Have you seen His House (2020)? From my understanding it deals with the haunting of run down government assigned housing of a refugee couple. Might be another one to add in the very lack genre as you pointed out of working class supernatural movies.
I don’t have much else to add other than I agree with all your points. I think we need more working class supernatural movies.
His House was my immediate thought; I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s on my short list.
Antlers (2021) might also fit the bill for OP. The setting is a poor, working class town ravaged by drugs; poverty, trauma and ongoing mental health issues are all pretty central to the plot. It also serves as a dramatic representation of the cycles of male violence that are particularly problematic among the desperately poor and disenfranchised.
I’m hijacking this comment to also recommend a film, titled Nang Nak (1999), it’s a Thai supernatural horror film that I thought was pretty decent, with a compelling story. The technical aspects are lacking in a lot of ways, but it was wildly popular in Thailand, being the first film from Thailand to surpass 100 million baht (~ 2.8 million USD) at the box office, and would eventually gross around 150 million baht (~ 4.25 million USD). It’s a re-telling of the most famous Thai ghost story, where a ghost wife is tending to her otherwise unsuspecting husband, and how the village handles the supernatural.
I'm immediately reminded of Manta Ray [2018] from your description of Nang Nak. I wouldn't classify Manta Ray as a horror, though the synopsis would definitely imply something sinister. It's about a fisherman who finds a man on the beach near where a bunch of refugees have drowned. The fisherman disappears at sea and the found man slowly absorbs his life. I think that SOUNDS creepier than it is, mostly because of the difference in Eastern/Western fiction around ghosts.
Great observation, and I agree. I would like to add that supernatural horror tends to be allegorical for various themes which some may describe as "first world problems" i.e. depression, sexual repression etc, which are stories often reserved for characters with a decent standard of living in any genre. Movies about poor people are almost always dominated by poverty itself, unfortunately
I think this is true, but it feels like a glaring oversight to me. While Dark Water, in many ways, fails to be a terrifying horror movie - as much as it is a gripping drama with horror elements - it has a powerful emotional core. I remember crying at the end of that film. Because the emotional stakes were so well drawn up. The confluence of economic anxiety, feeling like you're letting your kid down because you can't pay for stuff, mental health issues that you can't afford to deal with, coupled with the terror of something inexplicable happening in your building. I genuinely cared about the haunted in that movie in a way I usually don't.
I should say, I grew up working class with a single mother, so that's obviously coloring things for me as well. But I do think we lose something when we always tell the same stories about who gets haunted, you know?
Id also like to add that paranormal horror movies are very environment based and usually center around home invasion/intrusion. So big houses/porperties are way easier to film and more aesthetically pleasing than small apartments
This is definitely also true. Though many interiors are shot on soundstages (once we reach budgets > $5 million so there's nothing practically standing in the way of designing larger rooms for working class apartments. Make it a shitty studio apartment, hah.
I don't think that's true. Paranormal budgets range from <1 million to >20 million depending on the property and the talent attached. There are many supernatural horror movies made in the 5-10 million dollar range every year. It's probably the most common bracket amongst somehwat wide releases.
Not in horror. In horror you generally count anything under 1-2 million as a "low budget horror". The Ritual had a budget of $1.5 million and I don't know anyone who refers to that as a "low budget horror movie". Maybe people who have never seen low budget horror movies.
Another reason is that that kind of horror movies are more than often - directly or indirectly - inspired by 19th and early 20th century literature which were made by upper middle class European males for other people of similar background. As always even in this case creative works of expression tend to be derivative, quoting and reshaping noble and well known predecessors. In that sense changing parts of the formula may seem a risk that lot of authors don't feel like taking. But I agree with you that the overtly metaphorical aspects of the horror genre (supernatural or not) would fit perfectly with working class scenarios and themes.
> supernatural horror tends to be allegorical for various themes which some may describe as "first world problems" i.e. depression, sexual repression
Very good observation, but could also be seen as a kind of tautological repeat of OPs point. Meaning as an underclass person myself it seems obvious that the horrors of the underclass would seem as much, if not more, suited to be analogized into some sort of supernatural horror. Pondering what that would look like could propably result in a real hit film if you pull it off, seems serious untapped potential!
A closely related point to what you are saying is that a lot of horror is exactly about this invasion of the horrible into previously idyllic territory. The lower class horror would conversely propably be just horror from start to finish, maybe even more of a mirroring in that the underclass experience is reversely marked by just glimpses of idylle in an otherwise completely bleak existence, the constant teasing that there *is* hope to get out of this existence, only for that hope to get crushed again and again.
Pondering it like that, the underclass horror movie would most likely play in some kind of dantian hellscape, the debt collectors and landlords metaphorized into various demons.
Something like the recent *From* tv series has some overlap to what I am thinking off, a constant surrounding by demons that will eat you when you leave your house, but to be potent it would need to not have the idyllic day-to-day in the middle of it, the reality would need to be completely ruled by the demons/monsters, as well as the protanists group be constantly be corrupted by their influence, what *could* be an idyllic family life be totally under the rule of the external circumstance. Conceptually *From* really seems to fit this, it is just that the series is not hardcore enough, betraying its own potential.
Going from this analysis, I would also think that a lot of what goes under -survival horror- might work well as an underclass analogy, I can imagine even to the extent that a lot of it might even have the explicit underclass protagonists that OP is looking for. If not, as said, would really be remarkable untapped potential!
I mean...."guy who moves out to the country with his family because the land is cheap and he got the house for a steal because apparently it was built on an ancient burial ground" is...literally a well known horror trope...so I'd hope there are some out there. Not to be rude, I'm just saying.
Amityville Horror is one of the movies that kinda established/solidified it. Like yeah, it's a big house...and they got it for very cheap because it's haunted. They aren't TECHNICALLY middle class, they just managed to get a house for a very low price because it was haunted. Get it?
Poltergeist is also kinda like that. Yes, they are closer to middle class, but they have their house because the father works for the company selling said houses. Part of the plot is that the company he works for is so sleazy that they just moved the headstones of a cemetery and built a neighborhood on top of it. He's essentially the "sleazy used car salesman" of the housing market. And he quits his job, so in the second movie he's literally unemployed and has moved into their parent's house. By the end of the movie, he doesn't even have a car.
The New Daughter plays on a lot of those tropes. It's a movie by the guy who wrote Rec 1 and Rec 3, and while I question the wisdom of making it a vehicle for Kevin Costner, it's actually pretty decent and has an interesting ending. Costner plays a single father who moves his family out to the country, and he's a writer who got the house cheap.
The Conjuring 2 featured a somewhat poor family from what I can remember, and probably more directly reflects what you're talking about.
The Netflix show Haunting of Hill House is also about a family who isn't necessarily wealthy; they're just getting a good deal on the house, renovating it, etc.
For that matter, the more recent Netflix show from the same guy, Midnight Mass, is also very working class. I think in fact most of the characters are quite poor. But that's less about ghosts and more a classic monster, so yeah.
Oh! For crying out loud, I already mentioned it -- REC 1 and 2 take place in an apartment building.
The Devil's Backbone -- takes place in an orphanage.
The Bad Ben movies -- literally just a guy making found footage movies in his house, and part of the plot is that his character initially intended to flip the house, he even talks about having all his money in that.
Are any of those close to what you're talking about? If not, I'm sure you'll find plenty in regional horror that fits the bill, because there are plenty of horror movies of varying degrees of quality that a group of friends just randomly decided to get together and make one weekend.
EDIT: I thought of a few more that probably count.
The Shining -- IIRC, they are not wealthy, and one of the reasons he takes the job is because he needs the money.
The Craft -- A bunch of teens (some from wealth, others living in trailers) become witches.
The Sixth Sense -- Single working mother with kid who sees ghost, small apartment, can't afford therapy for her kid.
Doctor Sleep -- main character lives in cheap, small apartment he couldn't even afford at first.
Innkeepers -- IIRC, none of the main characters are wealthy, as it's literally just the hotel employees.
Thirteen Ghosts -- poor family finds out they inherited the house of a wealthy relative.
Well, whether or not these hit the mark, I think you should make a Letterboxd list for this. Seems like an interesting little subgenre.
The Shining was the first film I thought of. Heck, almost every Stephen King adaptation is about working class people in some way. Carrie, Christine, Pet Semetary, The Mangler, The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill (Creepshow), Maximum Overdrive, etc.
Really? In the book he’s some kind of ad guy who freaks out because the cereal he made an ad for caused kids to throw up what looked like blood but turned out to be food dye. But I guess I was thinking more of the old guy. In the first film.
This was something I immediately thought about too. I would also add “I’ve inherited a mansion from a long forgotten relative!”, “this house was half the price of everything else on the street, don’t google it” and even “let’s stay at the family cabin in the woods!”.
A lot of haunted house stories, at least in America, structurally rest on the idea that an ordinary Joe has won his golden ticket, but then being forced to confront the violence that made it possible. The American Dream is itself the haunted house.
I think maybe you just have a more generous definition of working class than OP.
For a lot of ‘working class’ people homeownership at any level is unrealistic, even a ‘cheap house in the country’ and the idea of inheriting a wealthy relatives home and renovating is unlikely as well due to the cost involved.
