Shadows and nightmares: Lewton, Siodmak, and the Elusive Noirror Film

Although the plot devices and visual conventions of classical horror films and films noirs are often similar in these two iconic genres of the 1940s, their films are rarely confused with each other or categorized together. The element missing from 1940s horror is the distinctive existentialist themes associated with film noir. Several films, however, blur the distinctions between the two genres. While one could examine the many films noirs that have plot devices that are supernatural, a more productive approach is to examine the handful of classic, generic horror films that incorporate elements of the philosophy of film noir. A close look at several of the films by the philosophically minded B-movie master Val Lewton, as well as noir auteur Robert Siodmak's Son of Dracula, reveals a great deal about the themes that distinguish the often difficult to define group of films traditionally known as noir.