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Horror and the Holocaust: ‘Prestige Horror’ and Frank Pierson’s Conspiracy (2001)

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Published/Copyright: November 26, 2021
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Abstract

In an article published in 2004, Picart and Frank examined the use of stylistic and thematic elements Holocaust cinema can borrow from the horror film. Their argument at the time was constrained by the availability and their choice of primary texts, but the recent emergence of what has been called ‘prestige horror’ invites viewers to revisit their critical arguments and positions. Since ‘prestige horror’s’ aesthetic strategies tend to challenge conventional definitions of the horror genre, revisiting Picart and Frank’s argument proves most productive in the context of a Holocaust film, Frank Pierson’s Conspiracy (2001), which, in turn, operates in creative dissonance with some of the conventions of Holocaust cinema.


Corresponding author: Steffen Hantke, Sogang University, American Culture Program, 35 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04107, Korea, E-mail:

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Published Online: 2021-11-26
Published in Print: 2021-12-20

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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