Aug 01, 2025  
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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

US 202 Horror Film and Society

(4 Credits)
Horror films have long been one of the most popular and enduring global genres in the history of film. This film genre continues to shock and delight audiences through tales of vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, and other monsters. Although horror films mainly attempt to elicit unsettling emotions of fear, shock, anxiety, and disgust, they are also deeply connected to the culture that produces them. Horror film offers a window into the fears, perceptions, and misconceptions of the era in which they were made, making this film genre crucial in exploring our societal and cultural anxieties about identity, technology, religion, and the environment. In this course we will delve deep into this film genre contextualizing these films to examine the cultural moment that produced them, looking at specific “monsters” and also sub-genres such as slasher horror, teen horror, zombie horror, gothic horror, psychological horror, paranormal horror, and comedy horror. Assignments will include weekly responses to films and peers, a personal essay, a research project, and a creative group project.

Prerequisite: No prerequisites.