Horror films are often considered “low art,” as exploitative and gratuitous schlock, but many such films are deceptively complex. A study of the American horror film reveals deep insights into sociopolitical and cultural fears and anxieties, including collective traumas, and how such fears and anxieties have transformed across generations. In this course, we will watch and analyze the American horror film from the 1920s to the present, with an eye for how these films reflect the cultural contexts in which they were created. Along the way, we will learn about film theory and criticism, and how to “read” films as active critics, rather than merely watch them as passive spectators.