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The evolution of horror movies
Evolution of horror film
The evolution of horror movies
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The street was silent except for the occasional shrieks and screams that could be heard from the same house they always came from. Three houses down from the corner of Shelberry and Birch St. to be exact. This was obviously nothing new as the noises that came from this house were almost always the same and almost always came at this time of night. The neighbors around here had gotten used to it by now, for they knew that the noise would end early on in the night, as the owner was still respectful to her neighbors and their kids. No one ever worried about about the shrieks and cries for help, because they all knew that no one was in any danger. They all knew that the only one who was in any possible type danger was most likely the pathetic, stereotypical girl or her friends from one of the many horror movies …show more content…
She was probably one of the biggest horror movie fanatics alive. She probably owned, or had at least seen, every horror movie made. From the lowest-rated, kiddie horror movies to the big, Ultra-rated, scariest horror movies made to the remakes and parodies of the classic horror movies, such as the Scary Movie series which, in case you didn't know or have never heard of it, is basically a bunch of parodies of the strong Scream strong movie series. Even though she had seen all of these movies, she always thought that they never felt like enough. She even tried horror stories to see if they were able to fill the void she felt inside herself. They never did though. What she soon came to realize is that what she really wanted to try was to become part of a horror movie. (-- removed HTML --) How amazing she thought that would be; to be able to actually the fear and adrenaline of being hunted down by a mass-murderer. Or maybe having the insane thoughts and ideas of a killer and feel the rush they got when chasing down their next victim, knowing that they could end someone's life
Another typical factor of this horror movie is where it is set; there is one big house in the middle of nowhere, trees surrounding the house which blocks some vision of the victim, no noise which makes viewers feel edgy and make them believe something is about to happen, these two factors makes it mysterious and also makes the viewer nervous. Then comes action, there is a lot of action In the opening scene of this movie and some of the material they use is clever. For example the phone rings and she is having a conversation on the phone with an unknown person which of course is the killer, at the same time she is having the conversation she is cooking some popcorn, as the conversation becomes more revealing the popcorn bag is becoming larger , this is showing that the tension is building and makes the viewer feel as if something is about to happen. Also while she is on the phone she looks outside and the swing is moving, this shows that someone has been there and maybe still are. The light outside is very dim and natural for example the moonlight outside is very soft
Halloween is rife with psychological scares that affect its audience greatly. “Symbolism, dreamlike imagery, emotional rather than rational logic” are present in Psychoanalytic criticism. Siskel and Ebert talked about how the movie makes you feel as if you are the protagonist, scared for your life and feeling every bit of suspense (Siskel and Ebert). The movie is purely fueled by emotional responses to what is happening to the characters and focuses itself purely on how the audience will respond. In the clip shown, the main protagonist talks about how she killed the killer but he is shown alive. The movie is not concerned with the logic; otherwise, the killer would have at least been slowed down by the injuries he sustained. Siskel and Ebert laud the movie on its set up of scenes, score, character development, and use of lighting to make the audience feel the terror the characters undergo.
The genre of horror films is one that is vast and continually growing. So many different elements have been known to appear in horror films that it is often times difficult to define what is explicitly a horror film and what is not. Due to this ambiguous definition of horror the genre is often times divided into subgenres. Each subgenre of horror has a more readily identifiable list of classifications that make it easier to cast a film to a subgenre, rather than the entire horror genre. One such subgenre that is particularly interesting is that of the stalker film. The stalker film can be categorized as a member of the horror genre in two ways. First, the stalker film can be identified within the horror genre due to its connection with the easily recognizable subgenre of horror, the slasher film. Though many elements of the stalker film differ from those of the slasher film, the use of non-mechanical weapons and obvious sexual plot points can be used to categorize the stalker film as a subgenre of the slasher film. Secondly, the stalker film can be considered a member of the horror genre using Robin Wood’s discussion regarding horror as that which society represses. The films Fatal Attraction, The Fan, and The Crush will be discussed in support of this argument. (Need some connector sentence here to finish out the intro)
Obviously casting Jamie Lee Curtis, a scream queen whose mother (Janet Leigh from Psycho) is the original scream queen, is a nod toward the audience. Additionally with a character named Loomis, after a character in the classic Psycho(1960) and showing clips of horror movies like Howard Hawks' The Thing (1951), Carpenter has created a world that exists primarily in the realm of reality. This world is realistic enough so that the audience can relate and associate with the characters, but also has enough of the self-referentialism to always keep the audience aware that they are watching a movie, not an accurate of representation of
There are two types of people in this world, those who watch in awe as a man on the big screen slashes the teenage girl’s throat, and those who quiver and hide behind their seat in fear. Stephen King states in essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” that no matter the type of person, everyone feels the need to watch horror movies. According to King, the reasons why people watch horror movies can range from simply thinking that the movies are fun, to expressing feelings that people cannot express in real life. While many people may argue that the horror genre is not for everyone, King makes compelling claims that everyone needs a way to let out negative emotions that comes with the human condition. To begin with, most people go to horror movies in order to feel better about themselves.
