Subversive Horror, Patriarchal Poison, and Progressive Apocalypse in Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In the ongoing First Nations and otherwise Indigenous apocalypse in Canada and abroad, the colonial footprint continues to remain firmly stamped on cultures and peoples relegated to the socio-political margins. One recent response occurs in Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) and in his follow-up Blood Quantum (2019). Following a combination of Indigenous theoretical analyses combined with traditional cultural studies, this article demonstrates how these films simultaneously expose the horrific crimes of colonialism in a relatively recent contemporary setting while ironically using the cinematic conventions of horror and apocalypse to critique a stultifying patriarchal ideology both from within and surrounding the Indigenous community.