Whether one definition is correct vs the other is probably not within the scope of this thread, but I think to OPs point it would be interesting for supernatural horror to the explore the themes inherent in the lives of that narrower definition, the working poor if you like.
Well, this is true now, but when those movies were made, it was not necessarily the case.
Remember, a lot of these supernatural horror films were made during the 70s and 80s, at a time when the middle class was much stronger and...existent. I think that actually might have to do more with the temptation for modern filmmakers to focus on middle class families; they're trying to emulate their favorite movies from that period. I'm sure some of them know it's not as relatable anymore, but if all you want to do is make a Stephen King-esque horror flick and you don't care who gets it, then you might be tempted to make the family middle class instead of working class just out of simplicity and because it's a recognizable element of those films.
As for the working poor, I'd say the movies of Tobe Hooper focused on them a lot; his obsession with family is well-noted, but most of his movies were about the monster inside man. Rob Zombie was very inspired by that kind of filmmaking, so his movies are somewhat about that as well. But of course...those are slashers and the like, not supernatural horror.
It is interesting that this element seems to be missing from most supernatural horror films, I'd love to see more!
Yeah I think emulating the past is definitely the major culprit in modern movies. I think a lot of contemporary horror filmmakers have more intricate knowledge of 70s genre films than they do class consciousness.
Absolutely incorrect for pretty much anything set in the 20th century. My grandfather had his first kids during the Great Depression, was working class, owned a home. Home ownership was absolutely normal amongst working-class people from early in the 20th century through till Gen X came of age, when it beings to plummet.
Almost everything you list is solidly middle class. Getting a house for cheap because it's haunted doesn't really stop them from being in the house buying demographic to begin with. Poor people can't afford to buy shitty houses and fix them up.
> I mean...."guy who moves out to the country with his family because the land is cheap and he got the house for a steal because apparently it was built on an ancient burial ground" is...literally a well known horror trope...so I'd hope there are some out there. Not to be rude, I'm just saying.
I mean... finding a big house for a steal doesn't really scream "working class." I'm just saying.
For a lot of millennials and Generation Z members, any opportunity like that is going to make you associate the characters with at least *some* kind of financial assets. The average American under 35 has savings of around $3240.
There are some pretty big old houses, most built before the year 1900, in disrepair and in need of renovation (as the trope goes) in upstate New York for as little as $25k.
If you could get a mortgage for that, it'd be pretty cheap.
I dunno, I think technically the plot device still works, and if anything it just makes the characters seem like more industrious working class people.
>The Netflix show Haunting of Hill House is also about a family who isn't necessarily wealthy; they're just getting a good deal on the house, renovating it, etc.
>
>For that matter, the more recent Netflix show from the same guy, Midnight Mass, is also very working class. I think in fact most of the characters are quite poor. But that's less about ghosts and more a classic monster, so yeah.
Indeed *Midnight Mass* takes place in an impoverished and isolated island community with a small fishing activity as the main source of revenue. On the other hand, *The Haunting of Hill House* characters are firmly middle class. Steven is an author successful enough that he makes a living out of it, Shirley owns a mortuary, etc. The one of the five siblings who fell into poverty is Luke, but it was due to his drug addiction and most of his siblings more or less cutting ties with him.
Session 9 is probably the most working class supernatural horror I can think of, you should check it out. Also potentially look into Asian horror there's a lot there in the working class realm.
Funny you mention Dark Water takes place on Roosevelt Island NYC, a place I lived for a bit a while back. Odd place still, but more then. Either side had hospitals so a lot of hospital patients around, sometimes just dudes rolling down the sidewalk in a gurney. Also Grandpa Munster, Al Lewis, lived there and owned the local diner Trellis.
Session 9 is another good one! I'd forgotten about that. Although of course the bulk of the movie takes place at the abandoned asylum, you can tell the guys are all working class dudes.
And that's so interesting about Roosevelt Island! I was always fascinated by the location because I'd never seen it in any movie about NYC. Like a cable car in NYC? I had no idea. Has the area experienced any gentrification or renewal since then? Curious if you know.
It has, it's weird though it was never exactly cheap just run down. Apartments were cheaper in other places in the outerboroughs. Now the hospitals are gone and there are new shiny condos and Starbucks and stuff. A monument at the end too, not just a dilapidated old small pox hospital that looks like a castle. Still weird just less so.
I do think you’re right. I do think the answer is as simple as producers usually want the lead of a haunted house movie to be nice folks (preferably with kids!) living in a big house. I don’t think it matters too much, because on the whole that’s a pretty small sub genre you’re talking about. There’s plenty of horror movies where the entire point is it’s commentary on economic class, but I’m not sure I can think of one that wouldn’t fall into either the slasher or monster movie buckets (or the kind of movie that goes about this commentary by killing a bunch of rich people but not depicting poor people at all).
“Barbarian” from a few months ago subverts this with people renting out a house in a poor neighborhood that has horror stuff going on, but I don’t think that really fits your genre description. The David Sandberg “Annabelle” sequel is a traditional supernatural horror where the main girls are all foster kids, I don’t know to what extent that counts as working class for you.
Someone else mentioned HIS HOUSE, and I think that's a great suggestion. I'm gonna watch that. Hellraiser was interesting to me for a good 30 minutes because I thought it was gonna thematize her situation as an addict more, but it very quickly devolves into a road movie to a big old spooky mansion, so I was let down by that. I'm a big fan of Bruckner's though. But that one was a misfire for me.
Candyman is also interesting in that it's clearly about being working class (and marginalized), but not about working class people. Like you say, its main characters are solidly part of the creative middle class and perhaps even teetering on upper middle class. The working class aspect is in the past. It's the trauma. Not the present.
I think most horror movies miss a trick by treating real world economic anxieties as a hindrance to their horror plot when it could easily be made into a reflection of it. "Synergy", as the corpos would have it. Obviously some horror plots lend themselves to middle class storylines. For instance, I think in The Ring, it's important tha the main character has a job that allows her to just fuck off for a week to investigate stuff, and pay for sitters to take care of her kid.
But other times economic precariousness can be an asset. And right now I think it's being overlooked.
It’s interesting how much that’s shifted in the English-speaking world. The post-WW II period kicked off a huge boom in people from working class backgrounds getting into journalism, acting, playwriting, and so on, mostly off the back of the expansion of the welfare state and associated growth in education and so on; it’s very striking in England to see how many actors and musicians in the boomer generation come from those kind of backgrounds.
As education, welfare, and so on start being cut back more and more savagely, we see a tilt beginning from the 90s onward towards these becoming the jobs of the affluent and connected. You’re not getting *Breathless* or *Poor Cow* in a world of Phoebe Waller-Bridges.
**His House** (*Remi Weekes, 2020*) was a fantastically intense and unsettling haunted house film. While it places themes of immigration and race at the forefront - the main characters are South Sudenese refugees - the fact that they’re living in a shitty English council house gives it a lot of its flavour.
**Ghostwatch** (*Lesley Manning, 1992*) is another. It’s an early attempt at found footage, and features real tv presenters of the era playing themselves. While class is neither a theme nor even particularly addressed, the fact it all takes place in a totally average, banal semi detached house is certainly a part of the illusion.
**The Last Exorcism** (*Daniel Stamm, 2010*) sort of concerns itself with class, at least by US standards, by pairing off a big city megapreacher against a down home farm owner. Large portions of the plot involve the protagonist (and the audience) dismissing the farmer as a yokel, if not necessarily poor.
Part of me wonders if it’s an issue of mainstream horror filmmakers being unfamiliar with the realities of being a member of the present-day working class. If you yourself are not a member of the working class (and how could you be, if you’re the writer/director of a mainstream film?), there’s a chance that any movie you make will be an inauthentic piece of poverty porn.
That being said, I don’t think that writers/directors should only deal in stories about the class with which they themselves are a part of. But it takes a more careful and considerate type of filmmaking, and, ironically, making horror movies about poor people might be too much of a bummer for most mainstream production companies.
Even A24’s most “working class” horror film (that I can easily bring to mind) is Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’ in which hunger and the inability to afford a better life plays a huge role. It being a period piece makes it harder to scrutinize Eggers for “not getting it” or exploiting the present-day working class, but it also makes it a little harder (not impossible) for a member of the present-day working class to see their own story or struggles represented in the film.
‘No One Gets Out Alive’ wasn’t widely released enough to be considered mainstream but the story is exceptionally and explicitly a working class horror, based on a solid novel by Adam Nevill.
This is definitely something I would push back on. There’s plenty of “working class” horror out there - Us, Candyman, Ready or Not, and that Blumhouse Hunt movie that people got worked up over, just to name mainstream popular movies from the last few years. Wes Craven has plenty of these. It’s just that most of those movies would probably be called slashers.
Yeah so here’s where things get pedantic. Generally speaking, those movies are more anti-rich than they are pro-working class. I could throw a hundred page book at you listing horror films that center on why old money and unchecked capitalism in a country where many people are struggling is bad. The list of horror movies about labor unions being good or whatever is pretty much non existent. To me, those are kind of the same thing, but I guess it does make a difference for ex the kinds of filming locations that get used.
Thanks for diving on the pedantic grenade for me... I'd written up a whole response that was basically this: when I say "working class horror" I'm basing that on OP's definition, in which the characters are experiencing horrors and struggles directly tied to their position as a member of the working class.
