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In Dreams Are Monsters

Through five mythical archetypes – the zombie, vampire, witch, ghost and beast – we trace how monstrous bodies have been represented and reclaimed by new voices in horror.

Monsters have always been a part of us, in the stories we tell ourselves, our collective imagination and our shared nightmares. Horror films make those monsters real. Since the inception of cinema horror has been the most radical and innovative genre. In this season, we trace how the imagery of our nightmares has been created through films and how stories of monsters have always been political. Through five mythical archetypes – the beast, ghost, vampire, witch and zombie – we trace how monstrous bodies have been represented and how they have been reclaimed by new voices in horror filmmaking. Each archetype doesn’t so much inform a subgenre as it does a taste for horror. There’s something for everyone here: tales of blood and seduction; of glorious, excessive gore; of teenagers turned monstrous; of the dead risen and angry. Horror is the genre of our times, and it speaks both to and for everyone.

Michael Blyth, Anna Bogutskaya and Kelli Weston

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