Cari Rusk on Ecohorror (the genre in general) with Morgan Foell in Design

Project Description: Dr. Ashley Kniss’ Ecohorror students provided consultation and feedback on key ecohorror terms and concepts to Prof. Meghan Marx’s Design students who then created products to convey and promote the complex concepts. Below is an excerpt and video presentation from Ecohorror student, Cari Rusk and collaborative designs by design student, Morgan Foell. 
​Designs by Morgan Foell:

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Cari Rusk on Ecohorror (the genre in general):  
Since ecohorror is the genre, I focused on the narratives of ecohorror and how each of these narratives work within the genre. Ecohorror is a sub genre of horror that forces us to confront our fears and anxieties about the environment. There are several key features of ecohorror that can be found in modern narratives. Creature features pit humans at the mercy of animals that are usually mutated into some form of monstrosity. One of the classic creature feature movies is Godzilla. A more modern creature feature narrative is Rampage, starring Dwayne Johnson and a mutated Gorilla, Wolf, and Crocodile. These types of films flip the animal hierarchy, displaying humans as the prey and at the mercy of these animals. While the idea of being prey is terrifying to humans, it also conveys the idea of humans treating animals with more respect. It shifts the perspective so that humans may have a bit more understanding.   
Another more modern narrative found in ecohorror are the parasitic narratives. Directed by Barry Levinson, The Bay showcases this narrative. Parasites are terrifying because of the lack of control that humans have over their own bodies. Christy Tidwell expresses that the narrative also showcases how interconnected these non-human beings are with humans, which blends the line between the human and the non-human (Tidwell 117). While this is a terrifying concept, it also raises the question as to why we feel so separate from nature when we have so many non-human creatures living inside and on us every day. 
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