Art horror orarthouse horror (sometimes calledelevated horror) is asub-genre of bothhorror films andart films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror.[1][2][3]
Art-horror films tend to rely on atmosphere building, psychologicalcharacter development,cinematic style andphilosophical themes for effect – rather than straightforwardscares.[4][2][5]
Art-horror films have been described as "a fascinating byproduct of the collision of art and commerce, of genre convention and personal vision".[4] Historically, the genre was loosely related toJ-horror and ItalianGiallo.[4] In the 2000s, a movement oftransgressive films in France known as "New French Extremity" has been described as an arthouse horror film movement.[6]
Although commentators have suggested some horror films have exemplified qualities applicable to "art horror" for many decades, the term became more widely used during the 2010s, with independent film companyA24 credited with popularising the genre.[2][3][7] The term "elevated horror" was first used in the early 2010s, and subsequently has been the subject of criticism and debate amongfilm critics as it became more widely used.[8][9][10]
In his bookArt-Horror (2023) Adrian Gmelch identifies 4 aspects that can be an orientation for the definition of art-horror:[11]
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