Racial alienation in horror cinema and social thriller

Throughout history, horror cinema has remained outside of social fears, repressed traumas and collective consciousness. Sometimes shaped by supernatural beings and sometimes by threats from the social order, this genre has experienced different anxieties in different periods throughout the history of cinema. While this genre not only addresses individual fears, it also reveals periodic social tensions, identity crises and systematic inequalities. Racial alienation and social fear are particularly important themes in horror cinema. While these themes appeal to the unconscious fears of the audience, they also criticize the current socio-political display of society. By approaching different narrative techniques such as the perception of racial identities by society, the experience of immigration, systematic racism and traditional traumas, the films allow for the characteristics of fear to have a social and political dimension. This thesis analyzes how racial alienation and social tension are addressed in horror cinema. In the first part of the study, the films Get Out (2017), Candyman (1992 & 2021) and His House (2020), which are prominent examples of American and European cinema, are examined online and how horror and thriller genres are associated with concepts such as racism, the construction of social memory, assimilation and collective traumas. In the second part, the short film titled When The Stinger Falls will be evaluated based on this study and compared with sample films. A theoretical presentation was made on how horror cinema is used as a tool for social criticism. The connection between racial alienation and fear will be discussed through the films examined. The differences in the findings will be evaluated on how horror cinema reflects today's social problems.