For many scholars and journalists, cinema seems to be in its death throes, especially in terms of theatrical viewing. Yet horror movies top the box office, with studios like A24, Blumhouse, and Neon churning out a constant stream of terror amid excitement around so-called “elevated horror.” How can we explain this seeming contradiction? Please join us for a talk with Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, Associate Professor, English and Film Studies, who will take listeners on a brief tour of the history of weird and eco horror film and touch on some of its most salient characteristics in order to theorize what it means to watch horror in the theater versus streaming and why we want to watch it today. Reception to follow in Mary Lyon, May Room.