Film Studies: Do You Like Scary Movies?

Film Studies is where students come to learn and discuss the history, symbolism, themes, and cultural impact of beloved horror films, both historical and contemporary classics, as well as television series based on these same films and characters.

The content of the class will be "PG-13" with respect to topics discussed: nothing graphic!  This is an academic class, and that is the focus.  

Put simply, this class is about why people love these films, and the theme of triumphing over fear that they showcase.  We learn about fear, so that we don't have to be afraid.  

This class comes out of my experience as editor and author for the academic anthology, Theology and Wes Craven (2023), Lexington / Fortress Academic Press.  Students will get PDF of some chapters from this book to keep!

This particular class focuses on the works of Wes Craven.  Future classes will be created for other directors including John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, George Romero, Dario Argento, and more!

None of these films need to be watched beforehand; no prior knowledge of film studies needed.  The class structure will be part presentation, part student interaction and questions with myself and other students.  There will be a PDF of the slides to keep for each class.  Brief video clips will be shown in class, such as the film trailers that will let students know all about the films that might not have seen.  

Here is the week by week list of films and topics:

Week 1 -- Are you ready for Freddy?  Making friends with fear

In 1998, "Are You Ready for Freddy" was released by the American hip hop trio the Fat Boys.    The music video is a celebration of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise, coming out of the 1984 film classic by Wes Craven.  Now, Freddy is a delightful villain chasing comedic rappers through an abandoned house, all played for laughs.  Freddy has become funny and fun, beloved by audiences for his childish creativity (for example, Super Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child).  But why?  The class will watch the music video and the playful clips from the franchise, and discuss how people want and need to "make friends" their fears.

Week 2 -- Freddy, the creepy stalker 

Freddy Krueger taunts Nancy in the 1984 original A Nightmare on Elm Street with, "I'm your boyfriend now."  Throughout the films, he invades her personal space, in dreams, her bedroom, while taking a bath.  An important context for understanding the series is that Freddy is a creepy stalker of Nancy over several films in the series.  Notably, she defeats him in the first film by turning her back and ignoring him, taking away his power of fear.  Students will explore the relational dynamics that are the true source of her fear.

Week 3 -- Freddy's finger-knife glove: the archetype of the predator

An important source of symbolism is Freddy's glove.  According to Craven, it symbolize the primal fear of the cave bear, or another predator that who hunt people back in the paleolithic.  We will explore this symbolism using the psychological works of Arthur Schopenhauer and Carl Jung, and well as findings from paleontology about the threats facing the first humans in the fight for survival.

Week 4 -- Voodoo Zombies in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

One of Craven's most sensational and frightening films, taking place in 1980s Haiti.  The "Tonton Macoute" were the sinister secret police of the dictator “Baby Doc”
Duvalier (1971–1986), who used torture and vodoo to terrorize the people—
zombification being their most fearsome weapon of oppression over political
dissidents.  The film is partially based on true events.  The class will explore the film, the origins of Voodoo, and the true history of the Haitian zombie based on the academic research of Dr. Christopher Garland, an expert on Haiti.  

Week 5 -- Laughing with Wes Craven: Monstrosity and Otherness in Craven’s Comedic Horror Films

Comedy is showcased in several Craven's films, including Deadly Friend, A Vampire in Brooklyn (staring Eddie Murphy), and the werewolf themed Cursed.  The research of doctoral candidate Catherine Jeannette McCrary is presented on how Craven used "otherness" as both a source of horror and social commentary.  She argues that "otherness" has been used for stereotype, and that Craven has subverted these stereotypes by making the other the hero of the story.

Week 6 -- The Grotesque as monster and victim

The Hills Have Eyes (1977 with several remakes and sequels) shows those with body deformity as a frightening threat.  But who are the actual monsters?  The villains are a family bearing the names of pagan gods: Papa Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, and Mercury. They are set against a typical suburban family that has happened upon their territory, a transgression that sets off a bloody conflict.  Craven created the film as a commentary on colonialism, blurring the lines on who exactly are "the bad guys" as each resort to violence and inhumanity to survive.  We will also look at the cultural fascination of the cannibal in the works of philosopher Michel de Montaigne, the Tempest of William Shakespeare, the true story of Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean, and the German Fairy Tale, Hansel & Gretel.

Week 7 -- The People Under the Stairs (1991) and Social Justice 

The film showcases the exploitation of marginalized inner-city people, with the villains religious extremists who live secret lives of vice and depravity. The protagonist is a young African-American teenager trapped in their perverse home/dungeon—becoming very much a cinematic inversion of Home Alone (1990): whereas Kevin McCallister used his comedic traps to terrorize would-be burglars in a comedic farce, Poindexter “Fool” Williams must instead escape the lethal snares set by psychotic extremists in order to free their trapped daughter and the titular “people under the stairs” (the discarded “bad” children locked in the dungeon).  We will explore this wonderful film that shows the actually good triumphing over the truly evil.

Week 8 -- Noah's Ark: Diary of a Madman (1964)

After completing his undergraduate degree, Craven went on to graduate studies
at Johns Hopkins University. For his Master’s Thesis, he wrote a 407-page novel. It is a most remarkable work of fiction that anticipates many cinematic themes he would later explore, including an early vision of Freddy Krueger.  The novel was never published, but I was given special access to it.  I will detail its insights for the students, especially the religious themes he explores in this formational work.