With a firm belief that people are all mentally ill, Stephen King, a well-known horror novelist, composes his essay, titled “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” to elaborate on the popular appeal of these types of films. Within the essay, King studies the human race and claims that all of mankind needs to release their insanity. With many years of experience in the field of horror, he believes that horror films lets individuals release the bad that lives within themselves in a safe and socially acceptable way. He starts by addressing the basic reasoning of why men and women alike willingly buy a ticket to see a horror movie before deeply analyzing why horror movies are so alluring. King states that the public goes to see horror movies for three reasons:
Do you ever wonder why you or other people like horror movies? What makes them so interesting? Why does the general society enjoy entertaining themselves with the horror genre? Well, Stephen King might have the answer to that. Mr. King strongly agrees with the idea that we might all have a little craving for watching such morbid scenes or reading about them, and creating our own gruesome scenario. Stephen King believes that humans crave horror for the purpose of facing our fears, to reestablish our feelings of normality, and to have an unusual type of ‘fun’, and he’s right.
Horror movies are one of the most fascinating genres of film that exists. They are unrealistic but at the same time, they are also realistic. This realism that they contain is what draws people’s interest towards them because viewers are able to associate aspects of their own lives with the film. Every horror movie, no matter how farfetched the theme or plot may be, contains an element that people can relate to. This element may not be observable to a conscious mind, but to an unconscious mind, it brings back memories of something that has been repressed earlier in our lives (Wood, 197). This recollection of suppressed memories is how horror films create a sense of fear and it is literally what Robin Wood means when he talks about “the return
People are addicted to the synthetic feeling of being terrified. Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned.
Usually, their home is silent, but when one day the narrator suddenly hears something inside another part of the house, the siblings escape to a smaller section, locked behind a solid oak door. In the intervening days, they become frightened and solemn; on the one hand noting that there is less housecleaning, but regretting that the interlopers have prevented them from retrieving many of their personal belongings. All the while, they can occasionally hear noises from the other
Horror is one of many fears humans have. We all have many terrors, but horror is the one that gets the best of us. Some crave, while others resent, the feeling horror movies bring to our body and the emotions that we experience. In Stephen King’s article, “Why We Crave Horror,” he explains that it is a part of the “Human Condition,” to crave the horror. King gives many strong and accurate claims on why we crave the horror movies, such as; testing our ability to face our fears, to re-establish our feelings of normality, and to experience a peculiar sort of fun.
Too many horror films provide scares and screams throughout their respective cinemas. Not many viewers follow what kind of model the films follow to appease their viewers. However, after reading film theorist Carol Clover’s novel, watching one of the films she associates in the novel “Halloween”, and also watching the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” I say almost every “slasher” or horror film follows a model similar to Clover’s. The model is a female is featured as a primary character and that females tend to always overcome a situation at some point throughout the film.
The genre of horror when associated to film, it reflects on a vast variety of issues but when examined for the cultural significance it is narrower to what the aim is. This review surveys multiple scholarly sources from different aspects of the purpose of horror films. This literature review justifies that horror is derived from the fear and guilt within our psychological minds. I will argue that the cultural significance of this genre relates back to the emotional appeals that are conjured up when viewing these films.
I peered around through the rain, desperately searching for some shelter, I was drowning out here. The trouble was, I wasn’t in the best part of town, and in fact it was more than a little dodgy. I know this is my home turf but even I had to be careful. At least I seemed to be the only one out here on such an awful night. The rain was so powerfully loud I couldn’t hear should anyone try and creep up on me. I also couldn’t see very far with the rain so heavy and of course there were no street lights, they’d been broken long ago. The one place I knew I could safely enter was the church, so I dashed.
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.