 15 Exam #1
Screening: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Fiend Without a Face (1958)
Feb. 17 Clarens, Chpt. 8 (pp. 138–154) Hutchins, “The Problem of British Horror,” in Jancovich
Week 7—Euro Horror in the 1960s and ’70s
Feb. 22 Clarens, Chpt. 8 (pp. 154–160) Silver and Ursini, “Mario Bava: The Illusion of Reality” [Blackboard] Hawkins, “Sleaze-Mania, Euro-Trash, and High Art,” in Jancovich
Screening: Eyes Without a Face (1960), Suspiria (1977)
Feb. 24 McDonagh, “An Introduction to the Dark Dreams of Dario Argento” [Blackboard] Hunt, “A (Sadistic) Night at the Opera: Notes on the Italian Horror Film” [Blackboard]
Week 8—The Horrors of Psychology and Social Anxiety in the 1960s
Mar. 1 Worland, Chpt. 3 (pp. 85–94) Hoberman & Rosenbaum, “George Romero and the Return of the Repressed” [Blackboard]
Screening: Repulsion (1965), Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Mar. 3 Williams, “Learning to Scream,” in Jancovich
No class March 8 & 10—Spring Break!
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Week 9—The “Golden Age” of American Horror in the 1970s
March 15 Worland, Chpt. 3 (pp. 94–104) Wood, “The American Nightmare,” in Jancovich
Screening: The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
March 17 No class—Dr. Kendrick at SCMS conference
Week 10—“Golden Age” of American Horror continued / The New Intersections of Sci-Fi and Horror
March 22 Worland, Chpt. 9
Screening: Alien (1979), The Fly (1986)
March 24 Doherty, “Genre, Gender, and the Aliens Trilogy” [Blackboard] Brookover and Silver, “What Rough Beast? Insect Politics and The Fly” [Blackboard]
Week 11—Slashers and Final Girls
March 29 Exam #2
Screening: Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
March 31 Worland, Chpt. 3 (pp. 104–112) and Chpt. 10; Dika, “The Stalker Film” [Blackboard] Brophy, “Horrality: The Texture of Contemporary Horror Films” [Blackboard]
Week 12—Slashers and Final Girls continued
Apr. 5 No class or screening—Easter Holiday! (no screening response due this week)
Apr. 7 Clover, “Her Body, Himself,” in Jancovich Kendrick, “Nightmares in the Dreamscape” [Blackboard]
Week 13—Abjection and Frightening Feminities
Apr. 12 Williams, “When the Woman Looks,” in Jancovich Creed, “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine,” in Jancovich Cherry, “Refusing to Refuse to Look,” in Jancovich
Screening: The Brood (1979), The Descent (2005) FDM 4396 The Horror Film // Spring 2010 page 9
Apr. 14 Lazard, “You’ll Like This—It’s Feminist!” [Blackboard]
Week 14—Postmodern Horror and Splatstick
Apr. 19 Worland, Chpt. 3 (pp. 112–117)
Screening: Evil Dead II (1987), Scream (1996)
Apr. 21 Worland, Chpt. 11
Week 15—Horror, Religion, and Spirituality
Apr. 26 Taylor, “The Horrors!” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/2005/horrors.html) Derrickson, “Horror: The Perfect Christian Genre” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/2005/scottderrickson.html)
Screening: Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Apr. 28 Kendrick, “A Return to the Graveyard” [Blackboard]
The Final Exam is on Thursday, May 6, 4:30–6:30 p.m. in Castellaw 138
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Screening List
Week 1
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Robert Wiene 1920 75 min. (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) Creepshow George A. Romero 1982 120 min.
Week 2
No screening—MLK Day
Week 3
Dracula Tod Browning 1931 75 min. Frankenstein James Whale 1931 71 min.
Week 4
The Wolf Man George Waggner 1941 70 min. Cat People Jacques Tourneur 1942 73 min. The Seventh Victim Mark Robson 1943 71 min.
Week 5
Them! Gordon Douglas 1954 94 min. Invasion of the Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956 80 min.
Week 6
The Curse of Frankenstein Terence Fisher 1957 82 min. Fiend Without a Face Arthur Crabtree 1958 75 min.
Week 7
Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage) Georges Franju 1960 88 min. Suspiria Dario Argento 1977 98 min.
Week 8
Repulsion Roman Polanski 1965 105 min. Night of the Living Dead George A. Romero 1968 96 min.
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Week 9
The Exorcist William Friedkin 1973 122 min. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Tobe Hooper 1974 83 min.
Week 10
Alien Ridley Scott 1979 117 min. The Fly David Cronenberg 1986 96 min.
Week 11
Halloween John Carpenter 1978 91 min. A Nightmare on Elm Street Wes Craven 1984 91 min.
Week 12
No screening—Easter Holiday!
Week 13
The Brood David Cronenberg 1979 92 min. The Descent Neil Marshall 2005 100 min.
Week 14
Evil Dead II Sam Raimi 1987 84 min. Scream Wes Craven 1996 111 min.
Week 15
Jacob’s Ladder Adrian Lyne 1990 113 min.
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Readings on Blackboard
Brookover, Linda and Alain Silver. “What Rough Beast? Insect Politics and The Fly.” Horror Film Reader, ed. Alain Silver and James Ursini. New York: Limelight Editions, 2000. 237– 245.
Brophy, Philip. “Horrality: The Texture of Contemporary Horror Films.” The Horror Reader, ed. Ken Gelder. London: Routledge, 2000. 276–284.
Davis, Blair. “Horror Meets Noir: The Evolution of Cinematic Style, 1931–1958.” Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear, ed. Steffen Hantke. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 2004. 191– 212.
Dika, Vera. “The Stalker Film, 1978–81.” American Horrors: Essays on the Modern American Horror Film, ed. Gregory A. Waller. Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1987. 86–101.
Doherty, Thomas. “Genre, Gender, and the Aliens Trilogy.” The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film, ed. Barry Keith Grant. Austin: U of Texas P, 1996. 181–199.
Hoberman, J. and Jonathan Rosenbaum. “George Romero and the Return of the Repressed.” Midnight Movies. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. 110–126.
Hunt, Leon. “A (Sadistic) Night at the Opera: Notes on the Italian Horror Film.” The Horror Reader, ed. Ken Gelder. London: Routledge, 2000. 324–335 .
Kendrick, James. “Nightmares in the Dreamscape: Revisiting A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Slasher Film.” Film Criticism 33.3 (2009): 17–33.
------. “A Return to the Graveyard: Notes on the Spiritual Horror Film [Draft].” American Horror Film: The Genre at the Turn of the Millennium, ed. Steffen Hantke. In publication at the University Press of Mississippi.
Lazard, L. “‘You’ll Like This—It’s Feminist!’: Representations of Strong Women in Horror Fiction.” Feminism & Psychology 19 (2009): 132–136.
McDonagh, Maitland. “An Introduction to the Dark Dreams of Dario Argento.” Broken Mirror/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento. New York: Citadel Press, 1994. 7–38.
Silver, Alain and James Ursini. “Mario Bava: The Illusion of Reality.” Horror Film Reader, ed. Alain Silver and James Ursini. New York: Limelight Editions, 2000. 95–109.