It’s tough to pinpoint the exact origins of the expression “elevated horror.” But it was sometime around the middle of last decade that someone coined the term to refer to a new renaissance of atmospheric, critically acclaimed scary movies like It Follows, The Babadook, and The Witch. Is it a useful distinction or just a condescending buzzword? On the first of four episodes Film Club is devoting to spooky Halloween fare this October, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife discuss what qualifies as elevated horror, while also getting into both the popularity and the backlash to the label and movement.

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