Call for Chapters Edited Collection on Argentine Horror Cinema
Since the international success of Aterrados and Cuando acecha la maldad, both directed by Demián Rugna, Argentine horror cinema has gained renewed global visibility and critical attention. This resurgence has sparked increasing scholarly interest in the field, positioning Argentine horror as a key site for the exploration of national anxieties, aesthetic innovation, and transnational circulation.
Despite this growing attention, there is still no edited collection fully devoted to the entire history of Argentine horror cinema. While important monographs—such as Blood Circuits: Contemporary Argentine Horror Cinema by Jonathan Risner—have made significant contributions to the study of contemporary production, a comprehensive volume covering the genre’s development from its origins to the present remains absent. This proposed collection seeks to fill that gap by offering a wide-ranging, historically grounded examination of Argentine horror cinema across different periods, styles, and cultural contexts.
From early works such as El hombre bestia (C.Z. Soprani, 1934)—widely regarded as the first Argentine horror film—to the contemporary international success of recent productions such as La virgen de la tosquera (Laura Casabé, 2026), Argentine horror has evolved in dialogue with shifting political, social, and industrial conditions. Events such as the Festival Rojo Sangre, held annually in Buenos Aires and attracting ever-growing audiences, further demonstrate the vitality and expanding reception of the genre.
A prestigious academic publisher has already expressed preliminary interest in this volume.
The editor invites proposals for original, unpublished essays that explore Argentine horror cinema from any historical period. Contributions may focus on individual films, filmmakers, cycles, movements, or broader thematic and theoretical concerns. Comparative and interdisciplinary approaches are also welcome.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
Classical Argentine horror cinema
Narciso Ibáñez Menta and his contributions to the genre
Political complexity and horror cinema in Argentina
Contemporary Argentine horror and its key directors: Demián Rugna, Fabián Forte, Cristian Ponce, Laura Casabé, Daniel de la Vega, among others
Argentine trash and exploitation cinema (e.g., the works of Emilio Vieyra; or independent figures such as Nicolás Magariños)
Actors and actresses (Damien Salomon, Clara Kovacic, etc)
Horror cinema and feminism
Horror cinema and philosophy
Genre hybridity and experimentation
Industry, distribution, and reception of Argentine horror
Transnational dimensions of Argentine horror cinema
Please note that some topics have already been commissioned and are not open for submission, including:
Horror and humor
The Gothic in Argentinean horror cinema and
Folk horror (La hora de María y el pájaro de oro)
Submission Guidelines:
Please submit a 300-word abstract along with a brief biographical note in a Word document.
This volume will be interdisciplinary in scope, including approaches from philosophy, literary studies, film studies, gender studies, history, psychology, posthumanism, architecture, ecology, etc. The chapters will be peer-reviewed, scholarly, and written at an academic level.
Note: Acceptance of a proposed abstract does not guarantee the acceptance of the full chapter
Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2026.
Contact:
Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns
Email: grupogrite2002@yahoo.com
Proposals and inquiries are welcome.
Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns (PhD) is Director of the research group on horror culture Grite, currently investigating Baltic horror for the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Pagnoni Berns has authored a book about Spanish horror TV series Historias para no Dormir (Universidad de Cádiz, 2020) and has edited a book on Frankenstein bicentennial (Universidad de Buenos Aires), one on director James Wan (McFarland, 2021), one on the Italian giallo film (University of Mississippi Press), one on horror comics for Routledge and one on the intersection of horror and philosophy. He is Director of the book series Terror: Estudios Críticos, (Universidad de Cádiz, España).
http://artes.filo.uba.ar/pagnoni-berns-gabriel
Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns