We go to watch horror films mainly because we want to be frightened as it gives us some sort of thrill. When we are afraid the Amygdala which is a set of neurons in the brain triggers the "fight or flight" response which pumps our body with adrenaline so by watching a horror it gives us some sort of rush. Marvin Zuckerman proposed that those who scored high in the sensation seeking scale had a greater interest in things like horrors and roller coaters as it will allow them to have adrenaline pumping around their body.
Horror films also allow us to escape from our normal lives and the problems that we face in the real world and it allows us to experience threats without actually experiencing them.
We also gain personal relationships when watching horror films in the cinema as everyone is being scared at the same time allowing the audience to share the traumatic part of the film together.
The audience also gets pleasure knowing that the disturbing film is not real and that they aren't the ones in danger as the ghost,serial killer or anything else are in the film and can't actually harm us. In other words we like the risk of watching the film however we wouldn't actually want that to happen to us.
Short films
A film can be classed as a short film if its shorter than 40 minutes if longer than that then its a feature film. Short films are typically made on a low budget and made by independent film makers who may have funded by film grants. They are shown at film festivals however easy to find on YouTube.
The best short films have one simple idea as it cant be too complicated as it has to be shorter than 40 minutes. In addition the typically follow the Todorov plot structure which suggested that stories began with a equilibrium ( a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.) then this is disrupted by some event which then sets a chain of events. In my opinion I think a twist or a cliff hanger at the end of a short film makes it better as it leaves the viewer guessing and makes them want to watch more.
I watched a short horror film called the "Smiling man" which grabs the viewer in from the beginning at makes us guess what is in the house with the child and it also finishes the film with a twist as it shows the child's mother dead on the floor and makes us want to know what happened to her and what is going to happen to the child.
History of horror films:
Horror is a film genre that focuses on nightmares, fears and terror of the unknown and the main themes include ghosts, serial killers, torture, psychopaths etc.
The first version of supernatural events appeared in several silent short films created by Georges Melies "Le manoir du Diable" in the 1890s. This is credited as the first horror film. It tells a story about an encounter with a devil its main purpose is to create amusement from the audience rather than fear. But because of its themes of the devil it can be classified as the first horror film.
The word "Horror" began to be used to describe the film genre in the 1930s and this is where Universal pictures began a Gothic horror film series which combines fiction, horror , death and romance. Some examples of gothic horror are Dracula by Toby Browning's in 1931 and Frankenstein by James Whales in 1931.
With the advances in technology in the 1950s and 60s horror films shifted form the Gothic to contemporary concerns like humanity overcoming threats such as alien invasions and deadly mutations in humans and animals for example Godzilla(1954).
In the 1970s and 80s there was a release of more films with occult (knowledge of the paranormal) like The exorcist(1978) which has been rated the best horror film of all time. Its a supernatural film directed by William Friedkin, the plot of the film is about a demonic possession of a 12 year old girl. This film made $193 million in the box office.
During the 90s this is where slasher style films became popular in the horror genre. Slasher films is a sub-genre of horror and involves a violent psychopath murdering several victims with bladed tools. Examples of these type of films are Halloween(1978)and A nightmare on Elm street(1984).
During the 2000s this is where there wasn't many releases of horror films and only remakes of old horror films like the extended version of The Exorcist(2000).
In 2010 this is where a popular rise in horror TV series began for example "American Horror Story" where each series focus on a different topic for example Coven and Asylum. Other TV series like the "Walking Dead" which shows life during a zombie Apocalypse. Even in the 21st century the horror genre still uses themes like supernatural presences e.g "paranormal activity" that began in the 1890s.
Psycho case study:
Psycho is a Psychological horror (this is a sub-genre of Horror and it relies on abnormal psyche to scare the viewer). Psycho was produced in 1960 by Alfred Hitchcock. Even though there was mixed views about the film it made over $40 million dollars in the box office and is now ranked the greatest films of all time as it has had alot of influence on over horror films as it is considered one of the first Slasher films.
A very influential part of the film is the "shower scene" which has became iconic due to it being regarded as the most scariest scenes ever filmed. It uses a variety of camera angles and Eisenstein style montage this is where the camera cuts to create a message rather than continuity. The protagonist "Marion" played by Leigh who gets attacked in the shower was affected by this scene as she was unable to take showers unless she needed to showing how influential the film was as she knew what was happening wasn't real however it still scared her as it made her feel very vulnerable after watching the film back.
