The Complex Transgressions of Jeff Barnaby’s Indigenous Horror

In an essay on horror films, Stephen Prince uses classic theories of taboo from Mary Douglas and Edmund Leach to argue that what is presented as truly horrific is the breakdown of systems of order. Violence is typically perpetuated by outside, inhuman agents of chaos, suggesting that boundaries are sacred and the status quo must be maintained. Not surprisingly, horror films by marginalized creators often see things differently. The works of acclaimed Mi’kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, for example, present evil as entrenched in colonial society. But this evil is also complicated, a perspective reflected in his film’s ambivalent portrayal of boundaries, and of chaos. In this presentation, I will use theories of taboos to examine the varied boundary crossings in Barnaby’s two features, Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum, to understand what these films have to say about evil, and what it means to be human.