Produced for Proctors by Paul Kazee and curated by Jenelle Troxell, Our Monsters, Ourselves: The Legacy of Pre-Code Horror features conversations with several local Professors.

Our Monsters, Ourselves pays homage to the pre-Code origins of the horror genre. With roots in German Expressionism, the "talking" horror films produced between 1930 and 1934 (after creation of the proscriptive Hays Code, but before its enforcement) serve as a rich repository of anxieties that haunted, and continue to haunt, the American cultural imaginary. Dismissing the Code's injunction against "brutality, horror, gruesomeness" and sex, these films retain their subversive edge — and their power to shock!

Thursday, October 5, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"Mystery of the Wax Museum," Introduction by James De Sève, Filmmaker, educator, and Artist-in-Residence at Union College.

Thursday, October 12, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"White Zombie," Introduction by Jeremy Matthew Glick, Associate Professor of African Diaspora Literature at Hunter College.

Friday, October 13, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"Faust," with a LIVE score by Order of the Illusive. Introduction by Jeremy Matthew Glick, Associate Professor of African Diaspora Literature at Hunter College.

Thursday, October 26, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"The Black Cat," Introduction by Michele Ricci Bell, Associate Professor of German and Chair of the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at Union College.

Thursday, November 2, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"Cat People," Introduction by Kristin Bidoshi, Associate Professor of Russian, and Program Director of Russian and East European Studies at Union College.

Thursday, November 30, 2023, 7:00pm - GE Theatre @ Proctors

"Island of Lost Souls," Introduction by Andrew Burkett, Professor of English; Program Director of Science, Technology, and Society; and Co-Director of the Templeton Institute at Union College.