Tuesdays, April 19,26 + May 3, 6-9pm
Instructor: Anna Phelan

From monsters under the bed to Monsters Inc., generations of our collective imagination have been preoccupied with boogie men and their various incarnations. Classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein or the Werewolf unite our fears as well as cultural reference points; meaning, today, ‘traditional’ monster narratives are so universal that old and young alike can easily identify historical, aesthetic and plot clichés inherent to each classic baddie. But with the recent, frightening pervasiveness of the teenie-bopper Twilight franchise, it’s clear that the vampire story, for one, has come a long way from ‘I vant to suck your blooood.’ Under the shadow of Twilight’s seemingly superficial re-imagining of the Dracula tale, this is an excellent time to re-examine more complex and interesting forays into revisionist monster movies. With clips, selected readings and screenings, this course will look at the implications, questions and cultural concerns raised when filmmakers transpose classic monster tales onto contemporary milieus.

Screening Week 1: The Company of Wolves (Neil Jordan, 1984)

Screening Week 2: Nadja (Michael Almereyda, 1994)