A group of puppets from Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s “The Wolf House,” a stop-motion horror film screening at the Wex July 19. Credit: Courtesy of Kim Stim
Films often evoke universal emotions, whether it’s tearing up at a dramatic scene or gasping at a villain’s reveal — and fear is no exception.
The Wexner Center for the Arts’ will show international horror films spanning a vast range of subgenres, mediums, time periods and countries on select dates through August 14. Four of the eight screenings will be introduced by local film buffs and critics, which all start at 7 p.m., according to the Wex’s website.
“Even for people who think horror is not their thing, there’s a lot of entry points for the series, you know?” Chris Stults, curator of film at the Wex, said. “It should be approachable from a lot of different directions, even if you don’t identify as a horror buff.”
This year’s series comes amid a resurgence of horror in the mainstream media. With “Final Destinations: Bloodlines” becoming the series’ highest-grossing film — after a 14-year lull between films, according to IndieWire — and a reboot of the cult-classic slasher film “I Know What You Did Last Summer” on the way, horror films have quickly crept their way back into box office success.
“It’s kind of amazing to see the level of success that ‘The Substance’ had last year — a film that gory, dealing with that feminist body horror, becoming nominated for Best Picture [at the Oscars] and being a box office sensation,” Stults said. “There’s a couple films in the series that were predecessors to ‘The Substance’ that felt important to include.”
A “gore-o-meter” graphic indicating the level of gore in each film shown during the International Horror series. Credit: Courtesy of Erik Pepple
“The Substance” is a 2024 psychological body horror film directed by Coralie Fargeat, starring Demi Moore (“G.I. Jane”) and Margaret Qualley (“Maid”).
The Wex has created a “gore-o-meter,” a rating for each film that evaluates the level of goriness, Stults said. He said the predecessor films, Claire Denis’ “Trouble Every Day” and Alain Robak’s “Baby Blood,” are two of the gorier films being shown in the series.
The ratings are available under each screening’s event page, along with other content descriptors.
Hope Madden, a local filmmaker and author, will introduce the first film in the series, Mario Bava’s “Black Sunday” — a 1960s Italian horror film that “changed the trajectory of horror movies in Italy and beyond” — Thursday.
“I love Mario Bava, and one of the things that I think is so fascinating about him is that he like, revolutionized genre filmmaking,” Madden said. “It’s amazing, the way he would just pivot and the entire genre would follow him. It’s fascinating.”
Compared to last year’s international series showcasing global musicals, horror may seem drastically different. Stults said the two have more in common than one might originally think.
“There’s such a range, like last year with the musicals, you know, you could have all sorts of different countries, but beyond that, all different types of music,” Stults said. “So, with horror, there’s so many different genres within horror. It was another chance to show the range of films for more psychological or, you know, more body horror or atmospheric vampire movies — the whole range of things.”
Stults said out of all the films, he would personally recommend seeing Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s “The Wolf House,” which is part of a double feature of animated films screening July 19.
“I’ve seen a lot of movies in my lifetime, and I’ve never seen anything like this … it’s one of those things where you think it’s going to be cool for a couple minutes and then you don’t see how it can sustain itself, but it keeps reinventing itself for the whole length of the film,” Stults said. “Just watch the trailer. It’s so hard to describe.”
Madden said she recommends the same.
“If there’s just one that I think everybody should go to, it’s ‘The Wolf House’ … there’s absolutely, in the whole world, nothing like the movie ‘The Wolf House,’ and that’s the one I hope everybody goes to see,” Madden said.
A woman lurks in the background in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Pulse,” a Japanese techno-horror film that screens July 31. Credit: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Additionally, films such as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Pulse” — a Japanese techno-horror film released in 2001, during the early ages of the internet — and J.A. Bayona’s “The Orphanage” — a supernatural, gothic-style film about a woman who plans to turn her childhood home, an orphanage, into a home for disabled children — will be shown July 31 and July 17, according to the website.
In the age of streaming, films of all genres are easily accessible online — however, Stults said horror films are best seen in theaters, due to the physical and verbal reactions made by the audience.
“It just kind of builds this life and reaction of its own in the audience, and does become a communal experience,” Stults said. “It does really remind people [of] the value of seeing things in a community during a time when so many people are watching stuff on stream.”
Attendees can purchase a pass that grants access to every screening. Passes are $32 for Wexner Center members and adults over 55, $40 for the general public and $24 for students.
Tickets for individual screenings are also available at $8 for members and adults, $10 for the public and $5 for students. Ohio State students in particular are able to attend any individual screening for free.
For more information on screenings, and to purchase tickets, visit the Wex’s website. A trailer for the series is available on YouTube.
