Call for Papers
Frames Issue 11, Spring 2017

The Future of Horror

The horror genre can be seen as a genre that is continually re-inventing itself whilst simultaneously cannibalising (and regurgitating) itself to produce both new and interesting takes as well as tired remakes of genre classics in equal measure. Throughout the 2000s the horror genre within the United States sped through multiple short-lived cycles. The most prominent examples of these were remakes of East Asian horror films, the wave of horror dismissively-titled ‘torture porn’ films, and the return of the found footage style en masse following the success of Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli, 2007). Since the turn of the decade, there has been interesting movements in horror, with the emergence of new genre directors such as Adam Wingard and Ti West alongside horror efforts by directors more known for their festival films, such as The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland, 2012), all of which have resulted in new critical attention and worldwide interest being directed towards the horror film.

In other countries, such as South Korea, the horror genre dwindled throughout the 2000s and in doing so lost its prominent place and audience support during the summer box-office period. In response, the South Korean film industry recently produced its first large budget zombie film, Train to Busan (Busanhaeng,Yeon Sang-Ho, 2016), which proved to be a hit not only with domestic Korean audiences, but also in international markets. This success hints at the presence of horror as a globally disseminated and understood genre. Much like the recent trend towards global science fiction cinema, there has been a similar upswing in the production of horror films by countries not normally known for producing works in the genre. Perhaps the most prominent recent example of this can be seen in Dearest Sister (Nong Hak, Mattie Do, 2016), the first horror film produced by Laos which was quickly brought to the horror-specific online streaming service Shudder following its screening at the BFI London Film Festival.

This issue of Frames seeks to take stock of the horror genre as it has developed since the turn of the decade by tracking its influences, shifting industrial hierarchies, emerging voices, evolutions and developments in order to better understand its presence today. We are interested in papers that examine the following topics:

Horror films produced since 2010 – Present
The influence of older horror films on contemporary works
Industrial responses to the horror genre
Contemporary horror film fandom and the resurgence of classic horror on home video/streaming services
Responses to technology in contemporary horror cinema
Regional influences and approaches to horror
The return of folklore in contemporary horror
Horror remakes from 2010 – Present
The potential influence of technology (e.g. VR) on horror media
We seek abstracts for our features section (5,000-7,000 words) and our POV section (1,000-3,000 words) as well as video contributions enquiring the proposed topics.

Proposal abstracts of no more than 250 words (plus brief bio and indicative bibliography) are to be received by 15th February 2017. Please submit your proposal to:

Connor McMoran and Sarah Smyth (editors-in-chief)

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

About Frames Cinema Journal

Frames Cinema Journal, based at the University of St Andrews, is an online biannual publication offering a space for cutting-edge research and ongoing discussions among media scholars and those interested in intellectual discussions about the ever-changing frames of the field.

ISSN Number: 2053-8812

 

http://framescinemajournal.com