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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
Zombie
RabidRabid
Horror197691 minsDirector: David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg’s classic outbreak horror introduces us to a young woman (Marilyn Chambers) who hungers for human blood after an experimental plastic surgery goes wrong.
Dead of Night (aka Deathdream)Dead of Night (aka Deathdream)
Drama197888 minsDirector: Bob Clark
A soldier killed in the Vietnam War returns home on the night of his death in Bob Clark’s deft blend of searing political allegory and wicked grindhouse thrills.
PontypoolPontypool
Horror200893 minsDirector: Bruce Mcdonald
Don't say it! The wrong word starts turning people into zombies in this lo-fi Canadian horror.
Vampire
NosferatuNosferatu
Horror192289 minsSilentDirector: F.W. Murnau
This influential Dracula adaptation contains some of the most famous images of expressionist film, and remains shocking and stylish after 100 years.
Witch
The Blood on Satan's ClawThe Blood on Satan's Claw
Horror197196 minsDirector: Piers Haggard
Depraved sexual practices and satanic violence envelop a remote country village in this exciting period horror.
A Dark SongA Dark Song
Drama2016100 minsDirector: Liam Gavin
Steve Oram and Catherine Walker excel in this occult chamber piece about a grieving mother attempting to contact her deceased child.
HäxanHäxan
Horror1922106 minsSilentDirector: Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen’s disorienting and wildly inventive 1922 doc/fiction hybrid charts the history of ancient sorcery and demonology.
Ghost
Ring [Ringu]Ring [Ringu]
Horror199796 minsDirector: Hideo Nakata
A journalist sets out to uncover in urban legend about a supposedly cursed videotape, in Hideo Nakata's chilling and highly influential tale of technological terror.
KwaidanKwaidan
Anthology1964183 minsDirector: Masaki Kobayashi
This stunningly beautiful anthology of Japanese ghost stories is one of the most meticulously crafted supernatural films ever made.
Ghostwatch: Behind the CurtainsGhostwatch: Behind the Curtains
Documentary201290 minsDirector: Rich Lawden
Documentary revisiting a British TV phenomenon, featuring exclusive interviews with the show's main cast and crew, and never-before-seen material.
Beast
SocietySociety
Horror198999 minsDirector: Brian Yuzna
A teenager uncovers an elite ritualistic society in Brian Yuzna's stomach-churning mix of body-horror and social commentary.
PossessionPossession
Horror1981124 minsDirector: Andrzej Zulawski
Andrzej Zulawski’s out-of-control horror masterpiece is one of cinema’s most bare-souled and open-veined accounts of a broken relationship.
Good MannersGood Manners
Fantasy2017130 minsDirector: Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas
Disney fairytale meets body horror in this Brazilian marvel about Clara, who accepts a nanny position from Ana, a wealthy mother-to-be. Quite possibly the greatest contemporary horror film you’ve never seen.
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