While some reserve Gothic horror for the Halloween season, I’d argue that there’s no better time to enjoy the chilling atmosphere and foray into the taboo that the Gothic provides than now. From November through the winter, Ithaca’s gloomy weather will provide the perfect backdrop to enjoy my personal favorite genre. While we all know the Gothic classics, like Frankenstein and Nosferatu, what follows are some of my favorite lesser-known films and shows that definitely deserve a watch.
Crimson Peak
With Frankenstein on the horizon, I’ve seen a renewed appreciation for another of Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic romances. Crimson Peak follows Mia Wasikowska’s Edith Cushing, a Victorian-era writer, and her marriage to Tom Hiddleston’s Thomas Sharpe, a whirlwind romance that leads her to move to the remote estate of Crimson Peak with only her husband, and his sister Lucille, to keep her company. Crimson Peak is one of the most unique modern spins on the classic Gothic romance in recent memory, incorporating genuinely terrifying horror elements into a kind of horror that would usually just be atmospheric. It’s a little messy around the edges, but such an enjoyable watch, and one I always turn to when I just want to immerse myself into the atmosphere of the Gothic.
Gothic
I’ve been watching a good amount of Ken Russell films while they’re available on the Criterion Channel and have found an underrated gem in Gothic. The film follows the night spent by Lord Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley and Dr. John Polidori spent on Lake Geneva that led to the creation of Frankenstein. Gothic is a fun addition to this list, as it reenacts an event that spawned one of the most iconic Gothic novels of all time, while following the conventions of the genre itself. Lord Byron’s Villa Diodati takes on all the characteristics of a haunted Gothic manor, sending its inhabitants through a maze of horrors. Gothic is extremely entertaining and will certainly be appreciated by any lovers of Gothic literature.
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
I’d be remiss not to mention Interview with the Vampire on AMC, which, while not a film, has become my favorite modern Gothic media. An adaptation of Anne Rice’s original novels, Interview with the Vampire reimagines the interview between vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac and human Daniel Molloy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of two seasons, Louis tells his life story to Daniel, mostly centering his relationship with Lestat de Lioncourt, the vampire who gave him the “dark gift.” The show draws out the queer subtext of the original novel and allows Louis’s turn to vampirism to work in tandem with his acceptance of his identity. I’ve been rewatching my favorite episodes in anticipation of season three and am just constantly in awe of how this show has turned a cult classic Gothic novel into a beautiful story of self-acceptance and everlasting romance.
Saltburn
Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn may not be underseen, but I have to do what I can to reframe it in popular culture. Rather than a commentary on class, I appreciate Saltburn as a completely modern Gothic romance. When Oliver (Barry Keoghan) grows obsessed with his Oxford classmate Felix (Jacob Elordi), he ends up spending the summer at the latter’s sprawling estate, Saltburn. Its summer setting is deceptive, but Oliver’s removal to Saltburn is not unlike Edith’s to Crimson Peak — there is something just as toxic in the walls of Saltburn. What’s subversive about Saltburn, however, is where it takes the Gothic formula. What’s terrifying about the film isn’t supernatural at all, but Oliver’s hypermasculine form of obsession that quickly veers into a grapple for power and control at all costs. His violent need to possess Felix turns Oliver into a kind of monster himself. Not to mention the allusions made between Oliver and Felix and Mary and Percy Shelley, which read as an explicit sign that Saltburn should be viewed as a Gothic romance. My admission to loving Saltburn always earns me some looks from whoever I’m speaking to, but I fully believe that it is the quintessential Gothic romance of the 2020s.
While Halloween may be over, it’s always a good time to enjoy something unnerving and spooky. Instead of letting the Ithaca winter drag my mood down, I’ll be turning to the wonderfully morose genre of the Gothic and enjoying the aesthetic potential of despair.
‘Are You Still Watching?’ is a column spotlighting what the Cornell community has been streaming. It runs every Wednesday.
Nicholas York is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at nay22@cornell.edu.
