Dr Cecilia Sayad, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Film, has just been interviewed for the BBC Bitesize site regarding her expertise on the horror genre.

Bitesize is the BBC’s online support service for students studying GCSE level and equivalents.

The article explores how the film Midsommar (2019) fits into the wider history of horror films, what makes them scary, and how the genre has changed.

‘Having taught horror for many years, I see students have very different reactions to some classics: some find The Exorcist, for example, still very scary. The same applies to Rosemary’s Baby, which for some is still a disturbing horror film.’ However, reactions to certain films have changed, even if the story remains relevant: ‘it would be hard to find someone being too freaked out by James Whale’s Frankenstein, from 1931, but this has more to do with the film’s pace than its theme – which has never been more relevant, now that AI is a much bigger part of our lives.’

To read the article, please see the page here.