English 417: Senior Seminar
“The Contemporary U.S. Horror Film”

5 Credits/Writing intensive
Bill Smith
Office: HU323
Office Hours: TH 9:00-11:00 & by appointment
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~wesmith
email: william.smith@wwu.edu

5th Hour:  Since this class meets only four hours weekly, we will make up the fifth hour with weekly
film viewings. The first film will be shown in HU108 on Thursday, April 1.

Warning:  Do not enroll in this course if graphic violence, nudity, or strong language distress you.

English 417 is a writing intensive course that will explore the cinematic techniques, narrative structures, and
visual effects of a representative group of U.S. horror films since 1968.  We will discuss each film as an
individual and an intertextual work, as a consumable cultural artifact, and as a site of ideological tension.
Among some of the questions we will ask are:

• Has the nature of U.S. horror changed since 9/11?
• How do horror films reflect our definitions of the “Other”
• How do horror films reflect contemporary U.S. culture?
• In what ways might horror films be transgressive?
• What are some alternate viewings of these films?
• How do the narrative structures and the visual effects of these films support, work against, or complicate
  each other?
• What are the implications of the “male gaze” and the “female gaze”?
• How does a director locate her work within the larger historical context of the gothic or horror tradition?

We will view the following films out-of-class.  Students who cannot attend these showings will be expected
to rent the films at a local video store and view them before class discussion.

• Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968)
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper, 1974)
• Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) or  Friday the 13th (Cunningham, 1980)
• Near Dark (Bigelow, 1987) or The Lost Boys (Schumacher, 1987)
• Stepfather (Ruben, 1987)
• Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer (McNaughton, 1990)
• Candyman (Rose, 1992) )  or Jeepers Creepers (Salva, 2001)
• The Ring (Vorbinski’s adaptation, 2002) or  The Blair Witch Project (1999)
• Wrong Turn (Schmidt, 2003)
• Identity (Mangold, 2003) or Gothika (2003)

 Note: The class will decide which of the above alternates we will see.

Course Format:  Group discussion and workshop with occasional mini-lectures.

Assignments
The final grade will be computed by a 18-22 page portfolio which will contain most of these assignments:

• Two 3-4  page focused response papers
• One 10-12 page critical paper, required for the portfolio
• One 20-minute group presentation  with a one-page abstract of your presentation, and a self-assessment
   handed out on the day of your presentation.
• 3-5 page reflective critical introduction to your portfolio.
• One research exercise
• Final exam

Grading
Grades will be based primarily on the quality your portfolio with attention to additional writing assignments.
Grades on assignments will be recorded during the course as U (Unsatisfactory), S (Satisfactory), or
S+ (Superior).

"U" -- In this grading scheme, a "U" means that the work has been turned in, but is in some way incomplete
in thought or performance.

"S" -- An "S" grade means the work demonstrates knowledge of and insight into horror films, meets the
general criteria for the paper, but still needs development in idea or articulation.  In other words, an
"S" paper is progressing towards a final, reader-based draft.

"S+" -- An "S+" grade shows growth, knowledge, clear articulation, and moves beyond the general
requirements of the assignment. The S+ paper is a complete, polished paper.

        NOTE: Work not turned in will receive a "0." Less than the following minimums will result in lower
                      grades. Course grades will be based on the following criteria:

"B" range grades require regular attendance in class and at viewings and meaningful participation.  You must
earn an S on all major assignments—portfolio, presentation, and final-- and miss no more than 3 classes
and/or viewings. All work must be turned in on time.

"C" range grades require an S on the portfolio and an S on the final exam.  You must participate in class and
miss no more than 4 classes and/or viewings. All work must be turned in.

"D" range grades require an S on the portfolio and one other assignment. You must participate in the group
project and miss no more than 4 classes and/or viewings. No more than one assignment may be omitted.

 "F" range grades do not meet the requirements listed for the "D" grade above.

Week One  (March 30 & April 1) -- Configuring Horror
T     Introduction to the course
R     Discussion of film theory, horror, and core concepts

     Readings:  “Introduction” and “Configuring the Monster,” in Wells; familiarize  yourself with the
                     "Glossary of Film Terms" in Corrigan (205-211)

    Film:  Night of the Living Dead

Week Two (April 6 & 8) -- The Postmodern Horror Genre
T     The horror genre & its complications
R     Horror in the U.S.

