Abstract

The establishment of film in the first half of the twentieth century brought with it the rise of the Gothic horror film. It appears that in attempting to achieve what Ellen Moers has described as Gothic literature's ability “to get to the body itself, its glands, muscles, epidermis, and circulatory system” (Moers 1980: 90), early film-makers repeatedly called upon the Gothic. As a result, the aesthetics of Gothic horror films were inscribed in a process of constant transformation, one brought about by evolutions in culture, cinematic technique and filmmaker ingenuity alike.