Many horror movies display a restriction on creativity. The media is continuously repeating the same cliched narrative, stereotypical character base and themes, using the same soundtracks and special effects. Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow is no exception to this. In the opening scene a violin track is used to create suspense, going quickly from loud to quite, intense to subtle throughout the scene. Along with creating suspense, this technique also indicates to the viewer when a jump scare may occur, as well as following the character’s heartbeat as the scene gets more dramatic. Thus engaging the audience further. However, this method is overused and therefore it depends on the individual audience member and their experience with horror movies, how heavily they become engaged in the movie. Another horror movie technique used in the Sleepy Hollow opening scene is a false threat, in Sleepy Hollow’s case it was a scarecrow, a scarecrow which startled the main protagonist as he mistook it for the murderer. Other examples of this have been seen in movies for sometime, and are therefore quite unoriginal. It has now become a tactic used quite a lot throughout spoofs, where the basic ‘blonde babe’ is startle by her purse pooch, mistaking it for the …show more content…
murderer. The beginning of Sleepy Hollow appeals to the audience's fear of being alone, like the majority of movies within this genre, this involves having the main character in a secluded area being hunted by the antagonist.
This could either come from a group of characters/victims being separated or the one character already being alone. In this example the central character in the opening scene urgently leaves an inhabited area, away from his wife, and takes a carriage ride along a road surrounded by corn fields, in the dead of night, as a lightning storm begins. This entire setup of isolation and distance and being trapped is typical of horror movies and therefore follows along with the other cliched techniques present in Sleepy
Hollow. On the one hand, Sleepy Hollow is a prime example of a cliched horror movie which displays a lack of originality and provides few pleasures for the avid horror viewer. However, on the other hand, there are movies within the horror genre that display strong creative ideas. For example, Cabin in the Woods. Cabin in the Woods’ initial premise is extremely basic, yet it manages to inject the story with an almost sci-fi idea which brings the story to life, this indicates that the flame of originality within the horror genre has yet to be extinguished. Unfortunately, this movie is one in a million as most movies within this genre are now either parodies, remakes or sequels. Thus, changing my early metaphor, Cabin in the Woods is an ember within the ashes of a dying genre. Overall, Tim Burton’s time is over and the highlighted statement above proves correct. Horror directors will continue to attempt appealing to our fears of death, loneliness, being trapped and many more, but this will have little effect on the audience if they don’t begin applying more creative ideas into their movies.
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.
The films musical score alerts the viewer to an approaching attack of the shark and they automatically build this association with the music in their mind. Horror films often make use of high string instrument notes that irritate viewers and increase tension. Music plays an important role in film editing and the editor must choose its placement wisely to ensure its intended effect on the viewer’s mind and
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 horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible circumstances conceivable. King also points out that by watching horror movies we “may allow our emotions a free rein . . . or no rein at all.” (King, 784). According to psychiatrist James Schaller, by vicariously “experiencing contrived fears, a person develops a sense of competence over similar types of fears.” (Schaller). Horror films allow the viewer the opportunity to safely examine their fears safely and to the depth and extent they wish to do so. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 provides the opportunity for the viewer to consider a diverse range of fears, with a little humor thrown in for balance, from the safety of a darkened room, a comfortable seat and in less than 120 minutes.
This was no news to Hitchcock's fans. In a 1947 press conference the great director laid out his philosophy of the mystery-horror genre: "I am to provide the public with beneficial shocks. Civilization has become so protective that we're no longer able to get our goose bumps instinctively. The only way to remove the numbness and revive our moral equilibrium is to use artificial means to bring about the shock. The best way to achieve that, it seems to me, is through a movie."
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short film about a particular town that is very sleepy; in other words, the town is very “dreamy.” This film is a depiction of the social instability during the time of the Market Revolution. Basically, the film shows that the town of sleepy hollow lacks a class structure within their society and shows the selfishness of the members that are just trying to make life good for themselves.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is the classic ghost story. In which, Irving creates a connection between paranormal and human characters. Irving does this by both giving a literal description of the two and their interactions, and using a distinct narrative and writing style to convey his points. Using these key elements and literary devices helps describe the characters of Sleepy Hollow and their superstitious ideals of the supernatural.
Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance she will receive when her father, Baltus Van Tassel and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator who is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent decapitations that are occurring. These modifications alter the original story entirely, thus failing to capture the Irving’s true interpretation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The film and the original story have similarities and differences in the plot, characters, and setting.
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.
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
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 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
In the film “Edward Scissorhands” Tim Burton used cinematic techniques such as, sound, lighting, and editing. Burton uses editing to draw the readers into the film. For example, all of the houses in the story look the same, Also, all of the people that live in the community have the same cars. Tim burton also uses sound to convey what is happening in the film. In the scene where the little girl’s grandma is telling the story, the music is cheerful, Yet dark. The sound in a film is everything if you want a good meaningful story behind it. The music in the movie is mysterious and makes you wonder what will happen next. Sometimes the music jumps changing from mystery to horror. Another cinematic technique used in “Edward Scissorhands” is lighting. Lighting is used to show the mood of something, to show if the scene is happy or sad or anywhere in between. In the film, Tim Burton did exactly that he created a mood to show how Edward was feeling or how others felt about Edward.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a work by Washington Irving about the tale of a character named Ichabod Crane. The work is filled with tension and horror, and has a spooky and mysterious ambience throughout the work. To achieve this feeling through his text, Irving uses the character called the Headless Horseman, nature, imagination, and onomatopoeia.
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.