About

The Australian Cinémathèque celebrates North American horror cinema from the postwar period onwards with a terrifying selection of slasher, splatter, science fiction, thriller and apocalyptic disaster films. A collection of films that most brutally register collective fears, paranoias and anxieties about our experience of the modern world, 'Be Afraid: Fear in North American Cinema' maps 50 years of fear on screen and the resurgence of these primal impulses in contemporary cinema today.

Emerging often in response to the legacies of government administrations, the brutality of war and civil unrest, developments in science and technology and, more recently, the confluence of torture and terrorism in contemporary media and history, North American horror films have a decidedly apocalyptic tone. They offer audiences the opportunity to witness their fears played out on the big screen, and acts of violence that shatter dreams and illusions of a civilised society.

The Australian Cinémathèque offers an opportunity to revisit and discover some of the genre's most popular titles within a unique cinema experience. The program includes films presented in their original format, recent restorations and archival film prints from Australia and around the world.

'Be Afraid: Fear in North American Cinema' curated by Jose Da Silva with accompanying film notes.

The generous assistance of May Haduong (Academy Film Archive), Paul White (Cine Sales), Anthony Timpson (The Exploitation Archive), Harry Guerro (Exhumed Films), Daniel Haig, Eve Goldin (The Film Reference Library Toronto), Laurem Productions, Jimmy Maslon, National Film and Sound Archive, Mark Ryan, Paul Syvret and Digital Retribution forum members, Caroline Bertucci (Umbrella Entertainment) and Peter Langs (Universal Studios) is gratefully acknowledged for this program.

List of Works

• Modern Monsters
• Psycho 1960 | Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Two Thousand Maniacs! 1964 | Director: Gordon Lewis
• The Last House on the Left 1972 | Director: Wes Craven
• Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 | Director: Tobe Hooper
• Martin 1977 | Director: George A Romero
• Halloween 1978 | Director: John Carpenter
• Friday the 13th 1980 | Director: Sean S Cunningham
• My Bloody Valentine 1981 | Director: George Mihalka
• The Silence of the Lambs 1991 | Director: Jonathan Demme
• Se7en 1995 | Director: David Fincher
• Scream 1996 | Director: Wes Craven
• American Psycho 2000 | Director: Mary Harron
• Saw 2004 | Director: James Wan
• Hostel 2005 | Director: Eli Roth
• Altered States
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 | Director: Don Siegel
• Rosemary's Baby 1968 | Director: Roman Polanski
• The Exorcist 1973 | Director: William Friedkin
• Carrie 1976 | Director: Brian De Palma
• The Brood 1979 | Director: David Cronenberg
• The Shining 1980 | Director: Stanley Kubrick
• The Evil Dead 1981 | Director: Sam Raimi
• Poltergeist 1982 | Director: Tobe Hooper
• Amityville II: The Possession 1982 | Director: Damiano Damiani
• Videodrome 1983 | Director: David Cronenberg
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 | Director: Wes Craven
• Blue Velvet 1986 | Director: David Lynch
• Society 1989 | Director: Brian Yuzna
• The Blair Witch Project 1999 | Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
• Nature's Revenge
• Night of the Living Dead 1968 | Director: George A Romero
• Jaws 1975 | Director: Steven Spielberg
• Shivers 1975 | Director: David Cronenberg
• Alien 1979 | Director: Ridley Scott
• The Thing 1982 | Director: John Carpenter
• Basket Case 1982 | Director: Frank Henenlotter
• The Fly 1986 | Director: David Cronenberg
• The Blob 1988 | Director: Chuck Russel
• Open Water 2003 | Director: Chris Kentis
• Dawn of the Dead 2004 | Director: Zack Snyder
• I Am Legend 2007 | Director: Francis Lawrence
• Cloverfield 2008 | Director: Matt Reeves