Conference Presentations by Laura Sedgwick
The domestic spaces of contemporary horror films have frequently played host to paranormal activi... more The domestic spaces of contemporary horror films have frequently played host to paranormal activity. Within these homes it is the attic and basement that are commonly established as the loci of the supernatural occurrences. These rooms are an inseparable part of the fabric of the home but they are detached from everyday domestic activities, turning them into liminal and unfamiliar spaces. Their Gothic nature emerges as secrets previously buried within are exposed, with an investigation of the space key to unravelling the paranormal forces at play.
This paper will focus on the basement within the remake of The Amityville Horror, in which a Dutch Colonial home in Long Island plays host to a series of violent eruptions. This basement is discovered to be a subdivision with fake walls creating a boundary that once penetrated and crossed leads the homeowner to fall under the possession of the home. As a comparative space, the attic within The Skeleton Key will also be examined. In this film the roof space hides a ‘hoodoo room’ that is the horrific home’s spiritual heart. The attic provides a space in which the ownership of the house becomes contested.
From John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) to the twentieth century work of Anne Rice, the vampire h... more From John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) to the twentieth century work of Anne Rice, the vampire has been written as something of a nomad. Lord Ruthven, Nosferatu, Dracula, and Lestat all journey between locations as they seek victims, or new lifestyles. This movement across boundaries makes the vampire a liminal figure, yet in the case study films in this paper the modern-day New Zealand vampires are homebound. Here, the temporal stasis imposed by their immortality means there is a beguiling fusion of their past homes within the present.
This paper will examine the use of set and costume design within the films Grampire (1992) and What We Do In The Shadows (2014), both comedy productions featuring vampires from the Old World that have relocated to New Zealand. The former is a family-oriented film, starring Al Lewis, which attempts to rehabilitate the figure of the vampire, characterised here as a friendly grandfather. The latter is a mockumentary, starring Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, that places four European vampires into a flat-sharing situation in present-day Wellington.
Both films combine horror with other genres, including the family film, sitcom, and the documentary, and they occupy similar positions in their dependence on mise-en-scène in order to relocate familiar Gothic tropes into a new setting. This paper will consider the use of design as a narrative and stylistic device, including the emphasis upon the visuals of the Gothic as a means to engage with generic conventions.
Psychological thrillers or horror movies often rely upon a battle within a confined space, be it ... more Psychological thrillers or horror movies often rely upon a battle within a confined space, be it a crumbling urban building, a suburban home, or a rural retreat. Tension is derived from the sense of desperation to traverse the boundaries of the space and escape into the ‘outside’. However, placing this confined space into an isolated open space like the sea creates an extra level of tension, considerably removing the chances of either escape, or help from external agencies.
This paper will examine the visual representation of space within Dead Calm (1989) and The Ferryman (2007), both productions set on yachts that are far from dry land. The former is an Australian thriller, starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill, whilst The Ferryman is a New Zealand demonic possession film, starring Kerry Fox and John Rhys-Davies that engages with mythological beliefs. Despite the different approaches to horror within the two films, they occupy similar positions in their dependence on isolation; the tension in these films occurs at the junction between the agoraphobia provoked by the vastness of such open water, and the claustrophobia caused by the close confines within and upon the boats. Both films are also notable for their use of doubling, featuring both a ‘good’ boat and its darker twin, as well as a reliance upon legend and metaphor; in The Ferryman, the aim of the antagonist is to cheat Charon, the ferryman of Greek myth, while the visuals of Dead Calm turn the ‘bad’ yacht into an Underworld into which Sam Neill must descend to save his wife.
This paper will consider the use of space as a narrative and stylistic device, with the struggle to control space becoming the means to disavow the isolation of the sea.
The cyclical appearance of ghosts in horror cinema is testament to their enduring popular appeal.... more The cyclical appearance of ghosts in horror cinema is testament to their enduring popular appeal. A diversity of world cultures feature tales of ghosts and hauntings, with New Zealand fiction revealing the land to be contested on spiritual as well as physical levels. Here, despite existing on the borders, spectral forms in horror cinema are often very design-dependent as the ethereal is given a space to dramatically haunt.