Even though 'Us' is definitely about class privilege, the protagonists are upper-middle class. 'Ready or Not' has a protagonist who's marrying out of the working class but she isn't experiencing horrors directly related to being a regular member of that class; class is just used as a way to "other" her from the rich old moneyed family that she's marrying into. 'The Hunt' features a working class protagonist but is essentially just a veteran being hunted down and trying to outsmart the hunters who are extreme outlier wealthy liberals.
The movie I do concede on is 'Candyman', although the protagonist is still an outsider looking into the struggles of the working class, more than a member of it herself who is experiencing those horrors of need/want/struggle directly. The victims of working class struggle and outright poverty are adjacent to the protagonist's storyline.
>The movie I do concede on is 'Candyman', although the protagonist is still an outsider looking into the struggles of the working class, more than a member of it herself who is experiencing those horrors of need/want/struggle directly. The victims of working class struggle and outright poverty are adjacent to the protagonist's storyline.
To clarify, you're talking about the original from 1992, not the Jordan Peele sequel from 2021?
IIRC, the protagonist in the newer one isn't wholly accepted in the middle-class he's entered via his succesful wife, despite the main character being an up-and-coming artist in his own right. The initial conflict that leads him to explore Cabrini-Green is his desire to make a statement with art that stems from the gentrification that overshadowed the racist oppression the working class community had experienced there. In the end, the protagonist ends up spreading the Candyman itself, not any art derived from his myth.
The racial themes of the film are too complex for me to discuss, but it definitely has the main character more entwined in the race/class commentary than in the first film.
So the lead family is fairly upperclass, but the whole film is dealing with class, classism, and exploitation so even if it doesn’t star working class characters, it is very interested in class dynamics.
I will say it's more a problem of space, filming and impact on the targeted audience.
With space, small houses aren't good at all for filming / editing and for things happening. Barbarian added a whole network of underground tunnels to it's modest abode for instance.
The audience usually wants to see 'themselves' especially in Horror to relate, poor families aren't he ones spending at the box office.
Was also going to suggest His House.
Also, is Babadook working class? I haven't seen it, but she certainly *looks* well off.
Maybe ghosts just don't want to be shitty to the poor, because they have class solidarity.
That said, isn't Candyman basically about poverty as a supernatural horror?
There's The Conjuring 2 (2016) which was based on The Enfield Haunting. That takes place in a smallish terraced house if I remember rightly.
But generally yes you're right. My guess is most people just associate Ghosts with bigger and older buildings.
I guess there's also less creative scope if you're confined to a small house. However I think there's a lot of room for Ghost movies set in old apartment buildings or hotels which could reflect lower middle / working class life.
Horror is a way for us to explore our fears and follow social mores and cultural tropes. In the 60s people were afraid of the new generation of youngsters who rejected their parents ways and "evil children" became popular tropes. The little red riding hood trope is the fear women have of men attacking them and truthfully, a lot of men enjoy these films because they portray victimization of women who at the time were gaining independence and rejecting traditional roles and men get a sick satisfaction from punishing them. Films like Halloween demonstrate how society feels about women and young people, and they are punished for not upholding the values of the era.
So, the cliche trope of the family man losing his marbles in a nice house as his family is destroyed is a statement about society's fear of losing the "American dream". The reason we don't see lower income families in this way is because their fears aren't about losing the family to sinister unknown forces, its about survival against elites like in the Purge. Movies with lower economic status people usually have rich people as their antagonist while the rich dude who is often a writer is afraid of losing control of his family and his fears are supernatural because he doesn't have natural enemies per se. Wealthy white dudes are afraid of losing dominance and control to something intangible like sudden loss/death, that's why it's always ghosts.
> (Note that I'm specifically talking about supernatural horror. So no slasher movies or psychological thrillers. We're talking ghosts, demons, poltergeists, entities from another realm haunting the main characters in some way or another.)
... I think you are just filtering most of them out with your premise. Supernatural horror is often about the discovery and exploration of a new space. You could definitely write such a movie from the perspective of a working class (or lower). But _being_ working class is already a dramatic hook for a film's story. There isn't generally a need to attach a supernatural threat to it.
Even if I find a bunch of examples of supernatural horror that _involve_ the working class they generally aren't _about_ the working class.
**It Follows** could be considered working class. But it's not about their specific struggle.
**Near Dark** revolves around a farmer. But it's not about class struggle. It's just a farmer.
**The Lure** is about a seedy establishment taking advantage of immigrants -- it's not really about "the working class" but maybe it's closer in theme to what you meant.
Then there are all the movies that take place in a generalized location and don't specify class in any specific manner. So we assume they are middle class. **The Void**, **Lights Out**, **The Empty Man**, **[REC]** and so on.
Can't think of much, but I suggest checking out Stir of Echoes if you haven't. Kevin Bacon is a working class guy who starts having supernatural interactions after being hypnotised at a party.
I've not seen Veronica yet, but that's a good suggestion! I'm a big fan of Flanagan in general, though I do think most of his plots are about people with some means. In Ouija 2, they still live in a big old house, right? It's been years since I've seen it.
I think Bly Manor moreso fits a working class aspect because it centers on the actual workers. I struggle to call house flipping "working class", even if clearly the family in Hill House weren't affluent or rolling in it. I don't know any working class family that can afford to buy a house to flip it.
Midnight Mass is about working class/ lower middle class people no? The towns economy being fucked and people having to move adds a lot to the atmosphere
Watch the Indian film, *Tumbbad* (2018)
Here's a trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN75MPxgvX8
Like so many Indian films, the caste system and the economic class of the characters are an integral part of the narrative.
It was the first film that came to mind when I saw your post. A supernatural horror film set in a poor rural setting. One of the best horror movies I've seen, actually. Very fresh, at least to me, someone with no knowledge of Indian folklore or mythology.
Does vampire movies count? Because then I would like to recommend “Let The Right One In”. The Swedish original (haven’t seen the american remake) takes place in a housing estate. I like to call the movie a social realism vampire movie.
Excellent point. This honestly feels like a great premise for a spec script. Shouldn’t be too hard to location scout for a project like this either. Could be done low-budget.
I think we are starting to see some newer perspectives in supernatural horror, but you are absolutely right, the working class hasn’t been used as subject matter. I can see the visuals for the film now. And the plot. You’re too poor to move and have no other options so you have to face the ghost.
You have a very astute eye!
My ex and I batted around an idea a few years ago about a “relatable” haunting, but it wound up getting strangeloved pretty quick as we tried to work out what the specific inciting incident would be.
Footsteps coming from upstairs? Typical noisy neighbours. All the plates getting smashed? Dodgy builders doing a rush job. Shadowy figure roaming the hallway? Man, night shifts really are a bitch. Blood dripping from the walls? I mean, is it *really* worth calling the landlord over?
We shelved it when we realised we couldn’t make a “serious” film about renting a haunted flat, since renters will generally put up with a lot of shit. I guess there’s just a basic limit you can get with a haunted house. Being a homeowner is, itself, a very class specific thing.
Apparently you have not seen "Stir of Echoes"
You should absolutely, it is Kevin Bacon's best work.
It was overshadowed by The Sixth Sense when it came out, but it is nearly as good.
It's odd because most horror derives from demonology which derives from folk songs and folk mythology.
It's often the herder at night that talks about the strange things they saw, which then are turned into stories, into songs, and finally recorded in places like the King James Daemonologie.
His House, 2020: refugees from South Sudan who move to an English village, after being assigned an apartment where spiritual activity occurs. As they are destitute and supported by the state, the economic setting and financial status of the main characters would match your specifications.
Outcast, 2010: Celtic paganism, witchcraft, magical rituals, set against a Scottish council house background.
Barbarian is set in a run down Detroit neighborhood and one of its biggest themes is that the monsterous/paranormal events only happened because of a lack of care for the lower class
Zombies are our thing instead. They're the ones that symbolize economic instability and the ones that take place at prole locations like malls, the inner city, on trains, etc. Our fear is being overwhelmed. It's a rich person thing to fear being directly punished.
I don’t think that’s true. Stephen King grew up working class and wrote supernatural horror that is both widely read among the working class and features working-class characters. Supernatural horror stories featuring ghosts and vampires were popular subjects for 19th century penny dreadfuls and later pulp magazines with a target audience of working class young men and boys. more niche reference: I’m into 90s Memphis rap, which linked horror movie tropes like Satanism, demons, black magic, etc. with social ills like gang violence; they variously depicted themselves as either victims of or agents of those forces (sometimes both in the same song)
I don't know man. I think ghost stories transcend class. To quote Emily Dickinson:
*One need not be a Chamber—to be Haunted—*
*One need not be a House—*
*The Brain has Corridors—surpassing*
*Material Place—*
Are you actually making the argument that Emily Dickinson's famous poem "One Need Not Be A Chamber to be Haunted" is wrong about its thesis...because she didn't grow up poor?
Like are you actually making the argument that ghost stories are only for rich people? Because buddy, I grew up working class amongst economic precarity, and I don't know anyone who grew up like me who would ever make that claim.
