Write a 4 to 5 page paper on one of the topics below. You must incorporate one source from your reading material, in addition to an outside scholarly resource.


1. Horror films tend to be conservative, and as a consequence many horror films while delving into taboo areas, ultimately end by re-establishing ‘proper order.’ Compare the endings of Night of the Living Dead and The Exorcist. How do these films re-establishes order, or not. How are these endings similar, and/or different?
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2. ‘The mother,’ ‘the mother’s body,’ ‘maternal authority,’ is a common theme that runs throughout the Alien film series. Discuss how maternal associations are figured as abject in Alien (see clips 1 and 2). For a possible point of comparison, compare the abject characteristics associated with the maternal in The Brood.

3. In The Exorcist the paradigm of ‘evil’ is embodied in the Muslim faith (or at the very least coming from the Muslim world, specifically Iraq). Discuss how the images from the opening sequence convey a ‘sense of evil.’ And how does that ‘evil’ manifest in the body of Regan?

4. While on the surface it seems that ‘a demon,’ ‘the devil,’ or ‘an evil spirit’ inhabits Regan’s body in The Exorcist, it is also possible to suggest that her body is possessed not so much by an ‘evil entity’ but by sexuality. Discuss how female sexual is represented in the monstrosity and/or possession of Regan’s body.

5. One of the common themes found in David Cronenberg’s films is ‘the monstrosity of the body itself.’ Repeatedly Cronenberg seems to return to the female body and supposed ‘monstrosity’ of the female body and its generative powers. Discuss the monstrosity of Nola in his film The Brood. If it is useful, compare this to the selected sequence from Brakhage’s film Window Water Baby Moving. (For a short audio commentary by Brakhage on Window Water Baby Moving see the "audio clip" below.)

Window Water Baby Moving parts 1 and 2

Window Water Baby Moving audio clip

6. The image of the female vampire, especially in the wake of the women’s liberation movement, gains currency in the 70s and 80s. If we take The Hunger (see the two clips below) as a representative of the social anxieties regarding the women’s liberation movement, how might we discuss the characters of Miriam and Sarah?

1. Use course material (i.e., the assigned readings).
2. One outside scholarly reference.
3. Proper citations (citing paraphrased material, and quote references); use the Chicago Manual of Style, a template can be found on the syllabus.
4. For citations use footnotes (or endnotes); look under the INSERT menu option at the top of your Word processing program. There should be an option for footnotes.
5. Bibliography (listing all the research material you looked at in preparation for your paper – including the material you might’ve not used).
6. Material found on the web DOES NOT count as research.
7. We are not interested in plot summaries.
8. Address the selected clip.
   

1. Creed notes that in a number of horror films, “the young girls who develop supernatural powers are at the threshold of puberty.”¹ Addressing the selected clip, discuss the significance of the onset of menstruation in Carrie. How might menstruation relate to the developments of Carrie’s supernatural powers? Also, in terms of the social context, what is particularly monstrous about the opening scene of Carrie? Discuss both Carrie and the other women’s response to the discovery of menstrual blood.

2. Drawing from Creed’s work, discuss the portrayal of the femme castratrice in I Spit on Your Grave. In what ways is Jennifer monstrous? Or, perhaps despite the monstrosity of her action does the narrative in some way ‘exempt’ her? How is the spectator situated within the selected sequence.

3. Sexuality – especially adolescent sexual exploration – is a common thematic trope found in the slasher genre. The killer commonly found in slasher films is a ‘conservative vigilante,’ punishing supposed acts of ‘sexual deviance.’ Discuss the selected sequence from Friday the 13th; how does it adhere to the slasher genre? And how is the spectator situated? With whom are we compelled to identify with, and what is the possible significance of this identification?

4. In what ways did Mario Bava influence the American slasher genre? Compare these particular clips from: Friday the 13th and/or Scream, to Bay of Blood.

5. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho deeply influenced the American horror genre, and specifically the slasher sub-genre. Compare the selected clips from Psycho to the selected clips from Halloween.

6. One of the most striking conventions of the slasher sub-genre is the use of the “wandering camera.” What function does this convention serve? What impact does this convention have on the spectator? Compare how this stylistic trope is used in Halloween and Friday the 13th.

7. Many slasher films employ the trope of the “final girl.” Discuss the typical characteristics of the “final girl” in relation to the selected clips; compare the “final girl” from A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.

8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre does not neatly conform to the slasher genre. Compare the selected clips from Halloween (which is emblematic of the slasher genre), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. How does the latter film conform to the sub-genre, and in what ways might it be different?

9. Compare and contrast the houses used in Carrie and in Black Christmas. Keep in mind certain rooms and what they represent. Does evil exist outside or inside the house? How do the "families" that live there relate to the house? Consider the "traditional" nuclear family and all its facets: beliefs, values, behavior, etc.

10. Scream is extremely self-aware – i.e., within the diegesis of the film itself there is an awareness of the slasher genre. In reference to the selected clips from the film, discuss this self-awareness and how the film modifies the monster/villain and the “final girl.”