Dead of night.
Dead of Night, the first psychoanalytic horror film, was produced in England in 1945, immediately after the end of World War II--that is, after the English population had suffered systematic Nazi terror from imminent invasion, incessant aerial bombing, and rocket-bombs. This film continued the prewar format of horror films based on themes of the supernatural and the hubris and excesses of science. However, it introduced psychoanalysis as the science in question. The film is structured on two levels: a genteel English country weekend to which witty and urbane guests have been invited; and five horror stories told by the guests. Psychoanalytic insights into this film structure are used here to explain how the film induces horror in the audience.
Balter
Leon
L
New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, USA. LBalterMD@aol.com
D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D005201:Fantasy; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D009040:Motion Pictures; D028683:National Socialism; D010819:Physician's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D011572:Psychoanalysis; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology; D047789:World War II