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Recommended: Evolution of horror film
‘If movies are the dreams of mass culture… horror movies are the nightmares.’ (Stephen King, Danse Macarbre) The film genre horror was designed for many different purposes; generally it is to cause terror and evoke an adrenaline rush in audiences, as well as, to present a fear of death by opening the dark side of life, without the audience being in any harm. (Freeman, 2010) The two films, that will be critically analyzed, is Sinister, directed by Scott Derrickson (2012) and the original Spanish film, ‘El Orfanato’, (The Orphange) directed by J.A.Bayona. (2007) The primary characteristics of a horror film include, an emphasis on themes such as, good against evil, death, mental issues and the supernatural. The settings of horror films are normally located in places that create the protagonist to be vulnerable. For instance popular locations include, isolated and dark areas, haunted houses, old churches, orphanages and hospitals. Both films attempt to cover these themes. The sequence selected from The Orphanage was the ‘bathroom sequence’, which focus on the protagonist Laura, who is plated by Belen Rueda. In this sequence sound plays quite a significant part. Without sound, there would be no suspense or fear in the film. With all the elements in film and with sound added creates terror among audiences. In the sequence, both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is illustrated. At the beginning of the scene, there is children laughing, however when Laura walks inside the laughter begins to echo and the music starts to fade away. This embodies an idea of the spirits becoming awake in the house, as it starts to become silent and whenever the house is silent, the ghosts begin to appear. In this sequence, sound also contrasts with the lig... ... middle of paper ... ...ng masks in the sequence, hence creating it s mystery for whom could be a ghost, whereas in Sinister it is much more clear to who are the ghosts, as it is evident from the scars and dead facial expressions. The mental states of both protagonists are illustrated quite differently in the scene, Laura appears to be hallucinating the child however Ellison cannot see anything but can only sense a presence of the supernatural. Overall, in both Sinister and The Orphanage have used many common characteristics of a horror genre, where they have created fear, terror and bone-chilling scenes through the viewers. Sinister has explored themes of wanting too much power, supernatural, good vs. evil and hysterical through the use of iconography. Whereas The Orphanage has emphasized the themes mental issues, the supernatural and the power of the house in contrast to the family.
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
Overall, in Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, his suggestion that we view horror movies to “reestablish our feelings of essential normality” (562) and there is a “potential lyncher in almost all of us” (562) has brought forth many aspects that I have never really thought about. Why do we have so much excitement when it comes to horror films? Everyone has their own opinion, which will never end with one definite answer. Stephen King thinks there’s and evil in all of us, but I don’t think so. The evil only comes out if you make it, we do not need horror films for psychic
Some would say watching horror movies and being scared out of your wits is a fun way to spend their hard earned money. They go see these movies on average once a week, each time choosing a newer version of a trilogy like “Chucky” or “The evil Dead”. Film making has come a long way over the last few decades, the graphic...
Most authors use 4 utilities to make a story entertaining. They use the setting, mood, tone, and the archetypes to keep the author entertained. Cinderella by Jacob and WilHelm Grimm and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Marsha Hatfield were both scary because they showed how the tone and mood affected the story, themselves, and the readers at the same time. The horror genre is spooky and unlike other genres, because they are written to scare audiences. In order to do that authors and directors have to change settings, establish tones and moods, and use archetypes that are darker than all other genres. Multiple authors make similar decisions to create archetypes, setting, mood, and tones that uphold the horror genre.
To begin with, some people would say they enjoy a horror movie that gets them scared out of their wits. They go see these movies once a month on average, for fun, each time choosing a newer sequel like “Final Destination” or “The evil Dead”. King says “When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie we are daring the nightmare” (405). As a writer of best-sel...
It can be said that this film is more like a psychological thriller than the horror film. In fact, there is no blood, no ghost or make viewers startle and scream. Perhaps, Roman Polanski wants to against the tradition of horror film and show that he can threaten the viewer without turning off a lamp- in fact, he succeeds. The film opens with some of the main
On the storyline front, Sinister 2 is a lackadaisical tale that reinforces the notion that horror sequels are usually inferior films. Here, the overuse of children, meshed with a lackluster lead with barely anything to do or accomplish, culminates into a flaccid, unimpressive production. It also doesn’t help that previous film’s most interesting characters, including Ellison (Ethan Hunt), the Sheriff (Fred Thompson), and Professor Jonas (Vincent D’Onofrio), are nowhere to be
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
Once audiences under why they watch horror movies they will gain a better understanding of themselves. An understanding of how we watch horror movies to control and conquer our nightmares. Also an understanding for the reason why we follow society's rules is due to feeding our dark sides. Along with feeding our dark sides, audiences will gain an understanding that we watch horror movies to take a break from our daily lives.
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.
The producer was aiming to create mystery and fear. The dark of the night and the description of the house as feeling dead in the protagonist’s narration sets a suspenseful scene filled with fear and tension. The young girl is followed by the camera as she explores the mansion. When entering the room suspected to be that of her aunts the camera leaves her side to pan around the room. The darkness doesn’t reveal everything but one becomes aware of a search. The revelation of little secrets leaves the viewer with many questions. The room is familiar to the protagonist as she finds items symbolic to her and familiar photographs. This familiarity however does not retract from suspicions that something sinister has been hidden. The producer has successfully captivated the viewer. The protagonist is being followed throughout the scene and has thus allowed for the viewer to bond with them. They are engaging with the audience through narration and have in return enticed the viewer to follow them along their journey. One feels nervous for the young girl however through tension in the scene one does not want them to discontinue the journey as too many questions have been left unanswered. One has been drawn into the world of which the protagonist dwells and is intrigued as to how the drama is
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.
Would you rather be horrified beyond repair or thrilled to the point of no return? In horror, the main purpose is to invoke fear and dread into the audience in the most unrealistic way. Horror movies involve supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, teleportation, and being completely immortal. As thriller films are grounded in realism and involve more suspense, mystery, and a sense of panic. Though both genres will frighten the audience, it will happen in two different ways. Whether the horror thrills or the thriller horrifies, a scare is always incorporated.
Most of the film the wooden doll is seen as the antagonist, but in the end there is actual human being living behind the walls that is the real antagonist (The Boy). The antagonist is an absolute must in any horror film because without it there is nothing to provide a horrifying experience for the protagonist. The antagonist is the reason any horror film is horrifying. Without an antagonist most horror films would lose a great portion of the plot, if not all of it, because the protagonist would have nothing to be scared of. The whole film would turn into a person or a group walking around possibly crying or screaming for no reason.
Many of the major studio horror films are marketed towards a PG-13 through R audience. The genre has evolved over time where it is at a point that the blockbusters seem to follow a basic formula that is easily replicated. Jump scares and loud noises are common throughout many of these films, which tend to be released in mass as the years start to reach the autumn season. Sequels and reboots to the major horror franchises are also commonplace for studios, one such example is the Saw franchise. Independent horror films differ from this strategy. Typically they rely on either a unique character or focus on building elements of suspense. They don’t often rely on jump scares, rather opting for an emphasis on acting, direction, editing, and a cohesive script. One such example of a successful independent horror film would be El Orfanato, which New Line Cinema eventually purchased the rights of the film after its release in American