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The evolution of the horror genre
The evolution of the horror genre
The evolution of the horror genre
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Atop the list of the most impressive, satisfying haunted house movies created in the last decade is Insidious (although the sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2, essentially tainted it). The back-to-back stories set forth in the Insidious films focus on the Lambert family and their connection to the spirit world, which they reluctantly navigate through with the help of a team of paranormal investigators.
And, like the vast majority of successful horror films, they couldn’t stop with just one.
Director James Wan takes a break from the series, giving way to Leigh Whannell (feature length debut) – who also happens to be the writer and creative mastermind of all three Insidious films (not to mention Saw). In this third installment, dubbed, Insidious:
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Yeah, so the third chapter actually takes place first – yet it’s called Chapter 3. Figure that out, why don’t you. Clearly the marketing people in charge of this flick could honestly care less whether or not moviegoers understand the continuity logistics of this franchise – proving once more that the only thing that warms studio execs late at night is the touch of the all-mighty dollar.
Thankfully, the title of this production has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the film or the story, itself. Still, this film was not without an uphill battle prior to its announcement. After all, the third endeavor is typically where the wheels completely fall off the bus for horror sequels. Look no further than Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Friday the 13th Part III, or the laughable Poltergeist III.
In this third chapter, a slew of new characters are introduced, including the Brenner family. The film focuses primarily on Quinn, portrayed by Disney A.N.T. Farm alum, Stefanie Scott. While it’s clearly not uncommon for young actors and actresses to catch their first big feature length break (she’s been in minor roles in the past) via a horror movie, it’s difficult to buy into Scott as a “scream queen.” In fact, it’s hard to buy into any potential victim that’s forced to contend with two broken legs for the near entirety of the
...orcist” and look how many spin offs came from it. The spin off movies grew from the same idea, but had a little twist, just to give it a hint of originality, like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” While everyone’s minds are vastly different, we still get some of the same ideas. Despite the fact that Foster may have over emphasized the point he was making about originality, he proved his point.
Analysis of the Opening Sequences of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) and Wes Craven’s Scream (1996)
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...
The Three Here’s for Cooking The romantic comedy, Today’s Special, expressed the worries of Indian parents becoming at ease. Also, expressed the struggles a parent faces in search of a better life, the passion and dedication going unnoticed in the work field, and the connection between friends, a lover, and family. However, the film centered its attention more on the development of Samir’s “cold” cooking within the Indian food, with the help of Akbar. In addition, the main actors in the film looked the part and associated with the main idea of the culture of an Indian family. For instance, Samir’s appearance showed he had drifted away from his family’s culture and developed a professional understanding and love for the cooking industry.
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.
As writers and producers saw the amazing popularity and success of the movie Scream many other copy cat versions were made. Movies such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend all followed the same teen slasher format. Nothing is being left up to the movie viewer’s imagination anymore. Everything for the past thirty years was spelled out and given to the viewer, leaving the identity of the killer as the only form of mystery. The genre of horror was losing a very important battle. The bone-chilling movies of the past were giving way to the comedic teen movies of the present.
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.
"Horror Movies 2013." movieweb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .Noton, Adriana. "A Brief History Of Horror Movies." Ezine Articles. Spark Net, 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. .
I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.
The Shining and Jaws are horror films that affect the viewer on a whole new level. Instead of using clichés similar to many horror films of the era, Kubrick and Spielberg create horror films that attack viewers psychologically. Both of the films use a danger color to foreshadow eminent danger, a bone-rattling film score to induce fear, and discomforting cinematography to cause a sense of despair. Although The Shining and Jaws are already close to 40 years old, the films will continue to be some of the top horror films ever made, and even when 90,000 more horror films are made, people will remember the fear of watching these two films.
The horror film has the honor of being one of the few genres aside from the Christmas film to own an entire month out of the year. The moment it becomes October, in the United States especially, the haunting themes of Halloween begin to take over. Anyone can guarantee that if an individual goes out of their house during the October month, they will come into direct contact with pumpkin spice flavored items from coffee to Oreos, Halloween candy in all shapes and forms, and the horror movie. Whether it is the film that started it all, The Haunted Castle, released in 1896 and directed by Georges Méliès or to the recent string of repetitive horror of the Paranormal Activity or Insidious franchises, the horror film is a long-lasting genre with one
Psycho was a film unique to its era and had a lasting impression on cinematography. Psycho is considered the first “slasher” film and inspired the entire sub genre of horror. This film portrayed a level violence that
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which conveys the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies?
...n (Director) mistakenly seems to believe can carry the whole film. On the strength "based on a true story", he has rejected attention-grabbing characters, an imaginative plot, and unforgettable villains.
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