Trick R Treat: The Horror Genre

485 Words1 Page

First, the movie Trick 'r Treat is part of the horror comedy type of horror film trend that started in the 1980's. Films of this type are fully aware of the tropes of the horror genre, and exploit them either for comedic purposes or surprise. Horror comedy films also know the history of the horror genre and make references to it. Trick 'r Treat belongs to the horror comedy movement because it is self-aware, the director knows the genre well and uses that for comedy and to defy the viewers expectation. For example, the viewer expects the girls who are costuming in the beginning to be brutally murdered, except for Laurie, who is a virgin and would therefore survive, because they are pretty and sexual, which in horror films is usually a death sentence for girls. …show more content…

The director also plays with the viewers preconceived ideas about horror movies by playing tension-building music to reveal something that is not scary, like for example when Emma goes to pull the sheet of a Halloween decoration, the music swells and the viewer expects something terrible to happen only to have absolutely nothing bad happen yet. Another example would be when Steven, the murderous principal, stands behind his son, he plunges a knife down to the sound of tense music and he brings the knife full of blood back up. The viewer is lead to believe Steven murdered is son, but its then revealed that the knife was full of blood because they were carving the head of a boy Steven murdered earlier, which for some reason is less horrifying to the viewer than if he had actually killed Billy, his son. In short, the director knows the horror genre very well, and uses that to surprise the viewer, as well as lead him through all sorts of emotional ups and

Open Document