Gothic Cinema: An introduction (Genrediskurse)

Gothic Cinema closes a gap in German-language film discourse: for the first time, the volume sheds light on a hitherto little-discussed film context. It considers Gothic Cinema as a form of unofficial historiography that allows a look not only at the history of film and its technique, but also at moral concepts, gender relations, collective fears or aesthetic currents. A delimitation and definition of the term and the central elements of the Gothic are followed by a comprehensive historical overview from 1896 to the present day. Three in-depth analyses of individual post-2015 gothic films and television series round out the review. On the one hand, the examples examined are representative in terms of typical elements, motifs or topoi, and on the other hand, they exhibit peculiarities and breaks that prove fruitful for a cultural and media studies investigation. Genrediscourses Contents About the Author Part I: Introduction 1: Definition of the Term 1.1 Gothic vs. Dark Romancism 1.2 Gothic vs. Gothic 1.3 Gothic vs. Horror Film References Literature Film 2: Elements, Motifs, Themes 2.1 The Past 2.2 Media 2.3 Spaces 2.4 Monsters 2.5 Reccurency 2.6 Ambiguity References Literature Film Part II: Historical Overview: Gothic Cinema 1896–2000 3: Gothic Cinema Before 1960 3.1 Early Film and Illusionism 3.2 German Expressionism 3.3 The Universal Horror Cycle 3.4 Female Gothic References Literature Film 4: Gothic Cinema After 1960 4.1 Gothic in Transition 4.2 Television Gothic 4.3 Hammer Film Productions 4.4 Roger Corman’s “Poe Cycle” 4.5 International Gothic 4.5.1 Italian Gothic 4.5.2 Edgar Wallace in Germany 4.5.3 American and Southern Gothic 4.5.4 Asian Gothic 4.6 Postcolonial Gothic 4.7 Queer Gothic 4.8 Body Gothic References Literature Film 5: Gothic Cinema Around 2000: Old Monsters in a New Guise 5.1 New Zombies 5.2 New Vampires 5.3 Family-Friendly and Mainstream Gothic 5.4 Tim Burton’s Gothic References Literature Film Part III: Gothic Cinema After 2000 6: Between the Old and the New References Literature Film 7: The Haunting of Hill House (2018) 7.1 Haunted Media and Mediums 7.2 The Hill House from Jackson’s Novel to Netflix 7.3 The Haunted House as a Dysfunctional Storage Medium 7.3.1 “The Bent-Neck Lady” (ep. 05) 7.3.2 Repetitions of the Past 7.4 Ambiguity, Disorientation and Unreliability 7.4.1 Reality, Illusion or Imagination? 7.4.2 Unreliable Narration References Literature Film 8: Dracula (2020) 8.1 The Vampiric Palimpsest 8.2 Medial Transmission 8.3 The Drinking of Blood and Its Consequences 8.4 (Homo)Sexuality 8.5 Society and Transgression 8.5.1 Narrative Perspectives References Literature Film 9: Crimson Peak (2015) 9.1 The Old and the New World 9.2 Allerdale Hall 9.3 Colors and Costumes 9.4 The Ghosts of Crimson Peak 9.5 Ghostly Media 9.6 Tyrannical Mothers and Incestuous Love 9.7 Gothic Fiction About Gothic Fiction References Literature Film