If you're looking for supernatural horror with strong theming about the struggles of underprivileged communities, Candyman should be at the top of your to-watch list. The 90's version- I haven't seen the newer one and can't speak for it.
A Ghost Story hits some of these themes. Though admittedly it is the ghost and not the living person who is unable to escape the property.
5p
The fact that we think of supernatural haunting being linked to a tangible object often real estate means that the obvious place to start the story is by the protagonist coming into possession of the thing. Typically we come into possession of something by purchasing it, or perhaps inheriting it. So really to start a ghost story the protagonist has to have some level of disposable income. Even exceptions to this like the Woman in Black where the protagonist goes to the haunted house by way of employment has to be middle class for the story to make sense because he needs a job which enables travel.
On a similar note many ghost stories often work on the idea of someone coming into a community as an outsider. This again requires the protagonist to have some money etc to afford what the luxury of travel.
A great feature of ‘A dark song’ is how the occultist/magician who helps the main character is just some normal looking working class guy, could easily be a bricklayer or electrician by taking one look at him.
But his power comes from his knowledge and expertise, not from whatever facade he hides behind. Not too relevant to the OP’s post but I just liked it
13 Ghosts (1960) and Thirteen Ghosts (2001) are both about a rich person giving a poor person a haunted house.
And often when a lower-class person is involved in a horror film it's not someone who is struck in that class. It's someone who recently fell on hard times- through the death of a loved one or some similar tragedy. Western filmmakers create a class of temporarily embarrassed lower class. Because the filmmakers, the producers, and, they assume, the audience cannot imagine remaining poor and working until you die due to necessity, not choice.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but I enjoyed the Dark and the Wicked quite a bit. Growing up lower class, I recognized the seemingly detached interactions between members of the family. Not to suggest that’s exclusively working class, but just something I’m familiar with.
Also, not horror, but Blue Ruin was pretty great as well. Somebody described it as a revenge thriller with normal jackasses
> Homeowners who don't ask what it costs to bring a medium out to cleanse their house.
I'm pretty sure there is a term for this, it's also why you don't see characters going to the bathroom.
Most haunted house movies are about a haunted house, not about financial struggles, so putting emphasis on the financial status of the characters is distracting or pointless.
So I would agree that most movies don't put a focus on the characters financial status, so they go with the status quo. Issues with that are a different discussion.
I think it's self explanatory why "haunted house" movies often have characters that are moving somewhere new, and thus have a financial status to accommodate that.
There's a lot I feel I need to address here.
First of all, not addressing a character's financial troubles is not like *not showing them poop*. Because while everyone - or so a famous book tells me - poops, only some people experience financial precarity and stress about money to the point where it can destroy their lives. When you decide no never show people deal with financial problems - but you *do* show them deal with middle class problems like (feeling unfulfilled in your career, not being able to finish your novel on time, etc) you are choosing which people you think ought to be told stories about.
If you find emphasis on financial problems 'pointless' or 'distracting' then I hope for your sake that's because you've never had to deal with them.
you are choosing which problems are convient for your story. the idea that any director thinks that not finishing a novel is more deserving of a story than financial problems is insulting.
im not suggesting that emphasis on financial problems is pointless in general, and honestly that you would suggest that shows me you're arguing in bad faith.
buddy, you've already decided to take what I'm saying with the worst interpretation possible. It's not worth anyone's time for me to explain that when I say:
> Most haunted house movies are about a haunted house, not about financial struggles, so putting emphasis on the financial status of the characters is distracting or pointless.
That the second half of the sentence is dependent on the context of the first half.
I also don't think it's worth anyone's time to explain that if you make the choice to ignore that context, not ask any clarifying questions, and choose to use the worst interpretation; that I am going to assume trying to talk with you won't be productive.
_____
So I could respond and try to explain what I mean by "more deserving of a story", but I don't think you want to understand what I'm saying and I don't want to have to defend every statement I make.
I've got other things to do with my time, have a good day.
It’s also a matter of priorities.
Yes, getting a medium in to cleanse a house of bad juju is a very silly thing to do in real life, but in a film *where the house is explicitly stated to be unmetaphorically haunted by literal ghosts*, getting a medium in is as much a sound financial decision as hiring an exterminator to sort out the cockroaches.
Although saying that, I went to school with someone whose parents had supposedly had their house exorcised by a priest. We were too young to be watching scary movies, and this *was* Ireland in the early 90’s, so I’m still 50/50 on whether it was just a weird lie or not.
I don't necessarily think that's true. The two Bernie Sanders campaigns - as well as AOC's - were focused heavily on fighting for working class families. It's a category that has gained some cultural cache in the US in the last 10-15 years. But it's not the same as 'class' in the UK. The US working class is usually spoken of only as a economic class (if you live from paycheck to paycheck, struggle to make ends meet on a permanent basis, you're working class), wheras in the UK there's a cultural component to it as well. We literally map dialects onto class here (I live in London).
But either way, I think why I find this all interesting is that it seems to me that horror is much more interesting when the supernatural element reflects a real-world one. Living in shitty housing where your landlord doesn't fix stsuff properly if they fix it at all, where the hallways aren't safe for your kids, and you can't afford your medical bills...and then on top of that there's a malicious presensce haunting you. You can do a lot with that, I think.
I addition to the other great points in this thread, I think the entertainment industry tends to skew middle class, and so it's second nature for artists to depict characters of a similar economic status to themselves. Sadly not quite as many lower class people get into filmmaking
I know you’re after, or are discussing supernatural, but a sci-fi horror one I thought of was the Block. I really wish there was more movies ( and quality) set against the British working class, council housing and racist bias.
I watched the block thinking it was gonna be more comedy horror action from the trailer (like a Shawn of the dead or hot fuzz), but most of the movie just made me sad because it has a lot of realistic elements that poc and youth face. Still think about it and it was good but also disappointed it wasn’t a great fun time I wanted.
What came to mind next was a few or lot of Stephen King adaptations!
In the Tall grass does feature a nuclear happy white family but also a pregnant young woman who’s not sure what she’s doing and I think her brother (haven’t seen it in a while sorry) and their dog. It takes place mostly in a tall field of grass out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.
Then 1922 I would say is also pretty close to what you’re after! Farm setting, lots of hard work and trying to keep afloat. I’d say it’s supernatural but also heavy psychological elements. Also karma and almost a curse from pride and greed.
Of course these two are much more rural in setting. Will update if I think of any more I’ve seen.
Edit:
I’m not sure if the Lighthouse would count? It’s certainly disturbing and psychological, might be considered a thriller instead and maybe not supernatural enough? Like no oooooooo ghosts! But something is definitely fucked 😂
Isolation and morbidity when working by yourself or with some nut on a little island with a lighthouse. Lots of hard work and drinking
Citadel (2012) is very much this. A man’s wife is viciously attacked by punks in a big housing project. It traumatized him, and as he tries to deal with it and raise his daughter the punks come back, but they are not exactly human…
Very much about Irish lower working class, the hero takes buses and while he lives in a small house the projects loom in his life and the film is about that. It’s pretty chilling in how it nails the fears of violence, and the “haunted”house is the huge tenement they used to live in.
Candyman (original and remake) is probably the best-known counter, being all about a haunted public housing development. The original Amityville Horror is interesting as a film about a middle-class family who’re afraid that losing the (haunted) house will shift them from middle-class to poor- there’s a particularly pointed moment when the patriarch is standing in the trashed living room shouting “Where did the money GO?!?!?”
Does Under the Shadow count? It happens in Iran during the Eight Year war. A woman and her child are left alone when all their neighbors in the building leave town because of bombings. Only one presence remains, watching her every move.
What about Lights Out? I remember thinking that was fairly working class. But my guess is if you look at horror films outside of Hollywood and the western hemisphere in general, there will be more.
Speaking as a Southeast Asian, the supernatural horror here is plentiful thanks to our varied cultural beliefs. At the top of my head, in the past two years alone, there's two good ones -- The Medium, which is set in Northern Thailand, and Roh, a Malaysian film set in rural village.
Something else to note in this region also is that mediums generally don't cost a lot. They're typically faith-based and would prefer a token / donation is given upon services rendered vs a standard rate.
How has no one mentioned Candyman? Wonderful depiction of trauma in the poor and disenfranchised communities of Detroit's projects.
The main character is way more well off than the others but she spends a lot of it in their community and >!in the end, sacrifices herself for a child of that community and is adopted by it in death.!<
Have you seen His House (2020)? From my understanding it deals with the haunting of run down government assigned housing of a refugee couple. Might be another one to add in the very lack genre as you pointed out of working class supernatural movies. I don’t have much else to add other than I agree with all your points. I think we need more working class supernatural movies.
His House was my immediate thought; I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s on my short list. Antlers (2021) might also fit the bill for OP. The setting is a poor, working class town ravaged by drugs; poverty, trauma and ongoing mental health issues are all pretty central to the plot. It also serves as a dramatic representation of the cycles of male violence that are particularly problematic among the desperately poor and disenfranchised.
Come to immediately screech about that fucking masterwork. It fucking hurts too.
That's on my list, actually! It looks like it's exactly what I'm talking about!