This paper will examine the visual representation of hauntings within The Frighteners (1996) and The Tattooist (2007), both transnational productions filmed in New Zealand. The former is a Peter Jackson horror-comedy, starring Michael J. Fox, which masquerades as an American movie, whilst The Tattooist is New Zealand-Singapore co-production that directly engages with Samoan culture and beliefs. The use of the term ‘antipodean’, in this paper, will refer not only to the geographic origins of these films, but also to the other side of life, the nether world, which is explored within these narratives. These films work within a horror tradition of victims being ‘marked’ for death – in The Frighteners, victims bear numbers on their foreheads as a testament to a death tally, and in The Tattooist, the tattoos completed by the cursed hero continue to grow and spread of their own accord until the totally tattooed victim dies. Both films are notable for their design and effects for creating spectral spaces, which will reveal sites of unsettlement within a particular local identity. This paper will consider the uncanny as a narrative and stylistic device which allows for the movement of the past into a corrupted and unhomely present.
Papers by Laura Sedgwick
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
As a probing and licking appendage that has agency inside and beyond the mouth, the tongue is cap... more As a probing and licking appendage that has agency inside and beyond the mouth, the tongue is capable of being both an intrusive and erotic organ. This chapter explores the penetration of boundaries by the extended tongue in the films La lengua asesina (Killer Tongue 1996) and Sien nui yau wan (A Chinese Ghost Story 1987). The mouth split open is discussed using Victor Hugo’s novel L’homme qui rit (1869) and its film adaptation, The Man Who Laughs (1928), while the lips sealed shut are addressed using the films House of Wax (2005) and Ouija (2014). Lips suspended during ventriloquism is discussed using Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 short story ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’ and the film Dead Silence (2007).
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Journal of New Zealand & Pacific studies, May 1, 2019
There are two points of origin for this special issue. At the annual conference of the New Zealan... more There are two points of origin for this special issue. At the annual conference of the New Zealand Studies Association (NZSA), in Aveiro, June 2018, there was an excellent panel on visual culture with papers by Hermann Mückler, Ian Conrich and David Callahan. The three papers exhibited numerous commonalities, despite covering more than one hundred years of popular culture and addressing different media forms that are rarely approached within area studies: trade cards, comic books and video games. It was felt then that the Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies would benefit from a special issue on film and visual culture. The second point of origin lies in the subsequent submissions, which were strong and were more than one issue could take. It was decided at that point to divide the articles into a special issue on visual culture and another on film (previously published in issue 6.2). The Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies has visited visual culture before, most recently in a special issue focused on contemporary Pacific art (issue 5.2). Today, alongside film and photography, it is in museums and galleries that the visual culture of New Zealand and the Pacific is most visible, and certainly too in terms of a critical focus. If the papers given at the NZSA conferences are an indication of academic interests then film is relatively healthy as a topic that is followed passionately by a devoted group of individuals. Art has appeared less often at the NZSA conferences, but it is
Limbs allow the body to traverse boundaries, either by reaching or physically moving through spac... more Limbs allow the body to traverse boundaries, either by reaching or physically moving through space. Broken or incapacitated limbs prevent such movement and can horrify, especially where breaks are visible. This chapter discusses immobility as a result of broken limbs, focusing on Stephen King’s novel Misery (1987) and its 1990 film adaptation. The Gothic nature of paralysed limbs is explored through a discussion of the films What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Monkey Shines (1988). Phantom limbs are considered with a focus on the films The Unknown (1927) and Boxing Helena (1993). Replacement limbs and their relationship to the human as hybrid are discussed in Planet Terror (2007) and Army of Darkness (1992). Sentient limbs are explored in the 2010 novel The Unnamed.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
Journal of New Zealand & Pacific studies, Oct 1, 2018
Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies had previously announced that it would be producing mo... more Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies had previously announced that it would be producing more frequent special issues to spotlight the range of topics that continue to drive the academic community. The proposals received were such that we decided that the next five issues-commencing with this one-would be special issues, with space still to include other articles as they are accepted. Visual Culture is the theme of the next issue, followed by Language and Translation, then Photography and finally New Scholarship; calls for papers can be found within the following pages. The theme of this special issue is New Zealand and Pacific Film and it reflects the annual conferences of the New Zealand Studies Association. These gatherings have consistently featured panels on screen studies, with a selection of those papers appearing in this issue. Sadly, two of New Zealand's great film pioneers-Geoff Murphy and Peter Wells-passed away recently. This special issue, which contains their obituaries, is dedicated to Geoff and Peter. National cinemas, like film genres, tend to have their periods of growth and stagnation. There are new waves and new generations of filmmakers, government initiatives, cultural movements and renaissances. New Zealand
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2017
The ears and the nose establish our facial features, yet the absence of either on a living face e... more The ears and the nose establish our facial features, yet the absence of either on a living face evokes a death-like appearance. This chapter investigates the Gothic absurdity of a missing nose in Nikolai Gogol’s short story ‘The Nose’ (1836), and the replacement of facial features in the horror film I, Madman (1989). These features as signs of monstrosity are explored using Roald Dahl’s The Witches (1983) and its film adaptation (1990). The concealment of a missing nose is discussed using the novel The Phantom of the Opera (1910) and its 1925 screen adaptation, and the cult horror film The Greasy Strangler (2016). The ear as an orifice open to invasion is discussed using Oscar Cook’s short story ‘Boomerang’ (1931) and its television adaptation.
