Everyone loves a good genre send-up, and horror fans get some of the best. From Scream to Young Frankenstein to Cabin in the Woods, horror spoofs are often classic films in their own right. It is a long, proud storytelling tradition; long before the days of the movies, Jane Austen herself wrote her first (though last published) novel parodying the gothic novel genre: Northanger Abbey. Since then, Northanger Abbey has only been adapted to film twice, but the most recent film version is available to stream this Halloween. For anyone wanting to experience the genesis of the genre in a funny form, this flick is a must-watch.
What Is Northanger Abbey About?
The Northanger Abbey novel is Austen's parody of the popular but much-derided gothic horror novel, which dominated the book market for most of the 18th century in England. Scorned because they were popular with women and often written by them, these best-selling chillers dawned the modern literary world and set up the prototype tropes of the haunted house genre audiences still enjoy today. However, like any popular genre, gothic novels soon became overdone, too clichéd, and mass marketed. They were often full of melodrama and absolutely ripe for the satirical and witty Miss Austen to spoof in her debut novel (originally called Catherine). The book is an absolute comedy fest right from the first line: "No one who had ever known Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine."
The story is complex -- it is not simply a "gothic novels are bad" tale. Catherine, an avid gothic novel reader, leaves her small town for the big bad city and expects to see gothic novel tropes around every corner. From evil noblemen to secret chests to murder mysteries, every inane daily experience seems ripe for turning into the plot of one of her favorite books but never does. The book mines great humor out of this contrast between over-wrought storytelling tropes and the mundanity of everyday life. The most famous incident (spoiler alert) has Catherine, on a dark and stormy night, convinced she's found a secret message in a chest of drawers -- only to open it the next morning to reveal a laundry list.
Where and Why to Watch Northanger Abbey This Halloween
The 2007 film adaptation stars a few familiar faces. Marvel fans may know the leads, Felicity Jones (Catherine) and JJ Feild (the leading man, Henry Tilney), as Felicia Hardy from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and one of Captain America's Howling Commandoes, respectively. Superstar and Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan appears pre-fame in the supporting role of Catherine's equally avid gothic novel fan best friend, Isabella. The movie, taking a cue from the novel, uses the filmmaking techniques of modern haunted horror movies for the gothic fantasy moments, contrasted with traditional Austen romance styles for the moments of everyday life, capturing the novel's contrast brilliantly.
Northanger Abbey the film is a light, breezy piece of horror parody fun to enjoy this Halloween. It's available to stream on Kanopy and the PBS Masterpiece channel on Amazon Prime Video, and it's only 90 minutes long. It has a fun gothic atmosphere mixed in with the usual Jane Austen social satire and romance for those wanting to combine Bridgerton-Regency-style with Halloween and not in the mood for one of the Austen horror mashups, like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Most importantly, it gives audiences the genesis of the horror parody, the modern novel, and permission to both enjoy and smile at the tropes of the genre they all love to break out each Halloween.
What makes Northanger Abbey the best horror parody? Horror spoofs usually come in two varieties: the ones telling a funny story that happens to spoof horror (Young Frankenstein) and the ones that discuss the genre as part of the story (Scream, Cabin in the Woods). Northanger Abbey is the latter, but what makes it stand out from other horror spoofs is that its attitude toward the genre is ambivalent. Northanger Abbey does make fun of horror tropes and presents the idea that reading too many spooky novels might not be healthy. But it also revels in the fun of them. Famously, it includes Austen's passionate defense of the novel and refutation of the contempt many other authors show for the genre. This is present in the novel and not the film, but the defense of the pleasure of gothic horror makes its way into the flick regardless. This is a story that walks the line. Horror stories can be a little risky if we let them scare us too much -- but that doesn't mean they should be looked down on.