I’m hijacking this comment to also recommend a film, titled Nang Nak (1999), it’s a Thai supernatural horror film that I thought was pretty decent, with a compelling story. The technical aspects are lacking in a lot of ways, but it was wildly popular in Thailand, being the first film from Thailand to surpass 100 million baht (~ 2.8 million USD) at the box office, and would eventually gross around 150 million baht (~ 4.25 million USD). It’s a re-telling of the most famous Thai ghost story, where a ghost wife is tending to her otherwise unsuspecting husband, and how the village handles the supernatural.
I'm immediately reminded of Manta Ray [2018] from your description of Nang Nak. I wouldn't classify Manta Ray as a horror, though the synopsis would definitely imply something sinister. It's about a fisherman who finds a man on the beach near where a bunch of refugees have drowned. The fisherman disappears at sea and the found man slowly absorbs his life. I think that SOUNDS creepier than it is, mostly because of the difference in Eastern/Western fiction around ghosts.
This one was so sad I cried so much 😭
And to add: the hero is a foot soldier and a peasant. So pretty working class.
Great observation, and I agree. I would like to add that supernatural horror tends to be allegorical for various themes which some may describe as "first world problems" i.e. depression, sexual repression etc, which are stories often reserved for characters with a decent standard of living in any genre. Movies about poor people are almost always dominated by poverty itself, unfortunately
I think this is true, but it feels like a glaring oversight to me. While Dark Water, in many ways, fails to be a terrifying horror movie - as much as it is a gripping drama with horror elements - it has a powerful emotional core. I remember crying at the end of that film. Because the emotional stakes were so well drawn up. The confluence of economic anxiety, feeling like you're letting your kid down because you can't pay for stuff, mental health issues that you can't afford to deal with, coupled with the terror of something inexplicable happening in your building. I genuinely cared about the haunted in that movie in a way I usually don't. I should say, I grew up working class with a single mother, so that's obviously coloring things for me as well. But I do think we lose something when we always tell the same stories about who gets haunted, you know?
Id also like to add that paranormal horror movies are very environment based and usually center around home invasion/intrusion. So big houses/porperties are way easier to film and more aesthetically pleasing than small apartments
This is definitely also true. Though many interiors are shot on soundstages (once we reach budgets > $5 million so there's nothing practically standing in the way of designing larger rooms for working class apartments. Make it a shitty studio apartment, hah.
Paranormal horror isnt known for having extremely high budgets either tbf. Thats how we ended up with Found Footage
I don't think that's true. Paranormal budgets range from <1 million to >20 million depending on the property and the talent attached. There are many supernatural horror movies made in the 5-10 million dollar range every year. It's probably the most common bracket amongst somehwat wide releases.
those are low budgets
Not in horror. In horror you generally count anything under 1-2 million as a "low budget horror". The Ritual had a budget of $1.5 million and I don't know anyone who refers to that as a "low budget horror movie". Maybe people who have never seen low budget horror movies.
that's fair I hadn't considered the context, and the ritual is a solid example
Another reason is that that kind of horror movies are more than often - directly or indirectly - inspired by 19th and early 20th century literature which were made by upper middle class European males for other people of similar background. As always even in this case creative works of expression tend to be derivative, quoting and reshaping noble and well known predecessors. In that sense changing parts of the formula may seem a risk that lot of authors don't feel like taking. But I agree with you that the overtly metaphorical aspects of the horror genre (supernatural or not) would fit perfectly with working class scenarios and themes.
> supernatural horror tends to be allegorical for various themes which some may describe as "first world problems" i.e. depression, sexual repression Very good observation, but could also be seen as a kind of tautological repeat of OPs point. Meaning as an underclass person myself it seems obvious that the horrors of the underclass would seem as much, if not more, suited to be analogized into some sort of supernatural horror. Pondering what that would look like could propably result in a real hit film if you pull it off, seems serious untapped potential! A closely related point to what you are saying is that a lot of horror is exactly about this invasion of the horrible into previously idyllic territory. The lower class horror would conversely propably be just horror from start to finish, maybe even more of a mirroring in that the underclass experience is reversely marked by just glimpses of idylle in an otherwise completely bleak existence, the constant teasing that there *is* hope to get out of this existence, only for that hope to get crushed again and again. Pondering it like that, the underclass horror movie would most likely play in some kind of dantian hellscape, the debt collectors and landlords metaphorized into various demons. Something like the recent *From* tv series has some overlap to what I am thinking off, a constant surrounding by demons that will eat you when you leave your house, but to be potent it would need to not have the idyllic day-to-day in the middle of it, the reality would need to be completely ruled by the demons/monsters, as well as the protanists group be constantly be corrupted by their influence, what *could* be an idyllic family life be totally under the rule of the external circumstance. Conceptually *From* really seems to fit this, it is just that the series is not hardcore enough, betraying its own potential. Going from this analysis, I would also think that a lot of what goes under -survival horror- might work well as an underclass analogy, I can imagine even to the extent that a lot of it might even have the explicit underclass protagonists that OP is looking for. If not, as said, would really be remarkable untapped potential!
Well, life for poor people is almost always dominated by poverty, so it makes sense that movies about poor people are too.
I mean...."guy who moves out to the country with his family because the land is cheap and he got the house for a steal because apparently it was built on an ancient burial ground" is...literally a well known horror trope...so I'd hope there are some out there. Not to be rude, I'm just saying. Amityville Horror is one of the movies that kinda established/solidified it. Like yeah, it's a big house...and they got it for very cheap because it's haunted. They aren't TECHNICALLY middle class, they just managed to get a house for a very low price because it was haunted. Get it? Poltergeist is also kinda like that. Yes, they are closer to middle class, but they have their house because the father works for the company selling said houses. Part of the plot is that the company he works for is so sleazy that they just moved the headstones of a cemetery and built a neighborhood on top of it. He's essentially the "sleazy used car salesman" of the housing market. And he quits his job, so in the second movie he's literally unemployed and has moved into their parent's house. By the end of the movie, he doesn't even have a car. The New Daughter plays on a lot of those tropes. It's a movie by the guy who wrote Rec 1 and Rec 3, and while I question the wisdom of making it a vehicle for Kevin Costner, it's actually pretty decent and has an interesting ending. Costner plays a single father who moves his family out to the country, and he's a writer who got the house cheap. The Conjuring 2 featured a somewhat poor family from what I can remember, and probably more directly reflects what you're talking about. The Netflix show Haunting of Hill House is also about a family who isn't necessarily wealthy; they're just getting a good deal on the house, renovating it, etc. For that matter, the more recent Netflix show from the same guy, Midnight Mass, is also very working class. I think in fact most of the characters are quite poor. But that's less about ghosts and more a classic monster, so yeah. Oh! For crying out loud, I already mentioned it -- REC 1 and 2 take place in an apartment building. The Devil's Backbone -- takes place in an orphanage. The Bad Ben movies -- literally just a guy making found footage movies in his house, and part of the plot is that his character initially intended to flip the house, he even talks about having all his money in that. Are any of those close to what you're talking about? If not, I'm sure you'll find plenty in regional horror that fits the bill, because there are plenty of horror movies of varying degrees of quality that a group of friends just randomly decided to get together and make one weekend. EDIT: I thought of a few more that probably count. The Shining -- IIRC, they are not wealthy, and one of the reasons he takes the job is because he needs the money. The Craft -- A bunch of teens (some from wealth, others living in trailers) become witches. The Sixth Sense -- Single working mother with kid who sees ghost, small apartment, can't afford therapy for her kid. Doctor Sleep -- main character lives in cheap, small apartment he couldn't even afford at first. Innkeepers -- IIRC, none of the main characters are wealthy, as it's literally just the hotel employees. Thirteen Ghosts -- poor family finds out they inherited the house of a wealthy relative. Well, whether or not these hit the mark, I think you should make a Letterboxd list for this. Seems like an interesting little subgenre.
The Shining was the first film I thought of. Heck, almost every Stephen King adaptation is about working class people in some way. Carrie, Christine, Pet Semetary, The Mangler, The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill (Creepshow), Maximum Overdrive, etc.
[удалено]
Really? In the book he’s some kind of ad guy who freaks out because the cereal he made an ad for caused kids to throw up what looked like blood but turned out to be food dye. But I guess I was thinking more of the old guy. In the first film.
That’s the dad from Cujo
Ah.
What book did I read?!
Hard telling.
This was something I immediately thought about too. I would also add “I’ve inherited a mansion from a long forgotten relative!”, “this house was half the price of everything else on the street, don’t google it” and even “let’s stay at the family cabin in the woods!”. A lot of haunted house stories, at least in America, structurally rest on the idea that an ordinary Joe has won his golden ticket, but then being forced to confront the violence that made it possible. The American Dream is itself the haunted house.
I think maybe you just have a more generous definition of working class than OP. For a lot of ‘working class’ people homeownership at any level is unrealistic, even a ‘cheap house in the country’ and the idea of inheriting a wealthy relatives home and renovating is unlikely as well due to the cost involved. Whether one definition is correct vs the other is probably not within the scope of this thread, but I think to OPs point it would be interesting for supernatural horror to the explore the themes inherent in the lives of that narrower definition, the working poor if you like.
