It’s hard to nail down precisely what horror film is — is it scary? Violent? Bloody? But horror through film history has consistently been a response to taboos. In contemporary and independent horror, a new trend spins horror film into social metaphor.
On a new episode of Double Feature, hosts Chris Forrester and Annie Aguiar are joined by IU sophomore Joe Schroeder to talk about the recent social thriller “Get Out” and the period terror “the VVitch.”
Directed by Jordan Peele, of “Key and Peele” fame, “Get Out” explores the twisted, shadowy and often overlooked dark side of race relations in modern American, cutting down the fantasy of a post-racial society. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture, and won Peele the award for best original screenplay.
“The VVitch” is a period feminist parable about a family torn apart by fear and despair when their infant son Samuel mysteriously disappears. It explores terrors both real and imagined, challenging viewers to more than just the things that go bump at night. Debut filmmaker Robert Eggers directed the film based on a screenplay he also wrote.
