Alexander O'Connor

My dissertation argues that the horror genre is fundamentally invested in the act of interpretation — whether that is the identity of the killer, the source of an ancient evil, the nature of a curse, etc. — an active process which is brought forward as an object of vital and terrifying importance. More specifically, my contention is that interpretation in horror has come to be, especially over the last decade, framed specifically around the ideas of origin, repetition, lateness and legacy. Currently, my research focuses on the Halloween franchise, particularly 2022’s Halloween Ends.