It’s election year in the US again and almost impossible to ignore the chaos (or perhaps more correctly, madness) happening across the pond. Recent events have promised a dismal outcome as the country is forced to choose between two undesirable candidates. US political pundits on both sides predict a descent into horror in the event of the opposition’s success, though the reasons for that horror widely differ.

Unsurprisingly, Horror films have targeted politics as a source of terror from some of their earliest iterations. A look at some of the Horror films coming out of the US during the 20th century can perhaps help us understand how we got to this nightmarish point. Similarly, later generations of filmmakers have used the genre to critique the country’s shift to political extremes, urging Americans to be wary of the looming anarchy in the 21st century.

This series will explore some of America’s most explicitly political Horror films. We’ll trace filmic depictions of America’s class, racial, and religious tensions to consider how Horror films have been warning us for decades of the dire predicament now at hand.

In light of recent events, please note that we will not stand for any xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic or generally violent/ destructive behaviour. You will be asked to leave and/ or removed should you threaten such violence.

Presented in association with Sheffield Hallam University.