The genre of Horror films is a longstanding genre with roots in gothic literature and mythology. Tales such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) served to set the scene for the film genre (Wilson). Taking on similar traits to horror literature, horror films place a great emphasis on darkness. This darkness can be interpreted in more than one way. The first is in the literal sense of darkness with scenes being dark or at night, obscuring the viewer’s sight to create suspense and anxiety. Along with this, darkness can be used in a more metaphorical sense such as death, gore, monsters, and the supernatural. In addition, horror films include suspenseful music, sudden cuts and jump scares. Ultimately, all of the aspects mentioned before form the main elements used in horror films. …show more content…
Along with this, many people enjoy being scared as it serves to relieve anxiety and stress. This can be evidenced by, “people may actually enjoy being scared” (Andrade and Cohen). Viewers like to feel like they are ini danger when in reality they know they are not. All of this is especially true for the genres main demographic, teenagers. Seeing an R-rated movie with a lot of blood and gore has become a rite of passage to signal moving from being a child to an adult. Horror films both scare and entertain their audience creating a mix of emotions that in the end work in the genre’s
The horror story is a uniquely interactive genre. Its main objective is to make the reader feel something, whether that be fear, anxiety, suspense, or any combination thereof. These feelings are evoked with the use of a monster, depending on the story it can be an external source, like a vampire or werewolf, or it could be something inside one of the characters, something in their psyche. In her story, “The Grave”, P.D.Cacek utilizes the literary elements of symbolism, imagery, and point of view.
A successful film requires a certain formula or combination of events. Depending on what your end desire is, the formula can change. If you want a thrill you would require explosions, fast cars and fight scenes. A good scary movie would require haunting music, night scenes and maybe some gore. If you are in the mood for a feel good flick you’d like to see a range of emotion, upbeat music and a happy ending.
He found horror ‘terrifying, yet exhilarating” . King found scaring people enjoyable , yet “ socially acceptable because there were a lot of horror movies out there”(Green). No matter what caused King's infatuation with horror, King would go on to be one of the biggest influences on the horror genre as a whole. Instead of making horror an elusive topic, he put it right in front audience's faces with descriptive vocabulary and having his novels made into major motion pictures, a new concept for the time
Stephen King Essay “To be afraid.” One would think people choose to avoid this feeling. However, the rush of adrenaline that immediately follows is enough to get someone addicted. Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror” further explains that those who watch horror movies choose to go for the thrill they receive from it. King writes how most people go to the theater as if to be frightened or to show just how much it takes to scare themselves.
Carol Glover best defines the slasher film accordingly, “at the bottom of the horror heap lies the slasher (or splatter or shocker or stalker) film; the immensely generative story of a psycho killer who slashes to death a string if mostly females victims, one by one, until he is subdued or killed usually by the one who has survived.” In a slasher film, the killer usually uses unusual weapons such as chainsaws, blades, and blunt objects. Carpenter’s film had a number of antecedents, mostly similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, to which it alluded in several ways, the film’s most notable elements such as highly sexualized violence inflicted with primitive weapons and a sole survivors struggle to escape, resonated again with its target audience. The slasher cycle also discussed and brought to life issues occurring in the mainstream press, such as with the feminist protests against demeaning images or violence against women in commercial media, and activism that reinstated from the social movements of the 1960s. Halloween played a significant transitional moment in the horror genre’s
Creating fear and suspense is a tricky concept to deliver with impact, as simply put by Alfred Hitchcock there is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. Gore Verbinski , the director of The Ring, used a number of film techniques such as camera angles and movements along with sound and lighting to capture The opening scene of ‘The Ring’ uses camera, sound and lighting in order to create fear and suspense within the audience. The camera movement in this scene pans and tracks very slowly between each actress creating a suspenseful, slow aura that keeps the audience aware of their surroundings. The frame shots are always close to the face, showing the emotion of each character, either being panicked or absolutely oblivious to what is going on.
Humans are unique creations, each one behaves differently. Humans have the propensity to act inhumanely. "Why We Crave Horror Movies," by Stephen King explores the psychology of the human psyche and tries to explain why people are drawn to the horror subgenre. King begins to connect himself to the reader to establish a relationship of understanding the appeal of horror films. Beyond that, he uses emotional appeals as he utilizes bold, questionable statements to engross the reader.
It is used to make the story become more real, and easier for the reader to place himself in the story, and feel the same way as the characters. Stephen King is using the terror effect throughout the whole story. He is making the feeling of dread and anticipation the main factors in the horrifying experience. He also uses the horror effect, when he is writing about The Boogeyman, but he leaves out the gross out part. Edgar Allan Poe is in the same way using both terror and horror to give the reader the most horrifying experience.
This scene completely diminishes the fear and horror suggested by the manipulative title. For instance, you would not expect a horror movie to start out this way, yet this film does exactly that. Moreover, the tone of
The way someone react to different situations can show their real personality. It also shows that everyone is a little bit “crazy” in their own way. King stated that ”Horror movies, like roller coasters, have always been the special province of the young. By the time one turns 40 or 50, one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.” (King, 599).
The horror genre is typically defined as a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create a feeling of fear, repulsion, or disgust in the reader. Although common, horror is not always brought about by gore and blood. The Shining is the fictional story of Jack Torrance and his family as they spend the winter in the Overlook Hotel. He struggles with instability which causes other issues regarding his family’s safety. Stephen King’s work embodies a more realistic approach to traditional horror; he uses blood and gore but also brings in real-life problems that many readers can relate to.
Horror is a genre that is often overlooked due to vacuous reasons. Readers tend to think of vampires or werewolves, but it is so much more. Horror is a genre that if assimilated, can help the reader understand the correspondence to society. The Horror genre has been around since the 1890s when Georges Méliès was credited for creating the first horror film, which emphasized the idea that horror films have a deeper meaning. In Georges Méliès famous short film, Le Manoir du Diable, or The Haunted Castle, the main character confronts Satan and has nowhere to run.
A horror film can induce fear, apprehension, disgust, or an adrenaline rush (King 357). Therefore, frightening
In the beginning of the movie they used suspenseful music and imagery to keep the viewer more interested and make the viewer want to know what the “Secret” is and this is part of the logical chain of reasoning known as Pathos. Pathos is
Another example of a horror film that uses music to convey a sense of fear that runs down the spine of everyone in the audience is The Silence of the Lambs. As the villain is stalking the detective, the lights go out and the music gets louder and builds the suspense of what the stalker will do to his victim. The use of loud percussive sounds intensives the scene and the higher pitched music puts fear into the