Gothic Dissections in Film and Literature, 2017
Limbs allow the body to traverse boundaries, either by reaching or physically moving through spac... more Limbs allow the body to traverse boundaries, either by reaching or physically moving through space. Broken or incapacitated limbs prevent such movement and can horrify, especially where breaks are visible. This chapter discusses immobility as a result of broken limbs, focusing on Stephen King’s novel Misery (1987) and its 1990 film adaptation. The Gothic nature of paralysed limbs is explored through a discussion of the films What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Monkey Shines (1988). Phantom limbs are considered with a focus on the films The Unknown (1927) and Boxing Helena (1993). Replacement limbs and their relationship to the human as hybrid are discussed in Planet Terror (2007) and Army of Darkness (1992). Sentient limbs are explored in the 2010 novel The Unnamed.
Gothic Dissections in Film and Literature, 2017
As a probing and licking appendage that has agency inside and beyond the mouth, the tongue is cap... more As a probing and licking appendage that has agency inside and beyond the mouth, the tongue is capable of being both an intrusive and erotic organ. This chapter explores the penetration of boundaries by the extended tongue in the films La lengua asesina (Killer Tongue 1996) and Sien nui yau wan (A Chinese Ghost Story 1987). The mouth split open is discussed using Victor Hugo’s novel L’homme qui rit (1869) and its film adaptation, The Man Who Laughs (1928), while the lips sealed shut are addressed using the films House of Wax (2005) and Ouija (2014). Lips suspended during ventriloquism is discussed using Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 short story ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’ and the film Dead Silence (2007).
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Conference Presentations by Laura Sedgwick
This paper will focus on the basement within the remake of The Amityville Horror, in which a Dutch Colonial home in Long Island plays host to a series of violent eruptions. This basement is discovered to be a subdivision with fake walls creating a boundary that once penetrated and crossed leads the homeowner to fall under the possession of the home. As a comparative space, the attic within The Skeleton Key will also be examined. In this film the roof space hides a ‘hoodoo room’ that is the horrific home’s spiritual heart. The attic provides a space in which the ownership of the house becomes contested.
This paper will examine the use of set and costume design within the films Grampire (1992) and What We Do In The Shadows (2014), both comedy productions featuring vampires from the Old World that have relocated to New Zealand. The former is a family-oriented film, starring Al Lewis, which attempts to rehabilitate the figure of the vampire, characterised here as a friendly grandfather. The latter is a mockumentary, starring Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, that places four European vampires into a flat-sharing situation in present-day Wellington.
Both films combine horror with other genres, including the family film, sitcom, and the documentary, and they occupy similar positions in their dependence on mise-en-scène in order to relocate familiar Gothic tropes into a new setting. This paper will consider the use of design as a narrative and stylistic device, including the emphasis upon the visuals of the Gothic as a means to engage with generic conventions.
This paper will examine the visual representation of space within Dead Calm (1989) and The Ferryman (2007), both productions set on yachts that are far from dry land. The former is an Australian thriller, starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill, whilst The Ferryman is a New Zealand demonic possession film, starring Kerry Fox and John Rhys-Davies that engages with mythological beliefs. Despite the different approaches to horror within the two films, they occupy similar positions in their dependence on isolation; the tension in these films occurs at the junction between the agoraphobia provoked by the vastness of such open water, and the claustrophobia caused by the close confines within and upon the boats. Both films are also notable for their use of doubling, featuring both a ‘good’ boat and its darker twin, as well as a reliance upon legend and metaphor; in The Ferryman, the aim of the antagonist is to cheat Charon, the ferryman of Greek myth, while the visuals of Dead Calm turn the ‘bad’ yacht into an Underworld into which Sam Neill must descend to save his wife.
