Noir and Horror -- Dark Twins

   Film noir is a term used to describe the dark, brooding films (films such as Double Indemnity, Out of the Past, Mildred Pierce) that emerged from Hollywood after World War II.  The films are literally dark, often set at night, in shadowy and obscured conditions, and morally dark or ambiguous--focusing on damaged and damaging people who inhabit a heartless world where even the strong may not survive.
    Not surprisingly, horror films from the thirties (Frankenstein, King Kong, Dracula etc.) employed the same visual style (often with the same directors and cinematographers who later worked on noir films).  In the course we'll explore how these dark films and their later incarnations (Reservoir Dogs, Dawn of the Dead, Blood Simple) reflect the desires and fears of their respective eras