Keywords

horror film; Soviet imperialism; Russification; Sovietization; Soviet identity

Abstract

The thesis looks at how Soviet imperialism–the extension of Soviet Russia’s power over the other Soviet republics—is reinforced and used as a source of terror in Soviet horror film. I argue that while Soviet Russian horror movies from the creation of the USSR in 1922 to the end of Brezhnev’s Era of Stagnation in the mid 80s reinforce an imperialist Soviet identity, the horror movies released by non-Russian Soviet republics after the increase in freedom of expression during perestroika position imposed imperial Soviet identity as a source of terror.

The first chapter examines how USSR-era horror cinema was used as propaganda that reasserted pro-imperial Soviet identity as an apparently unifying force. Instead of depicting the fears of the public subconscious, Soviet horror depicts themes that the Soviet authorities deem undesirable in an attempt to influence what the general public finds repulsive. Soviet horror acts as the darker counterpart to the ideal Soviet identity present in propaganda movies produced under the socialist realist doctrine, counterposing the greed and materialism of the horror protagonists with the collectivism of the protagonists of the other genres. Contrary to the tradition of suspense in the horror genre, Soviet Russian horror movies have clear, straightforward storylines, in doing so reducing the possibility for Soviet audiences to imagine a differing social order.

The second chapter looks at how the previously described constructed Soviet identity acts as a source of horror in films made by victims of Soviet imperialism, or more specifically Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Moldova. In these films, Soviet identity is exposed as something homogenizing rather than unifying: it absorbs and erases anything non-Russian. The films depict the terror of non-Russian being replaced, the distorted view of one’s identity after forced assimilation into Russian culture, and the falseness of the myth of Soviet ethnic equality. Unlike the films in Chapter 1, the films in Chapter 2 are disorienting and confusing, depicting the chaos caused by forced cultural assimilation.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Kane, Louise

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Thesis Discipline

Film

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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