Randall Halle (Pittsburgh) p.40-61
2006 Issue 3
Abstract
Although horror film production has a long history in Germany, in German film studies discussions of the horror genre have focused almost exclusively on the silent era. For long decades production in the genre was almost solely the province of international co-productions done under low-budget conditions aimed at a mass audience. These circumstances made it an unlikely object of study for nationally oriented high cultural studies. This essay reviews this history of post-war horror films, arguing that German horror film production experienced a sudden significant shift at the time of unification and has continued on in newly invigorated forms that merit careful consideration. In the subcultural form of Wende Horror we find artefacts from the period of unification that open up discussion of social psychology. In the subsequent productions we discover mainstream transnational horror films that reflect the new conditions of film financing in the global era. The essay ends with six reflections oriented toward fostering the further study of German horror film.