Holy Horrors

Religion and the Religious in Horror Films. Horror films deal with transcendence. They invariably are about worlds, beings, and paranormal experiences that go beyond what we know, what is "natural," and what is "real" in this beautiful but also terrifying world where we live. Horror films, through text, sounds, music, and pictures offer an "as if reality," something we can enjoy and ponder without necessarily believing in it as an absolutely true, real, and authoritative. In the darkness of the movie theater, we can experience the "stygian transcendence" of horror films: We confront the frightening reality that there are powerful dangers, evils, and chaotic forces beyond our control that threaten our sanity, our lives, our world, and our very humanity. This course focuses on a variety of American horror films, for the most part that reflector express what we want to call "religion."