Sub-genres of Horror:
Action Horror:
Action Horror is a sub-genre that combines supernatural with gun fights and chases.Themes in this genre include Zombies, vicious animals and vampire.
Comedy Horror:
This sub-genre combines horror and comedy. It crosses over with "black humour" which is where it makes light of themes which we would typically say is taboo. Examples of this sub-genre is "scary movie" which in my opinion is too over-exaggerated and actually not that funny.
Body Horror:
This where the main theme in the film is the deconstruction of a human body where limbs are used to create monsters out of human body parts.
Gothic Horror:
This includes both elements of gothic and horror. This is the earliest sub-genre of horror films dating back to the 1930s. Themes in this sub-genre include magic, supernatural and castles. The classic films that are Gothic Horror are classics such as Dracula and Frankenstein.
Psychological Horror:
This sub-genre of horror relies on the protagonists fears, guilt from something from their past and their beliefs. It involves the supernatural and ghosts to scare the viewers and further the plot. A classic film that falls into this sub-genre is "The Shining".
Science Fiction Horror:
This often deals with paranormal however it also involves mad scientists or experiments go wrong for example a mutation. An example of this is Alien.
Slasher Films:
This involves a lot of violence from a psychopathic serial killer, who kills several victims however the main target is women in these films e.g "psycho" which has been said to be one of the first Slasher movies. Slasher's are built around mystery and suspense making the viewer always being on the edge of their seats.
Possible effects of horror films:
Imitation:
The meaning of imitation is the action of using someone or something as a model. This links to the effects of horror films as people may be influenced by what they see in horror films and mirror the actions in real life. For example "Natural Born Killings" has been the most influential horror film for copycat killings. An example of imitation is where a couple Sarah Edmonson and Benjamin Darras who took LSD then watched "Natural born killings" repeat then robbed and shot a convenience store clerk.
Catharsis:
This is the process of releasing emotion and this provides relief form these strong emotions. Watching films especially Horror's allows people a relief from the real world and the issues we face for example relationships or the economy. By watching a horror film you become scared and distressed allowing you to release your emotions which then gives you this pleasure as you are relieved from these negative emotions much like a cleanse.
Drip-Drip-Drip Effect (Desensitisation):
Sadistic images and violence which you commonly see in horror films are too easily available to younger audiences. This exposure to seeing violent acts for example in "psycho"in the shower scene, creates a drip-drip effect as these younger audiences have been exposed to this throughout their childhood so when they get to adult-hood they will be desensitised to this violence and will see it as "normal", meaning younger audiences behave in anti-social ways as they have been exposed to too much violence due to watching horror films.
Mean world syndrome:
Mean world syndrome was a termed developed by George Gerbner. It means that violence related content of mass media makes viewers believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is. So if people watch horrors like "scream" and "psycho" which involves a psycho killer murdering people, they will feel more vulnerable than they did before watching the film as they will think that there are murderers out there to get them which is highly unlikely.
No long term effects:
One great thing about horror films is that we all know that they aren't true in reality. Meaning when we watch them we might be scared however the "monster" cant actually hurt us as it's in the film and made up.
The economics of Horror Films:
One of the great things about Horror films is that they are incredibly cheap to make compared to other box office releases. For example Paranormal Activity, the production costs of this was only $15,000 dollars and it generated $190 million at the global box office which was a huge profit. Compared to the pirates of the Caribbean which had a budget of $378.5 million which is even more than what Paranormal activity had as their budget but also their profit of the film. It made $1,045,713,802 in the box office which is a huge profit however it shows how cheap it is to make a good horror film compared to an action film which couldn't have a budget as low as $15,000 dollars as it wouldn't be good.
However there a some factors that hold Horror Films back from not being able to have high budgets and make huge profits. One huge limitations of the genre is that there is a limited appeal as the genre doesn't have a huge audience due to not being able to appeal to family audiences but also not a lot of people enjoy horrors so they wouldn't want to go watch it in the cinema as they could watch a romantic instead.
In addition, another thing that holds back the Horror Genre that it isn't considered as being "artistic" which means that a Horror film is very unlike to win any Oscars no matter how good it is.
Finally, by horror films being so cheap to make it means I don't have to invest millions into making a good short film but easily make a good short film by using less than £10 as the more realistic the film is the more scary.
