Northwestern faculty to speak at TEDxChicago
August 19, 2024
With just weeks to go before voters elect the next President of the United States, the atmosphere can feel as tense and unsettling as any horror movie. Indeed, horror films that explore political themes mirror these anxieties, blurring the line between fiction and the real-world.
Films like “The Dead Zone” and “The Omen III: The Final Conflict” directly engage with the horrors of political figures gaining dangerous levels of power, while “The Purge: Election Year” imagines a terrifying future where democratic processes are manipulated for violent control.
Satirical horror also taps into the collective unease surrounding politics. Films like “They Live” and “The Stepford Wives” critique consumerism, conformity and the loss of individuality, while “Candyman” and “Tales from the Hood” address racial injustice and systemic oppression.
Horror with political themes helps blur the line between reality and fiction.
Northwestern Now asked Spencer Parsons, department of radio/tv/film associate professor, to list his top horror films while considering our current political environment.
Related to elections or politicians
- “The Dead Zone”
- “The Omen III: The Final Conflict”
- “Cosmic Slop – Space Traders”
- “Mars Attacks!”
- “Masters of Horror: Homecoming”
- “Land of the Dead”
- “The Purge: Election Year”
- “Shin Godzilla”
Horror as political satire
- “The Stepford Wives”
- “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
- “The Stuff”
- “They Live”
- “Society”
- “The People Under the Stairs”
- “Candyman” (both 1992 and 2021)
- “Tales from the Hood”
- “American Psycho”
- “US”
