Victoria has strong research interests in difficult screen texts (films, TV and video games) that revolve around horror, demonisation, war and terror. She engages in lively and interdisciplinary research about what we watch and play, arguing that dark popular culture acts as a cultural barometer, reflecting the social, political, and cultural climate of its era. 

 

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Books

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Heffernan, C and McCollum, V. Theorising the Contemporary Zombie. University of Wales Press, Forthcoming.

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Platts, T, McCollum, V and Clasen, M. Blumhouse: The New House of Horror. Wales University Press, 2022.

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McCollum, V and Clarke, Aislinn. Bloody Women! Women Directors of Horror. Rowman and Littlefield, 2022.

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McCollum, V and Monteverde, G. Resist: Protest and Resistance Media in Brexit Britain And Trump-Era USA. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. 

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McCollum, V. Make America Hate Again: Trump Era Horror and the Politics of Fear. Routledge, 2019.

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Asker, M and McCollum, V. Alternative Media in Contemporary Turkey Sustainability, Activism & Resistance. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. 

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McCollum, V and Monteverde, G. HBO's Original Voices: Race, Gender, Sexuality and Power. Routledge, 2018.

 

McCollum, V. Post-9/11 Heartland Horror: The Revival of American Rural Horror Films in an Era of Urban Terrorism, Routledge, 2016.

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Book Chapters

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McCollum, V and Sneddon, A. “The Ethics & Aesthetics of Representing the Devil in The Islandmagee Witches Creative and Digital Project.” In Uses of the Satanic by Hughes, S. Forthcoming.

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McCollum, V and Gibson, G. “Terrifying Minds, Horrifying Bodies and Evolving Horror Forms: Progressive Horror Making and the Immersive Horror Experience (Fright Night in NI)” in Fright Nights: Live Horror Events by Foster, K and Brummitt, C. University of Edinburgh Press, Forthcoming.

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McCollum, V and Kavanagh, J. “Reception and Reality: Analysing the Moral Systems of the Santa Slasher” in Undead Christmas: Essays on Vampires, Zombies, Demons and the Undying Spirit of Yuletide by Bacon, S. Rowman & Littlefield, Forthcoming.

 

McCollum, V, McEntee, M, McMahon-Beattie, U. “You’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat (or Curriculum): Teaching Tourism Concerns through Horror Fiction” in Hospitality and Tourism Education: Disruptions and Transformations, Fang, M. Channel View, 2025.

 

McCollum, V, Platts, T, and Clasen, M. “Insidious Patterns: An Integrative Analysis of Blumhouse’s Most Important Franchise” in Blumhouse: The New House of Horror. Wales University Press, 2022.

 

McCollum, V and Monteverde, G. “I miss the old Kanye’: Keeping Up with Kanye, Kim and President Donald Trump” in Resist: Protest and Resistance Media in Brexit Britain And Trump-Era USA by McCollum, V and Monteverde, G. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

 

McCollum, V. “OK, Boomers! Here are Our Challenges & Opportunities” in The Generation Game: Can the BBC Win Over Today's Young Audience? by Wilson, M & Fowler, N. BBC Bite-Sized, 2020.

 

McCollum, V. “Obama-Era Horror and Frank Darabont’s The Mist (2007)” in Encyclopaedia of Racism in American Cinema by Murgua, S.J. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

 

McCollum, V. “Rednecks, Racism & Religion: Darabont’s Precarious Prophecy of Obama's Coming” in Movies In The Age Of Obama by Izzo, D. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

 

 

Journal Articles and Special Editions

 

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McCollum, V. “Dark Reflections - Re-Imagining Difficult Heritage Using the Power of Horror Storytelling Practices: A Case Study and Model (Irish Witch Trial Video Game.” Journal of Global Perspectives (Special Edition: Re-defining Heritage, Forthcoming.

 

McCollum, V, McEntee, M, McMahon-Beattie, Faith, G. “Using Monster Popular Culture to Teach Business Students about Overtourism: How to Manage Loss, Invasion, Migration and Unsustainable Growth.” Journal of Popular Culture, Forthcoming.

 

McCollum, V and Sneddon, A. "The Islandmagee Witches 1711 Creative and Digital Project: A Roundtable Discussion." Estudios Irlandeses: Journal of Irish Studies. Fall, 2023.

 

McCollum, V and Gibson, G. "From Horrifying Concept to Terrifying Object: The Aesthetic Mechanics of Experienced Horror." Refractory: Journal of Media Entertainment, Fall, 2021.

 

McCollum, V, Gibson, G, and Kavanagh, J. Special Edition: "Nightmares, Nations and Innovations." Refractory: Journal of Media Entertainment, Fall, 2021.

 

McCollum, V and Gaffney, K. "Screen Production Research: Queer Short Filmmaking as a Mode of Enquiry." Short Film Studies Journal, Fall, 2021.

 

McCollum, V and Monteverde, G. "Trump Era Horror in the Classroom: Teaching What Scares Us." AngloFiles, Journal of English Teaching. 195, 2020.

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PhD Supervision

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​Victoria has supervised the following doctoral projects to completion:

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• Exploring Alternative Female Representation in Iranian Avant-garde Screen Productions (Dr Hamideh Javadi Bejandi)

• Murdering Men: Recontextualising the Slasher Subgenre’s Metanarrative, Killers, and Victims (Dr John Kavanagh)

• Cross-Gender Performance and Violence in Recent Productions of Shakespeare's Comedies (Dr Amanda Finch)

• Bodies at Rest and In Motion: Space, Place and Materiality in Cinematic Horror (Dr Gerard Gibson)

• Representing Suicide and Issues of Mental Health in Film Practice (Dr John Deery)

• Resisting Homonormativity in Queer Filmmaking Practice (Dr Caoimhín Gaffney)

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​​Teaching​

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Victoria specialises in teaching modules on Film and Television Business; Genre Filmmaking; and Practice as Research across BSc Cinematic Arts and MA Film and TV Production at Ulster University. She is an advisory panellist on the Employability & Professional Development Committee; the Digital Learning Committee; and the Ethics Committee for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences.