LEAVE OR REMAIN: THE SPECTRE OF BREXIT IN MODERN BRITISH HORROR FILMS (Online)

When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, many were wary of the prospects that lay ahead. As economic uncertainty and the effects of attempted de-globalization became more prevalent in the day-to-day lives of many citizens, the country moved closer to finalizing their agreement which was finally completed in January 2020. Since the deal was signed much has been written about this decision and its wide-ranging and on-going effects. The world could only stand by and watch as a global power with still far-reaching influence wrestled with a monster of its own making.

However, many British filmmakers could sense something was afoot well before 2016 and pulled from their rich history to explore the ideas of identity, nationality, and the family unit through the horror genre. At the dawn of the new millennium, horror films from the UK emerged with increasingly urgent warnings and politics that blur the line between reality and fiction, crying out with warnings that fell on deaf ears.

Brexit through endless discourse across multiple platforms as become emblematic of the tension between what has been historically repressed and how it inevitably returns to us. By examining Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), Ben Wheatley’s Kill List (2011), Remi Weekes’ His House (2022) and Alex Garland’s Men (2022) this lecture will explore what historical influence Paganism, folk horror and the decline of an empire has had on British horror films over the last two decades.

Books and Films to be Discussed:

Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film by Peter Hutchings
The Economics and Politics of Brexit: The Realignment of British Public Life by Stephen Davies
A Short History of Brexit by Kevin O’Rourke
Signals of Belief in Early England: Anglo-Saxon Paganism by Alex Sanmark and Sarah Semple
28 Days Later (2002)
Kill List (2011)
His House (2020)
Men (2022)