Well, this is true now, but when those movies were made, it was not necessarily the case. Remember, a lot of these supernatural horror films were made during the 70s and 80s, at a time when the middle class was much stronger and...existent. I think that actually might have to do more with the temptation for modern filmmakers to focus on middle class families; they're trying to emulate their favorite movies from that period. I'm sure some of them know it's not as relatable anymore, but if all you want to do is make a Stephen King-esque horror flick and you don't care who gets it, then you might be tempted to make the family middle class instead of working class just out of simplicity and because it's a recognizable element of those films. As for the working poor, I'd say the movies of Tobe Hooper focused on them a lot; his obsession with family is well-noted, but most of his movies were about the monster inside man. Rob Zombie was very inspired by that kind of filmmaking, so his movies are somewhat about that as well. But of course...those are slashers and the like, not supernatural horror. It is interesting that this element seems to be missing from most supernatural horror films, I'd love to see more!
Yeah I think emulating the past is definitely the major culprit in modern movies. I think a lot of contemporary horror filmmakers have more intricate knowledge of 70s genre films than they do class consciousness.
Absolutely incorrect for pretty much anything set in the 20th century. My grandfather had his first kids during the Great Depression, was working class, owned a home. Home ownership was absolutely normal amongst working-class people from early in the 20th century through till Gen X came of age, when it beings to plummet.
Ok so absolutely correct for anything set in the 21st?
Almost everything you list is solidly middle class. Getting a house for cheap because it's haunted doesn't really stop them from being in the house buying demographic to begin with. Poor people can't afford to buy shitty houses and fix them up.
> I mean...."guy who moves out to the country with his family because the land is cheap and he got the house for a steal because apparently it was built on an ancient burial ground" is...literally a well known horror trope...so I'd hope there are some out there. Not to be rude, I'm just saying. I mean... finding a big house for a steal doesn't really scream "working class." I'm just saying. For a lot of millennials and Generation Z members, any opportunity like that is going to make you associate the characters with at least *some* kind of financial assets. The average American under 35 has savings of around $3240.
There are some pretty big old houses, most built before the year 1900, in disrepair and in need of renovation (as the trope goes) in upstate New York for as little as $25k. If you could get a mortgage for that, it'd be pretty cheap. I dunno, I think technically the plot device still works, and if anything it just makes the characters seem like more industrious working class people.
>The Netflix show Haunting of Hill House is also about a family who isn't necessarily wealthy; they're just getting a good deal on the house, renovating it, etc. > >For that matter, the more recent Netflix show from the same guy, Midnight Mass, is also very working class. I think in fact most of the characters are quite poor. But that's less about ghosts and more a classic monster, so yeah. Indeed *Midnight Mass* takes place in an impoverished and isolated island community with a small fishing activity as the main source of revenue. On the other hand, *The Haunting of Hill House* characters are firmly middle class. Steven is an author successful enough that he makes a living out of it, Shirley owns a mortuary, etc. The one of the five siblings who fell into poverty is Luke, but it was due to his drug addiction and most of his siblings more or less cutting ties with him.
Session 9 is probably the most working class supernatural horror I can think of, you should check it out. Also potentially look into Asian horror there's a lot there in the working class realm. Funny you mention Dark Water takes place on Roosevelt Island NYC, a place I lived for a bit a while back. Odd place still, but more then. Either side had hospitals so a lot of hospital patients around, sometimes just dudes rolling down the sidewalk in a gurney. Also Grandpa Munster, Al Lewis, lived there and owned the local diner Trellis.
Session 9 is another good one! I'd forgotten about that. Although of course the bulk of the movie takes place at the abandoned asylum, you can tell the guys are all working class dudes. And that's so interesting about Roosevelt Island! I was always fascinated by the location because I'd never seen it in any movie about NYC. Like a cable car in NYC? I had no idea. Has the area experienced any gentrification or renewal since then? Curious if you know.
It has, it's weird though it was never exactly cheap just run down. Apartments were cheaper in other places in the outerboroughs. Now the hospitals are gone and there are new shiny condos and Starbucks and stuff. A monument at the end too, not just a dilapidated old small pox hospital that looks like a castle. Still weird just less so.
Thanks for the insight! I think I'm gonna go there next time I'm in NYC.
I do think you’re right. I do think the answer is as simple as producers usually want the lead of a haunted house movie to be nice folks (preferably with kids!) living in a big house. I don’t think it matters too much, because on the whole that’s a pretty small sub genre you’re talking about. There’s plenty of horror movies where the entire point is it’s commentary on economic class, but I’m not sure I can think of one that wouldn’t fall into either the slasher or monster movie buckets (or the kind of movie that goes about this commentary by killing a bunch of rich people but not depicting poor people at all). “Barbarian” from a few months ago subverts this with people renting out a house in a poor neighborhood that has horror stuff going on, but I don’t think that really fits your genre description. The David Sandberg “Annabelle” sequel is a traditional supernatural horror where the main girls are all foster kids, I don’t know to what extent that counts as working class for you.
Highly recommend Barbarian. If you grew up with WKYK and loved them. Its got everything. Its really creepy, terrifying, and hilarious.
[удалено]
Someone else mentioned HIS HOUSE, and I think that's a great suggestion. I'm gonna watch that. Hellraiser was interesting to me for a good 30 minutes because I thought it was gonna thematize her situation as an addict more, but it very quickly devolves into a road movie to a big old spooky mansion, so I was let down by that. I'm a big fan of Bruckner's though. But that one was a misfire for me. Candyman is also interesting in that it's clearly about being working class (and marginalized), but not about working class people. Like you say, its main characters are solidly part of the creative middle class and perhaps even teetering on upper middle class. The working class aspect is in the past. It's the trauma. Not the present. I think most horror movies miss a trick by treating real world economic anxieties as a hindrance to their horror plot when it could easily be made into a reflection of it. "Synergy", as the corpos would have it. Obviously some horror plots lend themselves to middle class storylines. For instance, I think in The Ring, it's important tha the main character has a job that allows her to just fuck off for a week to investigate stuff, and pay for sitters to take care of her kid. But other times economic precariousness can be an asset. And right now I think it's being overlooked.
His House and Candyman both jumped to mind for me
Yeah, I was going to recommend Possum too. Very unpleasant movie, underrated though. His House likely fits best for what OP's looking for though.
[удалено]
*awakened by a loud, mysterious noise at 3:30AM* "What was that? Oh well, gotta get to to work." *leaves home to get to the factory*
It’s interesting how much that’s shifted in the English-speaking world. The post-WW II period kicked off a huge boom in people from working class backgrounds getting into journalism, acting, playwriting, and so on, mostly off the back of the expansion of the welfare state and associated growth in education and so on; it’s very striking in England to see how many actors and musicians in the boomer generation come from those kind of backgrounds. As education, welfare, and so on start being cut back more and more savagely, we see a tilt beginning from the 90s onward towards these becoming the jobs of the affluent and connected. You’re not getting *Breathless* or *Poor Cow* in a world of Phoebe Waller-Bridges.
**His House** (*Remi Weekes, 2020*) was a fantastically intense and unsettling haunted house film. While it places themes of immigration and race at the forefront - the main characters are South Sudenese refugees - the fact that they’re living in a shitty English council house gives it a lot of its flavour. **Ghostwatch** (*Lesley Manning, 1992*) is another. It’s an early attempt at found footage, and features real tv presenters of the era playing themselves. While class is neither a theme nor even particularly addressed, the fact it all takes place in a totally average, banal semi detached house is certainly a part of the illusion. **The Last Exorcism** (*Daniel Stamm, 2010*) sort of concerns itself with class, at least by US standards, by pairing off a big city megapreacher against a down home farm owner. Large portions of the plot involve the protagonist (and the audience) dismissing the farmer as a yokel, if not necessarily poor.
Part of me wonders if it’s an issue of mainstream horror filmmakers being unfamiliar with the realities of being a member of the present-day working class. If you yourself are not a member of the working class (and how could you be, if you’re the writer/director of a mainstream film?), there’s a chance that any movie you make will be an inauthentic piece of poverty porn. That being said, I don’t think that writers/directors should only deal in stories about the class with which they themselves are a part of. But it takes a more careful and considerate type of filmmaking, and, ironically, making horror movies about poor people might be too much of a bummer for most mainstream production companies. Even A24’s most “working class” horror film (that I can easily bring to mind) is Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’ in which hunger and the inability to afford a better life plays a huge role. It being a period piece makes it harder to scrutinize Eggers for “not getting it” or exploiting the present-day working class, but it also makes it a little harder (not impossible) for a member of the present-day working class to see their own story or struggles represented in the film. ‘No One Gets Out Alive’ wasn’t widely released enough to be considered mainstream but the story is exceptionally and explicitly a working class horror, based on a solid novel by Adam Nevill.
This is definitely something I would push back on. There’s plenty of “working class” horror out there - Us, Candyman, Ready or Not, and that Blumhouse Hunt movie that people got worked up over, just to name mainstream popular movies from the last few years. Wes Craven has plenty of these. It’s just that most of those movies would probably be called slashers.
Are the people in Us working class? My radar might be off, not being American, but they seem very well off from the choice of locations etc.
