Spooky Films by Students Show the Art of Horror

November 26, 2024

Known colloquially as the “Monsters class,” Jamison Kantor’s English 3264 class does in fact contain the monsters, ghosts and gothic figures one might expect in a class called “Monsters Without and Within: Gothic Sex and Gendered Horror.”

While spooky characters are part of the syllabus, equally important is students’ understanding of the art and technique that creates this genre.

For the final project, Kantor asked his students to write a review of a selected film, or produce their own short film, of 5-7 minutes in length with at least one minute that replicates an assigned horror film.

About half the students chose to create their own film, expressing their creativity while also conveying lessons learned during the course.

Emilee Bodnar and Edgar Cruz, both third-year students at The Ohio State University at Mansfield, created a film that features four young adults who drink a mystery beverage and slowly turn into cannibalistic werewolves. Their film replicates scenes from Julia Ducournau’s 2016 body horror, “Raw.”

While the film is not for the faint of heart (it contains people eating humans and animals), it also incorporates the tension-building and storytelling skills that Bodnar and Cruz learned from the class.

“Watching a horror movie can be so surface level but in this class we really dug into the genre and it made you think about the things that make it scary,” said Bodnar. “I feel it was those things that we were able to put into our film.”

Brooklyn Price, a second year psychology major, created a mostly silent black and white film that adapts the first three chapters of “Dracula.” Price’s film uses techniques such as light and dark, imagery and text, as well as live actors to advance the plot and build tension.

“I took so many elements that he taught me, from literature and from silent films that we viewed, and I kind of put it all into one video.”

Exploring the genre

Kantor said students often have a preconceived notion of what the “horror” genre entails, and the class takes on a much wider exploration.

“We develop and expand upon student perceptions … how they perceive ghosts, monsters, cultural experiences with horror and more. My understanding of horror is that it’s a reaction against the empirical understanding of the world – a recognition of an alternative way of understanding the world.”

Although the films were relatively short (5-7 minutes) students found themselves spending several hours researching, filming and editing their scenes.

“There were plenty of bloopers,” said Cruz. “We started filming around 5 p.m. and by the time were finished, it was 10 p.m. and dark.”

But the onset of darkness actually worked in the film’s favor, according to Bodnar.

two peoples back looking away from the camera

“The evening turned to night as we were filming, but that kind of added to the story,” she said. “The characters start on good vibes in the beginning, and as it gets darker outside, so does the film.”

Price spent several hours creating 3D printed elements, creating scenery, filming and editing. She said making her own film gave her a better understanding of how much work goes into film production and also challenged her to be creative.

“I’m not a super creative person, so being able to actually do something creative as a psyche major, it gave me that chance to really express myself in new ways.”

Bodnar, Cruz and Price all said they would recommend the course to other students. They said it deepened their perspective of the genre and provided valuable opportunities for class discussion.

According to Kantor, the class will most likely be offered again in the fall of 2025 or spring of 2026. To learn more about the class, he can be reached at kantor.41@osu.edu or 419-755-4011.