     Readings: Carroll’s “Why Horror and Tudor’s, “Why Horror:? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre,”
                     in Jancovich;  Chapter Two, “Consensus and  Constraint, 1919-1960,” in Wells;  Chapter 1
                     "Writing About the Movies" in Corrigan;

    Film: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Week Three (April 13 & 15) --  The Horror Genre in the U.S.
T     Continuation of Horror in the U.S.
R     Continuation of horror theory.

     Readings: Berenstein, “Horror for Sale” and Wood’s “The American Nightmare  in the 70s” and Carol
                     Clover, "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" in Jancovich; Chapter 2 in Corrigan:
                     pay attention to the "Taking Notes" section;  Sherman Alexie, "After Seeing the Texas Chainsaw
                     Massacre" (handout).

     Film: Halloween

Week Four (April 20 & 22) -- Gender & Sexuality in Horror

T    *First Draft of Paper #1 due for in-class peer review (Bring 3 copies to class)
       Discussion of Halloween, the male gaze, and the Final Girl
R    *Paper #1 due; Complicating The Male Gaze;  Other Responses to Monsters

      Readings: Linda Williams’"When the Woman Looks"  and Harry Benshoff’s “The Monster and the
                      Homosexual” in Jancovich; Read Chapter 3 in Corrigan (pay attention to narrative and
                      mise-en-scene, 46-66)

      Film: Near Dark or The Lost Boys

Week Five (April 27 & 29) – Sites of  Horror

T     Discussion of Thursday’s film;  women as monsters; the family as horrific
R    *Revision workshop;  Group presentation topics due; continuation of the family in the horror film

     Readings: Barbara Creed’s "Horror and the Monstruous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection,” in
                      Jancovich;  Tony Williams’, "Trying to Survive on the Darker Side: 1980s Family Horror"
                      (On Reserve)

      Film: The Stepfather

Week Six (May 4 & 6)   The Family in Horror

T     Discussion of The Stepfather and reconfiguring the contemporary monster
R    *Film Review Rough Draft Due;  (Bring three copies to class);  research strategies.

     Readings: Patricia Brett Erens’, "The Stepfather: Father as Monster in the Contemporary Horror Film”
                     and Christopher Sharratt’s, "The Horror Film in Neoconservative Culture" (On Reserve);
                     Chapter 6  "Researching the Movies" in Corrigan (144-178)

     Film: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Week Seven (May 11 & 13) Generic Misconceptions

T     *Film Review Due; discussion of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; postmodern terrors; genre
        complications
R     Writing Workshop

    Readings: Chapter 4 in Corrigan (93-121); Vivian Sobchack’s, "Bringing It All Back Home: Family” and
                     Isabel Pinedo’s, "Recreational Terror and the   Postmodern Elements Of the Contemporary
                     Horror Film"   (On reserve)

    Film: Candyman or Jeepers Creepers

Week Eight (May 18 & 20) Genre and Audience Response

T    Discussion of Thursday’s film;  genre and response
R    Writing Workshop

    Readings: Chapter Three “ Chaos & Collapse” in Wells; the last three essays in Jancovich (Mark
                     Jancovich, Linda Williams, and Brigid Cherry)

    Film:  The Ring or The Blair Witch Project

Week Nine (May 25 & 27)  Intellectualizing Horror & High Brow/Low Brow Horror
T     Discussion of Thursday’s film; affective & aesthetic responses to horror
R    * Rough draft of critical paper (Bring two copies to class)

     Readings: Joan Hawkins, “Sleaze Main, Euro Trash and High Art” in Jancovich and Paul Watson,
                    "There's No Accounting for Taste: Exploitation Cinema and the Limits of Film Theory"
                    (On Reserve)

    Film:  The Wrong Turn

Week Ten (June 1 & 3)   Group Presentations
T       Discussion of Thursday’s film; Group Presentations;
R     *Group presentations; First Draft of the Portfolio Introduction due for in-class
          review (bring 3 copies to class) course review.

Finals Week (June 7 & 8)
M   *Portfolios are due at Bill’s office in HU 323 by noon, Monday, June 7th.
T     Final Exam at 8:00 a.m.

American Psycho
Carrie
I Spit on Your Grave
It’s Alive
Psycho
Rosemary’s Baby
Mimic
Nightmare on Elm Street, part 1
Psycho
Rosemary’s Baby
Scream, part 1
Silence of the Lambs
The Brood
The Exorcist
The Hills Have Eyes
The Hunger New Nightmare
The Last House on the Left
The Others
The Shining