Ganja and Hess

"Are you always cold?"

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In the most recent bi-weekly moodle response that we had to do for this class, we were supposed to discuss the ways in whichGanja and Hesssubverted the conventions of most mainstream horror films.WhileGanja and Hesscertainly represents a different and more experimental approach than something likeFriday the 13th, I believe there are multiple ways in which this film purposefully follows the conventions of the horror genre.The reason thatGanja and Hesssticks to some of these conventions is to differentiate itself from a becoming a typical entry in the sub-genre of blaxploitation horror, even if it does not fully commit to a typical horror film either.

Ganja and Hess actually made it clear to the audience at the beginning of the film that it was not going to directly follow the patterns of blaxploitation horror and maintain some of conventional fears of typical horror films. This comes from the scene when George is sitting in a tree contemplating suicide. While trying to talk him down, Hess begins to tell George that “there’s no possible way for you to know this, but I’m the only colored on the block, and when another black man washes up ashore around here you can believe the authorities will drag me out for questioning” (Ganja and Hess). It is an interesting statement by Hess. He is declaring both a fear of association with the black community and of judgement of white law enforcement. The fear of police brutality is certainly a theme seen throughout blaxploitation films, but the former is not usually as prevalent. This fear of association seems to be a bigger concern to Hess and later Ganja, as Benshoff notes that “they use their money to isolate themselves from the black community, although they feed off it” (Benshoff, 44). They think their fortune has put them above the rest of the community and use the lower-class members that inhabit it for blood. While the film has no clear antagonist, the black community more or less represents what is “bad” in Ganja and Hess’s eyes. This is important to note because it is one of the main aspects that positions this film closer to traditional horror. Many films of this genre construct the Other as the metaphorical or physical monster, or sometimes both. Even though this film’s main characters were the vampires, they feared association with the Other. The fear and avoidance of this relation made the Other the monster to Ganja and Hess.

Another quality of the film that positioned it alongside mainstream horror films was one of its technical aspects. Ganja and Hess’s soundtrack makes heavy use classical music throughout its runtime. It does this for two reasons, the first being that it signifies the two main characters conforming to European culture and away from black culture. Again, Ganja and Hess think their fortune positions them above the rest of the black community, so they choose to listen to classical, which is traditionally thought of as more white-centric music, instead of jazz or the blues. The second reason the film uses music like this is to further distance itself from other blaxploitation horror films. Benshoff points out that the blaxploitation horror sub-genre was a common area to feature “urban black culture and the showcasing of African American talent… Motown Records released soundtrack albums for several of the more popular AIP films” (Benshoff, 36). The soundtracks for films like Blacula consisted mainly of R&B, a stark contrast to something like Halloween. While Ganja and Hess does not exhibit quite the same sound as John Carpenter’s iconic score, it still is closer to that than anything Motown may have produced for other films around the same time.

Ganja and Hess is unique film of dual identities. It avoids conforming to the unwritten rules of standard horror, while still not committing to becoming a full blaxploitation horror film. This ambiguity divided critics and audiences, as they did not know how quite to label it. Ganja and Hess unfortunately struggled with its release as a result, and even had part of the film removed at one point in time. Just as the filmmakers refused to portray clear protagonists and antagonists, they did not give the audience a clear genre for the film either.