Epidemic Cinema: Hitchcock, the Holocaust and Other Horror

Audiences accustomed to Alfred Hitchcock as the master of scary Gothic films like Psycho will be quite surprised to discover his little-known films about the Holocaust and plagues. He would never ignore “body horrors” but he understood popular culture too well to ignore what really frightened people.

   The host for the series is Tom Zaniello, professor emeritus of literature and film studies, who has published extensively on the relationships of film, popular culture, and social class. His latest book, Epidemic Films To Die For: A Chronicle of the Covid-19 Plague Years, will be published in October.