Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 The Babadook and the Haunted Space between High and Low Genres in the Australian Horror Tradition
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The horror genre is a particularly fraught category in academic and mainstream critical discourse about Australian film genres. Australian horror films are often framed as either ‘Australian Gothic’ or ‘Ozploitation,’ terms that prioritise issues of national identity, class and taste rather than genre. The oppositional relationship of these terms presents an obstacle to the widespread acceptance – both scholarly and popular – of local horror films. This is illuminated by a comparison of two recent Australian horror releases and their domestic receptions, Wolf Creek 2 (McLean, Greg. 2014. Wolf Creek 2. Film. Adelaide: Duo Art Productions and Emu Creek Pictures) and The Babadook (Kent, Jennifer. 2014. The Babadook. Blu-Ray DVD. Melbourne: Umbrella Entertainment). Wolf Creek 2 was one of the most lucrative Australian films of 2014, however it was critically panned in large part due to its perceived commercialism and low-genre status. By contrast, The Babadook was the most critically praised Australian film of 2014, however the film received a limited domestic release. This paper explores how both The Babadook’s meagre domestic release and its near-universal critical praise can be related to its association with the high-art Australian Gothic tradition. Yet the film unsettles firmly entrenched art/genre, nationalism/commercialism dichotomies.' (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Studies in Australasian Cinema Australian Horror and Ozploitation Subtheme vol. 11 no. 1 2017 11061442 2017 periodical issue

    'Welcome to the first issue of Studies in Australasian Cinema for 2017.

    'This issue comprises three articles that form a special section on horror themed films, edited by Mark Ryan and Ben Goldsmith, which have developed from their editorial work last year on papers from the conference of the Screen Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. Taken together, both Buerger’s and Balenzatugui’s varied readings of The Babadook, and Speed’s timely revisiting of White Death, constitute the Australasian screen’s role in marking an unsettled period in contemporary culture.

    'As always, please enjoy this issue of Studies in Australasian Cinema.' (Anthony Lambert Journal editor’s note)

    2017
    pg. 18-32
Last amended 21 Apr 2017 12:37:07
18-32 The Babadook and the Haunted Space between High and Low Genres in the Australian Horror Traditionsmall AustLit logo Studies in Australasian Cinema
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