Abstract
Abstract This article investigates the distribution of Italian horror cinema in the age of video streaming, analysing its presence and categorization on the platform Lovefilm Instant UK, in order to investigate the importance of ‘niche’ in what is known as the long tail of online distribution and the online availability of exploitation films. I argue that looking at the streaming presence of Italian horror and comparing it to its prior distribution on home video formats (in particular VHS and DVD) we can grasp how distribution and access have shaped the understanding of the genre. In particular, I address the question of the categorization of the films made by the S-VOD services and the limits of streaming distribution, such as lack of persistency in availability and the need for enhanced curatorship.
Highlights
STREAMING DISTRIBUTIONBefore looking at Italian horror cinema, it is necessary to provide a brief overview of some of the issues surrounding streaming distribution and the role that film genre plays in the promotion and categorization of the online catalogues of VOD providers
If one considers Chris Anderson’s theorization of the long tail of distribution (2006), online VOD allows us to reflect on the role played by ‘niche’ markets, to understand which content is available through the new technology, and how it finds new audiences
This article engages with the online life of Italian horror cinema to explore whether the remediation of horror films through streaming distribution platforms allows new understandings of the genre
Summary
Before looking at Italian horror cinema, it is necessary to provide a brief overview of some of the issues surrounding streaming distribution and the role that film genre plays in the promotion and categorization of the online catalogues of VOD providers. Following the remediation itinerary of the genre and before engaging with the formal streaming distribution, we must consider the online ‘pirate’ life of Italian horror cinema.. Following the remediation itinerary of the genre and before engaging with the formal streaming distribution, we must consider the online ‘pirate’ life of Italian horror cinema.7 Carter engages with this very aspect, analysing the invitation-only filesharing community ‘CineTorrent’, which was founded in 2007 and specialized in the sharing of niche products such as cult films. After having considered VHS gore objects, DVD art objects and torrent collectable digital objects, we shall move on to the ways in which these films existed at the beginning of the formal channels of online streaming distribution
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