British Horror and Fantasy Cinema from Dracula to Harry Potter

British cinema is often celebrated for its social realism, yet has made significant and influential contributions to the worlds of horror, fantasy and science fiction. From the Gothic tradition of Draculato nightmarish visions of London in 28 Days Laterand the spectacular popular fantasies of Doctor Who and Harry Potter, this course investigates this alternative history or ‘repressed underside’ of British cinema and the ways in which these films have responded to their social and cultural production contexts. We will make full use of our London setting as you examine, for example, the depiction of London and the East End as both a landscape of fear and wonder; the representation of women, gender and sexuality in horror and fantasy; the psychoanalytic interpretation of horror and the ways through which these films engage with the history of Britain and its capital.