Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/sponde.4832
Potonulo groblje by Goran Tribuson between horror fiction and film
Enrico Davanzo
orcid.org/0009-0002-5120-9202
; Univeristy "G.d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara; University of Zadar
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper analyzes Potonulo groblje (“The Sunken Cemetery”, 1990), a horror novel by Croatian author Goran Tribuson, a key figure in the country’s escapist fiction tradition. The novel centers on Ivan Hum, a former prisoner who returns to his neglected, name-less hometown to uncover the truth about his past. As he navigates an eerie, decaying landscape marked by supernatural events and cryptic townspeople, Ivan becomes entangled in a web of personal trauma, local myth, and historical repression. The narrative weaves together psychological horror, crime mystery, and gothic atmosphere to explore deeper themes of memory, decay, and identity. At the core of the novel lies a metaphorical exploration of the collapse of so-cialism and the uncertain transition into a post socialist society. The imagery of the sunken cemetery, derelict infrastructure, and a town lost in time serve as powerful symbols of social disintegration and historical amnesia. Through close reading and comparative analysis, the study investigates how Tribuson mobilizes elements of horror and thriller genres not just for suspense, but to comment on the disorientation and disillusionment that accompanied the end of Yugoslavia. A central contrast in the novel is between Ivan - a disillusioned intellectual shaped by rationalism, guilt, and exile - and Marilina, a strange, quasi-mystical librarian whose home is filled with Western pop-culture memorabilia. Their interaction encapsulates the tension between high and popular culture, as well as the ambivalence of postsocialist identity caught between the ruins of the past and the seductive promise of consumerism. The novel is also examined through its 2002 film adaptation, directed by Mladen Juran, co-written with Tribuson and Czech director Jiří Menzel. The film reinterprets many of the novel’s themes through visual storytelling, using cinematic techniques, symbolism, and Western horror tropes to enhance psychological and socio-political layers. While the novel’s horror is more existential and literary, the film foregrounds visual motifs such as marbles (representing trauma), decayed urban spaces, and Western pop references o depict the cultural Westernization and trauma of post-war Croatia. The adaptation reflects how the sociopolitical context of the early 2000s - particularly Croatia’s recovery from war and reorientation to-ward Europe - influenced the reinterpretation of the original narrative. The film emphasizes resolution and personal healing more explicitly than the novel, suggesting a more hopeful vision of the future. Ulti-mately, the study argues that despite its genre label, The Sunken Cemetery -both as a novel and as a film -offers a layered, critical engagement with the his-torical, psychological, and cultural anxieties of late 20th-century Croatia. It demonstrates that escapist or genre fiction can serve as a powerful lens for examining national trauma, collective memory, and ideological transition.
Keywords
Goran Tribuson; horror fiction; escapist fiction; trivial literature; film adaptation
Hrčak ID:
333840
URI
Publication date:
18.7.2025.
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