This Brock club aims to add a touch of spookiness to campus.
Commencing in the 2022/2023 school year, Brock Horror’s club president Rowan Whate had a new vision for a campus arts club. “What Brock Horror brings to the table is a more specific experience,” Whate said.
“Before our foundation, there were no clubs to watch movies, the anime club being the closest to it,” Whate said. “I find that movies are a fantastic way to meet other people, especially horror, a genre perfect for watching in big groups jumping at each and every scare.”
Unlike major genres like action or comedy, which tend to appeal towards specific people, horror unites audiences through the universal experience of fear. The feeling of fear is a common denominator of emotions in the human experience. “I feel the genre has a breadth of content that most other genres don’t have,” Whate said
On the topic of the horror genre’s diversity, Whate said: “With horror, whether you want a critique of the current political climate or just a giant helping of big dumb fun, it’s got exactly what you need. My two favorite horror movies are [REC] and Krampus, which are fundamentally different in nearly every aspect, but are both indisputably horror.”
The club hosts various events centred around horror-based activities including group film screenings at the theatre or on campus, horror game walkthroughs and horror book discussions. At the beginning of September, the club kicked off the school year with a viewing of The Nun II, and they intend to hold several future viewings of horror films both old and new.
As a genre, horror often has misconceptions and broad stereotypes, causing new or potential fans to turn on the heels in favour of what may be deemed “high brow” cinema to the so-called cheap thrills of horror. “There seems to be a large misconception that modern horror is all unearned jumpscares,” Whate said. “That point of view also hurts the credibility of the dozens of fantastic horror movies that have come out in the past 10 years. Overgeneralizations like this are unfortunately fairly common in the horror space, and hurt the overall credibility of the genre at large,” he added.
The culture of horror has evolved significantly over the past decade with filmmakers like Ari Aster, Robert Eggers and Julia Ducorneau pushing the genre in experimental directions. These directors, among a number of others in this new movement of the genre, have attempted to improve the genre’s credibility by blending in formulas of other genres.
For example, horror comedy has earned popularity for its self-aware campiness and psychological horror such as Ari Aster’s Hereditary has resulted in the genre becoming a topic of discussion among critics. “I find that where horror separates from other genres here is in its ability to showcase emotions as they relate to fear, often more intense than they otherwise would be,” Whate added.
Along with uniting fans of horror at Brock, the horror club also serves as a space for new fans of the genre to dip into in a welcoming space. Events about the club’s administration and upcoming events can be found on Brock’s ExperienceBU site. The niche community of horror at Brock is expanding and passionate. New members to the club are always welcome to bring a little extra creepiness to campus.
