MM: Research into Horror/Thriller - Source 2 & 4

Reading Source 2

1. Why are stories that 'aim to scare their audience' so popular? - They bring out our deepest fears and characterises them. They often give you adrenaline, similarly to situations of fear. We project ourselves onto the protagonists and so we feel the same fears as the characters. It is very easily understandable and relatable as many share the same phobias. Even the simplest ideas and concepts can terrify audiences. Such as Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984) which had the premise that if you get killed in your dreams, then you get killed in real life. I think that this was scary because it takes something that everyone does and often enjoy, sleeping and having dreams, and makes you terrified to do it. This concept is timeless as it follows something that literally everyone does everyday and so it is still scary today. 

The famous and frightening hand of Freddy Kruger protruding on someone in their sleep in Nightmare on Elm Street

2. What insight can the study of horror monsters give? - They give insights into the anxieties and fears of the modern culture. Different people have different phobias, but there are more common ones, such as spiders. Many of the horror monsters created proceeding the 1930's would be representing the rulers of oppression at the time. Many of them would be foreign and alien like. This reflects the fears of others invading the country in which they lived in. 

3. What did Nosferatu (1922), one of the earliest horror films use the vampire as a metaphor for? - Since the vampire killed with penetration and the exchange of body fluids, it was considered as sexual metaphor. But it also represents an alien like person invading society. This was culturally relevant at the time of WW1.

Horror themes based on social/cultural context -
Usually when films from decades ago are remade, they aren't as effective as they don’t carry the same cultural context of the time. Here’s an example, The Ring (Verbinski, 2002) was scary as it explored the impact of the ever developing technological advances in the time. In 2002, they were advancing at a fast rate and many people didn't know of what even the intermediate future might hold and this was frightening. If this was to be remade in the current era, it would not be as culturally appropriate and so not be as terrifying. People now are quite used to new technologies much more than before.

Samara in The Ring

Many films recently such as Unfriended (Gabriadze, 2015) explore the dangers of the internet and how you can terrorise others with total anonymity. This it is considered scary as it is a very relevant issue. 

The entire film is shown through Skype conversations. Shown here is a ghost.

Other modern horror theme is sex, often unfaithfully. Movies such as Knock Knock (Roth, 2015) and It Follows (Robert Mitchell, 2014) follow the premise that bad things will happen after you have sex. The main antagonists in these movies would be trying to kill the protagonist after them having sex. In Knock Knock, the main protagonist is hunted down and they attempt to murder him after he gives into sexual intercourse with two women, although he is married. In It Follows, something similar to a curse is passed on through sex. The creature would then proceed to approach you by a slow walk. It could take the appearance of anyone. 

The creature in It Follows

Is Horror still relevant? - It is still relevant as it has the ability to adapt to tap into each generation’s preoccupations and concerns and it can be used to deal with ideas and issues that appeal to a large range of audiences. Other film genres such as Westerns don’t have the same effect and impact as horror as it is appeals to people’s primal senses of fear which is a universal language. Horror is a very vast genre and it will continue to expand and develop as society does. 


Reading Source 4


Why do audiences seek out thrills vicariously? - 

Commonly all the action is based around extraordinary events happening to ordinary people and so it’s very easy to feel the same emotions of the characters. There are three main reasons why this is so:

·         They become aware of the real danger simply by conscious thought. The areas of safety and danger are defined.

·         Exposure to the danger and the sense of fear is triggered. You are forced to go into the danger area, often away from home.

·          The hope that the fear will be conquered and they will return to safety again.

Supernatural films are often not as effective in being thrilling as others as the audience knows straight from the beginning that it is all fiction and fantasy and so they don’t feel an equal sense of fear. Thrillers with more plausible settings often thrill more as you feel as if it could happen to you.

Types of thrills:

Suspense thriller: The audience is given information that which the character in the film has not. Here’s an example: Let’s say that the audience sees someone strap a bomb to the underbelly of a car, and then some other characters sit in the car and start to drive. The suspense is you knowing that there’s a bomb and when it is going to explode. Whether or not the bomb explodes is not important, it is simply the anticipation of the action. Suspense is a key part of all thriller genres.

Action thriller: Uses action sequences to create tension. They usually feature a race against the clock, frequent violence and a clear antagonist. They combine the thrill and adrenaline of an action film with the suspense and tension of a thriller. Casino Royale (Campbell, 2006), and generally the rest of the Bond franchise, are distinct and well known action thrillers.

Casino Royale

Crime thriller: They incorporate the suspenseful aspects of a thriller with a crime film plot. They use both action and psychological aspects to build tension and suspense. The thrill in crime thrillers would be the puzzle of the crime solving along with following the antagonist for more of the film, so we sympathise with him more and so there is tension between the chase to catch the criminal who we actually care about. A good example is The Usual Suspects (Singer, 1995) in which the perpetrator of a crime is between 5 unknown individuals.

The line-up in The Usual Suspects

Film Noir: This has probably the most distinct visual style of all the sub genres. Most commonly in black and white, with very contrasty images. All the unnecessary parts of the frame would be very dark and the character would be bright, creating strong images. It uses a narrative voice and various flashbacks to explain the intricate plot.

Memento is shown in both black & white and colour. It features elements of film noir.

Psychological thriller: rather than physical strength, psychology is used to harm the protagonist. They often incorporate elements of drama and mystery. The protagonist must use their mental resources to solve the problem rather than physical. Memento (Nolan, 2000) relies solely on the mental state of the main character for the driving the plot forwards (and backwards). Aimed more towards intellectual audiences.

Guy Pierce in Memento