However there a some factors that hold Horror Films back from not being able to have high budgets and make huge profits. One huge limitations of the genre is that there is a limited appeal as the genre doesn't have a huge audience due to not being able to appeal to family audiences but also not a lot of people enjoy horrors so they wouldn't want to go watch it in the cinema as they could watch a romantic instead.
In addition, another thing that holds back the Horror Genre that it isn't considered as being "artistic" which means that a Horror film is very unlike to win any Oscars no matter how good it is.
Finally, by horror films being so cheap to make it means I don't have to invest millions into making a good short film but easily make a good short film by using less than £10 as the more realistic the film is the more scary.
Imom
Imom is a short film directed by Areil martin and in her words it is "A dark look into the black mirror of a society where technology has exceeded humanity". This short film relates to the Horror Genre as it shows how technology has taken over our life's and how we rely on it too much, the film showcases what would happen if we had robots to care for our children instead of us.
What I like about this short film is that it isn't typically "scary" however its more realistic on what would happen in the future if we rely too much on technology. It has themes of religion running throughout as the child has to read Matthew 7:15 from the bible which states " 15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?…" which relates to the iMom as she seen as being "pretty" and wearing normal human clothes which relates to her as being seen as sheep however from the inside she is actually a wolf and dangerous. As at the end we find out that she cooked the baby instead of the chicken. I really like this idea as we may believe technology is helping us and good for our world however its turning us lazy and it is dangerous as we don't the possible outcomes of technology.
In addition from the start of the film there is a graphic match of the baby and the chicken which is showcasing what will happen at the end of the film. But also the mum calls her baby "chicken" which led the Imom to do as well however there was a power during this which made her confused and thought the baby was a chicken. Which again shows that we cannot rely on technology because no matter how advanced it will never be as smart as the human mind and there can easily be problems with technology.
I like the style of horror short film as it is relating to issues that we face today and how the next generation are being brought up with technology and relying too much on which is actually quite scary as we don't know what will happen in the future.
Auteur Theory:
Auteur Theory is theory of film making that holds that a film reflects the directors personal creative vision. This relates to directors of Horror films for example Alfred Hitchcock "Psycho" in his film he used a variety of jump cuts to create tension in the shower scene with non-diegetic music over the top to add to this tension building to make the viewer be on the edge of their seat. Hitchcock style is classic due to his tension building style being used in a variety of slasher films like "scream".
Another example is Brian De Palma "Carrie" in the scene where carrie has pigs blood poured over her he uses a variety of effects like slow motion, split screen and kaleidoscope.You could say that his style is very over the top compared to other directors. It looks as if he is trying out every editing technique however it works in this specific scene due to Carrie being completely embarrassed in front of everyone and she gets extremely angry and these techniques showcase this.
In my own short film i will showcase my own creative vision by using editing techniques,costumes and without using too much dialogue.I will use styles and themes that i have seen in other horror films by different directors.
Stages of genre development:
The stages of a genre developing is a long process. The Horror genre developed in the 1930s from Gothic Horrors like Frankenstein. However, the genres seminal/pro-type were films like "psycho" which was made in the 60s. These Slashers started the tension building that you see in Horrors, even Horror films today still use the style seen in these films for example the basis of a Slasher film is that a man goes around killing several girls which are seen to be "slutty" and the final girl is a "virgin" this all started from "Psycho".
The Classic Horrors are "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" these films aren't typically scary but do have some jump scares. They are Classics as they follow the typical conventions of Horror films from the Protypes. Even though these Horrors aren't seen as typically good or scary they have contributed to the genre and have made what is it today.
Next are the Revisionists these Horror films reference to the old protype however make it more interesting and fun as the genre starts to get boring after the classics. These are films like "Scream" it has a lot of reference to "psycho" which is seen as the first slasher film however I feel as if "Scream" is much scarier and modern but still follows some conventions but also going against some allowing new sub-genres to emerge.
Parodics are which typically take a film from the classics and revisionists and pretty much make it into a comedy which isn't really that scary for example "scary movie" which is taking influences from "scream" but making it funny and it is very over-exaggerated.
Finally, there is a Hybrid which is where two genres combine for example Horror and Sci-fi this allows the film to be much more interesting and different from stereotypical horror films. An example of a film that has both genres is "The FLY" which again combines horror and Sci-fi. I think this is more interesting as it harder for the audience to predict what will happen.
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