Dr Steve Jones

Research

I am a film scholar and a leading authority on extreme imagery and the intersections between horror and pornography.

My early publications established this reputation by interrogating extreme imagery, particularly horror films that include explicit sex and sexual violence, and pornographic films that draw on horror’s tropes and conventions. My first monograph Toture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw (2013) is the cornerstone of that body of work.

More recently, I have introduced new theoretical models from contemporary philosophy – particularly moral philosophy and the philosophy of self – into Film, Media and Horror Studies.

My work has been published in the field’s leading journals, including Film-Philosophy, Feminist Media Studies, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Sexuality & Culture, Journal of Film and Video, Porn Studies, and Sexualities, as well as numerous notable edited collections. My second monograph, The Metamodern Slasher Film was published in 2024.

I am the lead for Northumbria’s Horror Studies Research Group.

Invited Editorial Board Roles

• Porn Studies
• 21st Century Horror book series (Edinburgh University Press).
• Hidden Horror Histories book series (Liverpool University Press).

Professional Memberships

• British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS): Founding Member of Special Interest Groups in Horror Studies, Film & Philosophy, and Screening Sex.
• Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS): Scholarly Interest Groups in Horror Studies, Film-Philosophy, and Adult Cinema History.
• Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA).

Advisory Roles

• Invited expert advisor on a Delphi panel for the Australian Research Council funded project “Pornography’s Effects on Audiences”.
• Invited expert advisor for the Porn Laid Bare symposium, which was co-hosted by the Terence Higgins Trust and University of Sussex.

Teaching

• I joined Northumbria in April 2010. Prior to that I taught Media, Film and Cultural theory at the University of Sussex where I completed my PhD thesis.
• Between 2018-2021, I was Head of Subject for Media and Film at Northumbria. I have been Programme Leader at every level (UG and PG). 
• My teaching interests are based in media, film and cultural studies.