This paper will consider the use of space as a narrative and stylistic device, with the struggle to control space becoming the means to disavow the isolation of the sea.
This paper will examine the visual representation of hauntings within The Frighteners (1996) and The Tattooist (2007), both transnational productions filmed in New Zealand. The former is a Peter Jackson horror-comedy, starring Michael J. Fox, which masquerades as an American movie, whilst The Tattooist is New Zealand-Singapore co-production that directly engages with Samoan culture and beliefs. The use of the term ‘antipodean’, in this paper, will refer not only to the geographic origins of these films, but also to the other side of life, the nether world, which is explored within these narratives. These films work within a horror tradition of victims being ‘marked’ for death – in The Frighteners, victims bear numbers on their foreheads as a testament to a death tally, and in The Tattooist, the tattoos completed by the cursed hero continue to grow and spread of their own accord until the totally tattooed victim dies. Both films are notable for their design and effects for creating spectral spaces, which will reveal sites of unsettlement within a particular local identity. This paper will consider the uncanny as a narrative and stylistic device which allows for the movement of the past into a corrupted and unhomely present.
Papers by Laura Sedgwick
This paper will focus on the basement within the remake of The Amityville Horror, in which a Dutch Colonial home in Long Island plays host to a series of violent eruptions. This basement is discovered to be a subdivision with fake walls creating a boundary that once penetrated and crossed leads the homeowner to fall under the possession of the home. As a comparative space, the attic within The Skeleton Key will also be examined. In this film the roof space hides a ‘hoodoo room’ that is the horrific home’s spiritual heart. The attic provides a space in which the ownership of the house becomes contested.
This paper will examine the use of set and costume design within the films Grampire (1992) and What We Do In The Shadows (2014), both comedy productions featuring vampires from the Old World that have relocated to New Zealand. The former is a family-oriented film, starring Al Lewis, which attempts to rehabilitate the figure of the vampire, characterised here as a friendly grandfather. The latter is a mockumentary, starring Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, that places four European vampires into a flat-sharing situation in present-day Wellington.
Both films combine horror with other genres, including the family film, sitcom, and the documentary, and they occupy similar positions in their dependence on mise-en-scène in order to relocate familiar Gothic tropes into a new setting. This paper will consider the use of design as a narrative and stylistic device, including the emphasis upon the visuals of the Gothic as a means to engage with generic conventions.
This paper will examine the visual representation of space within Dead Calm (1989) and The Ferryman (2007), both productions set on yachts that are far from dry land. The former is an Australian thriller, starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill, whilst The Ferryman is a New Zealand demonic possession film, starring Kerry Fox and John Rhys-Davies that engages with mythological beliefs. Despite the different approaches to horror within the two films, they occupy similar positions in their dependence on isolation; the tension in these films occurs at the junction between the agoraphobia provoked by the vastness of such open water, and the claustrophobia caused by the close confines within and upon the boats. Both films are also notable for their use of doubling, featuring both a ‘good’ boat and its darker twin, as well as a reliance upon legend and metaphor; in The Ferryman, the aim of the antagonist is to cheat Charon, the ferryman of Greek myth, while the visuals of Dead Calm turn the ‘bad’ yacht into an Underworld into which Sam Neill must descend to save his wife.
This paper will consider the use of space as a narrative and stylistic device, with the struggle to control space becoming the means to disavow the isolation of the sea.
This paper will examine the visual representation of hauntings within The Frighteners (1996) and The Tattooist (2007), both transnational productions filmed in New Zealand. The former is a Peter Jackson horror-comedy, starring Michael J. Fox, which masquerades as an American movie, whilst The Tattooist is New Zealand-Singapore co-production that directly engages with Samoan culture and beliefs. The use of the term ‘antipodean’, in this paper, will refer not only to the geographic origins of these films, but also to the other side of life, the nether world, which is explored within these narratives. These films work within a horror tradition of victims being ‘marked’ for death – in The Frighteners, victims bear numbers on their foreheads as a testament to a death tally, and in The Tattooist, the tattoos completed by the cursed hero continue to grow and spread of their own accord until the totally tattooed victim dies. Both films are notable for their design and effects for creating spectral spaces, which will reveal sites of unsettlement within a particular local identity. This paper will consider the uncanny as a narrative and stylistic device which allows for the movement of the past into a corrupted and unhomely present.