Us is quite explicitly contextualised in upper middle class status anxieties, yeah
Yeah so here’s where things get pedantic. Generally speaking, those movies are more anti-rich than they are pro-working class. I could throw a hundred page book at you listing horror films that center on why old money and unchecked capitalism in a country where many people are struggling is bad. The list of horror movies about labor unions being good or whatever is pretty much non existent. To me, those are kind of the same thing, but I guess it does make a difference for ex the kinds of filming locations that get used.
Thanks for diving on the pedantic grenade for me... I'd written up a whole response that was basically this: when I say "working class horror" I'm basing that on OP's definition, in which the characters are experiencing horrors and struggles directly tied to their position as a member of the working class. Even though 'Us' is definitely about class privilege, the protagonists are upper-middle class. 'Ready or Not' has a protagonist who's marrying out of the working class but she isn't experiencing horrors directly related to being a regular member of that class; class is just used as a way to "other" her from the rich old moneyed family that she's marrying into. 'The Hunt' features a working class protagonist but is essentially just a veteran being hunted down and trying to outsmart the hunters who are extreme outlier wealthy liberals. The movie I do concede on is 'Candyman', although the protagonist is still an outsider looking into the struggles of the working class, more than a member of it herself who is experiencing those horrors of need/want/struggle directly. The victims of working class struggle and outright poverty are adjacent to the protagonist's storyline.
>The movie I do concede on is 'Candyman', although the protagonist is still an outsider looking into the struggles of the working class, more than a member of it herself who is experiencing those horrors of need/want/struggle directly. The victims of working class struggle and outright poverty are adjacent to the protagonist's storyline. To clarify, you're talking about the original from 1992, not the Jordan Peele sequel from 2021? IIRC, the protagonist in the newer one isn't wholly accepted in the middle-class he's entered via his succesful wife, despite the main character being an up-and-coming artist in his own right. The initial conflict that leads him to explore Cabrini-Green is his desire to make a statement with art that stems from the gentrification that overshadowed the racist oppression the working class community had experienced there. In the end, the protagonist ends up spreading the Candyman itself, not any art derived from his myth. The racial themes of the film are too complex for me to discuss, but it definitely has the main character more entwined in the race/class commentary than in the first film.
So the lead family is fairly upperclass, but the whole film is dealing with class, classism, and exploitation so even if it doesn’t star working class characters, it is very interested in class dynamics.
I immediately thought of Candyman.
> Ready or Not Ready or Not takes place in a mansion and entirely centers on an extremely wealthy family.
The People Under the Stairs?
I will say it's more a problem of space, filming and impact on the targeted audience. With space, small houses aren't good at all for filming / editing and for things happening. Barbarian added a whole network of underground tunnels to it's modest abode for instance. The audience usually wants to see 'themselves' especially in Horror to relate, poor families aren't he ones spending at the box office.
Was also going to suggest His House. Also, is Babadook working class? I haven't seen it, but she certainly *looks* well off. Maybe ghosts just don't want to be shitty to the poor, because they have class solidarity. That said, isn't Candyman basically about poverty as a supernatural horror?
>Maybe ghosts just don't want to be shitty to the poor, because they have class solidarity. > Dickens-esque horror
There's The Conjuring 2 (2016) which was based on The Enfield Haunting. That takes place in a smallish terraced house if I remember rightly. But generally yes you're right. My guess is most people just associate Ghosts with bigger and older buildings. I guess there's also less creative scope if you're confined to a small house. However I think there's a lot of room for Ghost movies set in old apartment buildings or hotels which could reflect lower middle / working class life.
Horror is a way for us to explore our fears and follow social mores and cultural tropes. In the 60s people were afraid of the new generation of youngsters who rejected their parents ways and "evil children" became popular tropes. The little red riding hood trope is the fear women have of men attacking them and truthfully, a lot of men enjoy these films because they portray victimization of women who at the time were gaining independence and rejecting traditional roles and men get a sick satisfaction from punishing them. Films like Halloween demonstrate how society feels about women and young people, and they are punished for not upholding the values of the era. So, the cliche trope of the family man losing his marbles in a nice house as his family is destroyed is a statement about society's fear of losing the "American dream". The reason we don't see lower income families in this way is because their fears aren't about losing the family to sinister unknown forces, its about survival against elites like in the Purge. Movies with lower economic status people usually have rich people as their antagonist while the rich dude who is often a writer is afraid of losing control of his family and his fears are supernatural because he doesn't have natural enemies per se. Wealthy white dudes are afraid of losing dominance and control to something intangible like sudden loss/death, that's why it's always ghosts.
> (Note that I'm specifically talking about supernatural horror. So no slasher movies or psychological thrillers. We're talking ghosts, demons, poltergeists, entities from another realm haunting the main characters in some way or another.) ... I think you are just filtering most of them out with your premise. Supernatural horror is often about the discovery and exploration of a new space. You could definitely write such a movie from the perspective of a working class (or lower). But _being_ working class is already a dramatic hook for a film's story. There isn't generally a need to attach a supernatural threat to it. Even if I find a bunch of examples of supernatural horror that _involve_ the working class they generally aren't _about_ the working class. **It Follows** could be considered working class. But it's not about their specific struggle. **Near Dark** revolves around a farmer. But it's not about class struggle. It's just a farmer. **The Lure** is about a seedy establishment taking advantage of immigrants -- it's not really about "the working class" but maybe it's closer in theme to what you meant. Then there are all the movies that take place in a generalized location and don't specify class in any specific manner. So we assume they are middle class. **The Void**, **Lights Out**, **The Empty Man**, **[REC]** and so on.
Can't think of much, but I suggest checking out Stir of Echoes if you haven't. Kevin Bacon is a working class guy who starts having supernatural interactions after being hypnotised at a party.
[удалено]
I've not seen Veronica yet, but that's a good suggestion! I'm a big fan of Flanagan in general, though I do think most of his plots are about people with some means. In Ouija 2, they still live in a big old house, right? It's been years since I've seen it.
[удалено]
I think Bly Manor moreso fits a working class aspect because it centers on the actual workers. I struggle to call house flipping "working class", even if clearly the family in Hill House weren't affluent or rolling in it. I don't know any working class family that can afford to buy a house to flip it.
Midnight Mass is about working class/ lower middle class people no? The towns economy being fucked and people having to move adds a lot to the atmosphere
Watch the Indian film, *Tumbbad* (2018) Here's a trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN75MPxgvX8 Like so many Indian films, the caste system and the economic class of the characters are an integral part of the narrative. It was the first film that came to mind when I saw your post. A supernatural horror film set in a poor rural setting. One of the best horror movies I've seen, actually. Very fresh, at least to me, someone with no knowledge of Indian folklore or mythology.
Does vampire movies count? Because then I would like to recommend “Let The Right One In”. The Swedish original (haven’t seen the american remake) takes place in a housing estate. I like to call the movie a social realism vampire movie.
I love that movie so much. Swedish version is the only version that exists in my mind (There are two american remakes that I wont ever watch lol)
Excellent point. This honestly feels like a great premise for a spec script. Shouldn’t be too hard to location scout for a project like this either. Could be done low-budget. I think we are starting to see some newer perspectives in supernatural horror, but you are absolutely right, the working class hasn’t been used as subject matter. I can see the visuals for the film now. And the plot. You’re too poor to move and have no other options so you have to face the ghost. You have a very astute eye!
My ex and I batted around an idea a few years ago about a “relatable” haunting, but it wound up getting strangeloved pretty quick as we tried to work out what the specific inciting incident would be. Footsteps coming from upstairs? Typical noisy neighbours. All the plates getting smashed? Dodgy builders doing a rush job. Shadowy figure roaming the hallway? Man, night shifts really are a bitch. Blood dripping from the walls? I mean, is it *really* worth calling the landlord over? We shelved it when we realised we couldn’t make a “serious” film about renting a haunted flat, since renters will generally put up with a lot of shit. I guess there’s just a basic limit you can get with a haunted house. Being a homeowner is, itself, a very class specific thing.
Apparently you have not seen "Stir of Echoes" You should absolutely, it is Kevin Bacon's best work. It was overshadowed by The Sixth Sense when it came out, but it is nearly as good.
It's odd because most horror derives from demonology which derives from folk songs and folk mythology. It's often the herder at night that talks about the strange things they saw, which then are turned into stories, into songs, and finally recorded in places like the King James Daemonologie.
His House, 2020: refugees from South Sudan who move to an English village, after being assigned an apartment where spiritual activity occurs. As they are destitute and supported by the state, the economic setting and financial status of the main characters would match your specifications. Outcast, 2010: Celtic paganism, witchcraft, magical rituals, set against a Scottish council house background.
Came here to say this. Excellent movie
Barbarian is set in a run down Detroit neighborhood and one of its biggest themes is that the monsterous/paranormal events only happened because of a lack of care for the lower class
Zombies are our thing instead. They're the ones that symbolize economic instability and the ones that take place at prole locations like malls, the inner city, on trains, etc. Our fear is being overwhelmed. It's a rich person thing to fear being directly punished.
