Ethan Jones

Contact

Ethan.B.Jones@warwick.ac.uk

Background

I hold a First Class BA in Film and Literature and an MA in Film and Television (with Distinction), both from the University of Warwick. My UG dissertation focused on 'The Representation, Sexualisation, and Transcendence of the Human Body in Contemporary Horror Films,' using Climax (2018), Bones and All (2022), Titane (2021) and Crimes of the Future (2022) as my primary case-studies. Subsequently, my MA dissertation, 'Serialised Queerness in Contemporary Horror Film Franchises,' examined how the serialised structures of film franchises affect the representations of queerness over time. More specifically, my MA dissertation examined the role of the legacy sequel in the Scream (1996-) franchise, the nature of queer temporality in the Fear Street (2021) trilogy, and how various serialised structures such as soft-reboots, direct-to-DVD sequels, and TV adaptations impacted the queerness of the Child's Play (1988-) series.

Current Research

I am currently undertaking my PhD in Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick. My thesis is entitled 'One Last Scare: The Horror Movie Supervillain' and examines how the villains of major horror franchises such as Friday the 13th (1980-) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984-) are both represented and popularised over time. In particular, the thesis examines how the serialised structures of these franchises affect these representations across both the individual films and television shows within these franchises, as well as their various paratextual offshoots such as video games, merchandising, and online meme culture. My project is being supervised by Professor Helen Wheatley and Dr James Taylor.

Research Interests

My primary research interests include horror cinema, film seriality and franchising, and the representation of the villain/anti-hero in audiovisual media. I am also interested in queer cinema and theory, representations of the body on-screen, and the aesthetics of online media.

Conferences

'Self-Reflexivity and the Legacy Sequel: Queer Redemption in the Scream Franchise', University of Bangor, Scream @ 30 Conference (December 2026) [forthcoming].

'Welcome to Prime Time: Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees as Horror Movie Supervillains', Birmingham, Cine-Excess (October 2026) [forthcoming].

'Bigger is Better is Bloodier: marketing, violence, and the Terrifier franchise', University of Warwick, Terrifier Conference (May 2025).

Publications

'Self-Reflexivity and the Legacy Sequel: Queer Redemption in the Scream Franchise', Insolita, Special Issue: Recursive Horror: Cycles, Franchises, Requels, and Genre Memory (2026), [forthcoming].

Teaching

In the 2026-27 academic year, I will be teaching on the First Year UG module 'Screen Technologies.'

Memberships

BAFTSS: British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies