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Writer's pictureElizabeth Medling

Photography and Horror cinema

As some of you may have been able to tell that alongside my love of photography, I have a fascination for the alternative subgenre and horror. Over the past year or so I have seen many emerging photographers that specialize in horror/sfx shoots like “horrify me” who is a UK based photographer that specializes in horror portraits. My love for horror expands to the cinema. It’s a given that photography is part of the production when creating a still and moving picture, but films are now including the subject of photography into the storylines and plots, along with other themes and conversations. Examples of films that have a theme of photography that I do recommend are:



GET OUT (2017) - is a horror directed by Jordan Peele (who also directed one of 2019’s best horror films, us), that can be found on DVD and found on streaming services such as YouTube and amazon prime. Get Out is about a young African American male photographer called Chris, who visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend. The uneasiness about their “welcome “eventually reaches boiling point. Though the use of photography is very subtle throughout the film it is mostly evident in the opening scene, as the camera pans around his apartment and taking time to focus on each individual canvas.



POLAROID (2019) - Is a horror/paranormal thriller that is now streaming on Netflix, directed by Lars Klevberg (who also directed the Child’s Play, reboot in 2019) and based on a 15-minute short of the same name in 2015. Polaroid is about a high school outcast that finds a vintage polaroid camera that hold a dark secret, she soon realizes that those who get their photos taken by it meet a tragic and untimely death.




ONE HOUR PHOTO (2002) - a thriller, drama starring Robin Williams, directed by Romanek and cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth, that is now streaming on Disney PLUS. Armed with knowledge about photography specializing in film, Seymour makes a living by developing photos at “savemart” store. He is a lonely man that becomes obsessive over a family that he sees regularly at the store. It dives into the family photo and how we preform for the camera because as human beings we are naturally narcissistic and care about how others perceive us, the film demonstrates the family and family struggles that don’t make it onto the camera.

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