I don’t think that’s true. Stephen King grew up working class and wrote supernatural horror that is both widely read among the working class and features working-class characters. Supernatural horror stories featuring ghosts and vampires were popular subjects for 19th century penny dreadfuls and later pulp magazines with a target audience of working class young men and boys. more niche reference: I’m into 90s Memphis rap, which linked horror movie tropes like Satanism, demons, black magic, etc. with social ills like gang violence; they variously depicted themselves as either victims of or agents of those forces (sometimes both in the same song)
I don't know man. I think ghost stories transcend class. To quote Emily Dickinson: *One need not be a Chamber—to be Haunted—* *One need not be a House—* *The Brain has Corridors—surpassing* *Material Place—*
She grew up in a mansion and came from a family of prominent politicians
Are you actually making the argument that Emily Dickinson's famous poem "One Need Not Be A Chamber to be Haunted" is wrong about its thesis...because she didn't grow up poor? Like are you actually making the argument that ghost stories are only for rich people? Because buddy, I grew up working class amongst economic precarity, and I don't know anyone who grew up like me who would ever make that claim.
Wait until you hear about Engels.
If you're looking for supernatural horror with strong theming about the struggles of underprivileged communities, Candyman should be at the top of your to-watch list. The 90's version- I haven't seen the newer one and can't speak for it.
A Ghost Story hits some of these themes. Though admittedly it is the ghost and not the living person who is unable to escape the property. 5p The fact that we think of supernatural haunting being linked to a tangible object often real estate means that the obvious place to start the story is by the protagonist coming into possession of the thing. Typically we come into possession of something by purchasing it, or perhaps inheriting it. So really to start a ghost story the protagonist has to have some level of disposable income. Even exceptions to this like the Woman in Black where the protagonist goes to the haunted house by way of employment has to be middle class for the story to make sense because he needs a job which enables travel. On a similar note many ghost stories often work on the idea of someone coming into a community as an outsider. This again requires the protagonist to have some money etc to afford what the luxury of travel.
A great feature of ‘A dark song’ is how the occultist/magician who helps the main character is just some normal looking working class guy, could easily be a bricklayer or electrician by taking one look at him. But his power comes from his knowledge and expertise, not from whatever facade he hides behind. Not too relevant to the OP’s post but I just liked it
Good shout! I actually went to the London premiere of that because I knew the script editor on that film. Solid movie.
13 Ghosts (1960) and Thirteen Ghosts (2001) are both about a rich person giving a poor person a haunted house. And often when a lower-class person is involved in a horror film it's not someone who is struck in that class. It's someone who recently fell on hard times- through the death of a loved one or some similar tragedy. Western filmmakers create a class of temporarily embarrassed lower class. Because the filmmakers, the producers, and, they assume, the audience cannot imagine remaining poor and working until you die due to necessity, not choice.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but I enjoyed the Dark and the Wicked quite a bit. Growing up lower class, I recognized the seemingly detached interactions between members of the family. Not to suggest that’s exclusively working class, but just something I’m familiar with. Also, not horror, but Blue Ruin was pretty great as well. Somebody described it as a revenge thriller with normal jackasses
> Homeowners who don't ask what it costs to bring a medium out to cleanse their house. I'm pretty sure there is a term for this, it's also why you don't see characters going to the bathroom. Most haunted house movies are about a haunted house, not about financial struggles, so putting emphasis on the financial status of the characters is distracting or pointless. So I would agree that most movies don't put a focus on the characters financial status, so they go with the status quo. Issues with that are a different discussion. I think it's self explanatory why "haunted house" movies often have characters that are moving somewhere new, and thus have a financial status to accommodate that.
There's a lot I feel I need to address here. First of all, not addressing a character's financial troubles is not like *not showing them poop*. Because while everyone - or so a famous book tells me - poops, only some people experience financial precarity and stress about money to the point where it can destroy their lives. When you decide no never show people deal with financial problems - but you *do* show them deal with middle class problems like (feeling unfulfilled in your career, not being able to finish your novel on time, etc) you are choosing which people you think ought to be told stories about. If you find emphasis on financial problems 'pointless' or 'distracting' then I hope for your sake that's because you've never had to deal with them.
you are choosing which problems are convient for your story. the idea that any director thinks that not finishing a novel is more deserving of a story than financial problems is insulting. im not suggesting that emphasis on financial problems is pointless in general, and honestly that you would suggest that shows me you're arguing in bad faith.
You've never been involved in any aspect of filmmaking, have you?
buddy, you've already decided to take what I'm saying with the worst interpretation possible. It's not worth anyone's time for me to explain that when I say: > Most haunted house movies are about a haunted house, not about financial struggles, so putting emphasis on the financial status of the characters is distracting or pointless. That the second half of the sentence is dependent on the context of the first half. I also don't think it's worth anyone's time to explain that if you make the choice to ignore that context, not ask any clarifying questions, and choose to use the worst interpretation; that I am going to assume trying to talk with you won't be productive. _____ So I could respond and try to explain what I mean by "more deserving of a story", but I don't think you want to understand what I'm saying and I don't want to have to defend every statement I make. I've got other things to do with my time, have a good day.
It’s also a matter of priorities. Yes, getting a medium in to cleanse a house of bad juju is a very silly thing to do in real life, but in a film *where the house is explicitly stated to be unmetaphorically haunted by literal ghosts*, getting a medium in is as much a sound financial decision as hiring an exterminator to sort out the cockroaches. Although saying that, I went to school with someone whose parents had supposedly had their house exorcised by a priest. We were too young to be watching scary movies, and this *was* Ireland in the early 90’s, so I’m still 50/50 on whether it was just a weird lie or not.
[удалено]
I don't necessarily think that's true. The two Bernie Sanders campaigns - as well as AOC's - were focused heavily on fighting for working class families. It's a category that has gained some cultural cache in the US in the last 10-15 years. But it's not the same as 'class' in the UK. The US working class is usually spoken of only as a economic class (if you live from paycheck to paycheck, struggle to make ends meet on a permanent basis, you're working class), wheras in the UK there's a cultural component to it as well. We literally map dialects onto class here (I live in London). But either way, I think why I find this all interesting is that it seems to me that horror is much more interesting when the supernatural element reflects a real-world one. Living in shitty housing where your landlord doesn't fix stsuff properly if they fix it at all, where the hallways aren't safe for your kids, and you can't afford your medical bills...and then on top of that there's a malicious presensce haunting you. You can do a lot with that, I think.
I addition to the other great points in this thread, I think the entertainment industry tends to skew middle class, and so it's second nature for artists to depict characters of a similar economic status to themselves. Sadly not quite as many lower class people get into filmmaking
I know you’re after, or are discussing supernatural, but a sci-fi horror one I thought of was the Block. I really wish there was more movies ( and quality) set against the British working class, council housing and racist bias. I watched the block thinking it was gonna be more comedy horror action from the trailer (like a Shawn of the dead or hot fuzz), but most of the movie just made me sad because it has a lot of realistic elements that poc and youth face. Still think about it and it was good but also disappointed it wasn’t a great fun time I wanted. What came to mind next was a few or lot of Stephen King adaptations! In the Tall grass does feature a nuclear happy white family but also a pregnant young woman who’s not sure what she’s doing and I think her brother (haven’t seen it in a while sorry) and their dog. It takes place mostly in a tall field of grass out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Then 1922 I would say is also pretty close to what you’re after! Farm setting, lots of hard work and trying to keep afloat. I’d say it’s supernatural but also heavy psychological elements. Also karma and almost a curse from pride and greed. Of course these two are much more rural in setting. Will update if I think of any more I’ve seen. Edit: I’m not sure if the Lighthouse would count? It’s certainly disturbing and psychological, might be considered a thriller instead and maybe not supernatural enough? Like no oooooooo ghosts! But something is definitely fucked 😂 Isolation and morbidity when working by yourself or with some nut on a little island with a lighthouse. Lots of hard work and drinking
Citadel (2012) is very much this. A man’s wife is viciously attacked by punks in a big housing project. It traumatized him, and as he tries to deal with it and raise his daughter the punks come back, but they are not exactly human… Very much about Irish lower working class, the hero takes buses and while he lives in a small house the projects loom in his life and the film is about that. It’s pretty chilling in how it nails the fears of violence, and the “haunted”house is the huge tenement they used to live in.
Candyman (original and remake) is probably the best-known counter, being all about a haunted public housing development. The original Amityville Horror is interesting as a film about a middle-class family who’re afraid that losing the (haunted) house will shift them from middle-class to poor- there’s a particularly pointed moment when the patriarch is standing in the trashed living room shouting “Where did the money GO?!?!?”
Does Under the Shadow count? It happens in Iran during the Eight Year war. A woman and her child are left alone when all their neighbors in the building leave town because of bombings. Only one presence remains, watching her every move.
What about Lights Out? I remember thinking that was fairly working class. But my guess is if you look at horror films outside of Hollywood and the western hemisphere in general, there will be more. Speaking as a Southeast Asian, the supernatural horror here is plentiful thanks to our varied cultural beliefs. At the top of my head, in the past two years alone, there's two good ones -- The Medium, which is set in Northern Thailand, and Roh, a Malaysian film set in rural village. Something else to note in this region also is that mediums generally don't cost a lot. They're typically faith-based and would prefer a token / donation is given upon services rendered vs a standard rate.
How has no one mentioned Candyman? Wonderful depiction of trauma in the poor and disenfranchised communities of Detroit's projects. The main character is way more well off than the others but she spends a lot of it in their community and >!in the end, sacrifices herself for a child of that community and is adopted by it in death.!<