The Impulse-Image of Vampiric Capital and the Politics of Vision and Disability: Evil and Horror in Don’t Breathe

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2021.382

Keywords:

horror, evil, the monstrous, vampiric capital, impulse-image, disability

Abstract

This article examines affective and semiotic aspects of Don’t Breathe’s construction of evil and horror. To work towards a post-genre approach to horror, evil and horror are re-examined and differentiated on a discursive level in a first theoretic step. The following film analysis takes Fede Álvarez’ 2016 horror film Don’t Breathe as its case. In a first part, it draws from the Marxian metaphor of vampiric capital and employs a Deleuzian approach to film in focusing on the impulse-image of Don’t Breathe. In a second part, the analysis of evil and monstrous horror then takes into account political notions of the film’s themes of blindness and (dis)ability, thereby moving from a (primarily) affective perspective to a rather semiotic discussion.

Author Biography

Moritz Wischert-Zielke, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

Moritz Wischert-Zielke studied English, Sociology, and Psychology. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the interdisciplinary research group "Practicing Place. Socio-Cultural Practices and Epistemic Configurations" in Eichstätt, Germany.

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Published

2021-07-14

How to Cite

Wischert-Zielke, M. (2021). The Impulse-Image of Vampiric Capital and the Politics of Vision and Disability: Evil and Horror in Don’t Breathe. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 9(1), 492–525. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2021.382

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2021): Spring 2021

Section

Articles

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