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Evolution of horror movies
Genre of horror introduction
Genre of horror introduction
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Genre Essay Hollywood has been using the genre Horror for centuries to scare and frighten the audience. Horror is by far the most popular genre due to the fact that it provides a descent thrill and gives the audience a rush so this make this a popular genre for teenagers a young adults. In my essay I will be exploring and researching into the genre Horror and also all the sub genres such as Drama horror, Slasher, Comedy horror etc. This will hopefully give you all insight into the genre and all its sub genres. Pro-filmic codes within horror movies have been used to often set the mood for the viewers. The lighting in horror movies is often very dull, most horror movies are sot in the dark so there is not much light in horror movies and I often think the lighting in those type of movies really sets the mood. Although some horror movies work up to the horror element of the movie so it might be very warm happy lighting for the first part of the movie but when it gets to the part that is supposed to scare the audience it often then changes to a darker element of lighting, for example the ...
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.
Audiences love to be scared. Horror films attempt to find some sort of trigger in the audiences mind, and develop it to create horror. Preceded by the great horror novels such as Dracula, and developed in the early nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties in Germany. From slash movies, to the post-modern psychological thrillers, horror films have evolved into an art form. This genre relies heavily on the basic horror conventions.
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.
First there is the powerful use of lighting to give off different moods and tones. For example, in Edward Scissorhands, the town is all bright and sunshines, but then you see the dark castle off in the far distance. The low key lighting of the castle makes it presents a dark and mysterious mood. So when Kim’s mother goes to do her sales it keeps the viewer on their toes, scared of what the dark place may hold. Another example is from the movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate factory”. When Charlie and the others first head inside the factory, they are in a room with moderate light, nothing too special. However when he enters the next room, he is exposed to a high lit place of wonder. The incredible lighting showed every detail, also giving it a happy and stunning mood. Finally, in the movie “Big Fish”, Burton uses a high key lighting
The horror genre of film captives the frightfulness of individual fear, horror is the only genre that is meant captive the terror of the audience. The horror- the genre has been around well over one hundred- years there has been an extension of different types of horror and how the audience perceives horror. Many would even argue that horror films often reflect the fear of society in that certain time period. The evolution of horror reflects the evolution of society’s fear.
I have provided a clear evaluation of his essay in an organized way using the appropriate standards of evaluation. In understanding why humans “Crave Horror Movies” even when some people get nightmares after watching them we find the importance of our emotions and fears. We find those emotions and fears form a body of their own which needs to be maintained properly in order to remain healthy. We see how emotions can be controlled though viewing horror movies. Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies” is a well written essay with convincing analogies, comparisons, and urban humor.
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)
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.
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.
This depends on the location - is it a business mans office or an old
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. (Horror Films)
The horror genre has been known for years upon years. Many beloved classics come from this thrilling genre; Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf man are prime examples of this. To many the horror genre might seem pointless or insane but, to others the shock, excitement, and chill that comes from this genre is remarkable. The authors who tell these stories and bring them to life have a truly complex mind. Take Edgar Allan Poe the author of Tell tale heart a unique short story narration told through the mind of a psychopathic narrator who cleverly kills an old man, but confesses due to guilt.
Lighting plays an especial part effect in movies in order to connect with the audiences. It can be used in many ways in order to create different style of scenes from romantic to horror movie scenes. For this blog discussion of lighting I chose Halloween (1978) movie. This movie is a horror movie that uses a low-key lighting effect.
Almost everyone has a favorite genre of film, but how everyone defines their favorite genre can differ greatly. Horror is one of the genres where its definition can be perceived differently by many people. Like all other genres, horror does have rules and traditions that must be included in order for a film to be considered a horror film. These rules and traditions include a protagonist, an antagonist, an escape or escape attempt of some sort, and very influential audio and visual effects.
Rotten Tomatoes 2.0 We as humans can analyze and form opinions over literature. Those opinions lead to many different critical approaches. Critical approaches have begun ever since literature has been present, and have since evolved with modern literature.