Gothic N.E.W.S - Volume 2, Studies in Classic and Contemporary Gothic Cinema - Grand Format

Using an acronym as the theme for the 8th biennial conference in Aix en Provence meant to interrogate Gothic as a crossroads of territories first — a proper theme for a family reunion, that of scholars in gothic studies across the world. But the overlap between that acronym and the signifier "news" was predicated on the metaphorical paradigm of time : news from gothic studies here and there. Delegates from the four cardinal points exchanged views and news on a daily basis in a week-time conference.

The present volume — the second of the pair successively devoted to literature and cinema — gathers most of the papers given at the conference and includes also two texts by prominent American film scholars. Fields of investigation concern German expressionism, Hollywood Female gothic, the Jekyll and Hyde myth, British Horror films of the sixties, Southern gothic on film, the grotesque, Asian Horror films, postmodern vampires etc.

Some articles focus on prominent directors such as Rouben Mamoulian, Jean Renoir, Roger Corman (the Poe cycle), Roman Polanski, John Boorman, George Romero, Alejandro Amenabar. The use of gothic conventions in contemporary cinema is examined through two very different case studies (The Quay Brothers, Mathieu Kassowitz). The role of gothic tropes in the classic television series, The Twilight Zone is assessed while the impact of digital technology is also explored (The Matrix).