A History of Malayalam Horror Cinema and the Use of Christian Iconography

The research provides an introduction to Malayalam horror cinema. Malayalam is the language spoken at the region of Kerala located on the south western part of India. The
Malayalam horror genre uses narratives that are closely connected with religion. In this doctoral thesis I discuss the use of Christian iconography in Malayalam horror cinema.

This thesis analysed various Malayalam horror films portraying elements of Christian imagery and show how Christianity in Kerala is othered using the horror genre. I argued that the shifts in south Indian society and Indian politics over the past three decades are to blame for the rise of Christian iconography in Malayalam horror films and the alterations in how Christianity is viewed. Christianity has historically served as a haven from Hindutva's restrictions and caste, religion, class and gender-based oppression in India. As a result, Christianity is frequently both positively and adversely associated with moderate libertarianism regarding women and class in Indian films.

Chapter 3 addresses the questions I aimed to answer for this research that is, the Indian political repression that othered the Christian community and its influence on Malayalam cinema using the horror genre. I used film analysis techniques within mis-en-scene, dialogue, cinematography, sound, editing, costumes, characters and the making of selected films to demonstrate how Christianity is consistently positioned as the ‘other.’

The Malayalam film industry have significantly changed due to various reasons that will be elaborated in the thesis, some being associated with the western film making culture and practices. This thesis demonstrated inspirations used by Malayalam film makers by comparison and assessment of different films in Hollywood. The practical output I produced would provide the reader with information on important elements that constitute Malayalam horror cinema and its significance within the Malayalam film industry