The house is dark, and you think you’re all alone until you hear a small creak. You hear the steps get closer and closer, and you pray that they wont find you. The doorknob turns and the door slams open to reveal… What? Imagine exactly what you would see. Does your heart race? Has your breathing quickened? Are your senses heightened? Perhaps you are even intrigued as to what will happen next. Horror film is a popular genre, but shouldn’t seem to have any real appeal. Horror lures its audience by lingering on the fears of man, manipulating emotions, affecting one’s mind. Those creepy-crawlies on the big screen usually reflect the common fears of the times. These societal fears can be described as the ‘Horrors.’ In the 1960’s, the horror of personality was shown the cult classic Psycho (1960). Norman Bates is the unassuming antagonist, caring for his mother (Derry 164). Psycho was different in that “traditionally, acts of horror took place in old dark houses with lots of shadows; although psycho presents a dark house, the most horrible act takes place in the whiteness of a shower stall” (Derry 164). This movie made horror not specific to dark, cliché spooks, but the modern world. Other movies followed the example: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Strait-Jacket (1964), Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964), and Pretty Poison (1968) (Derry 164). These horror films have many similarities such as a lesser fear of fatality replaced with fear of anxiety, violence as a social normality, and a very present fear of corporal disfigurement (Derry 163). The weapons are invariably man made claw-like extensions such as knives, hatchets, or axes (Derry 164). The core terror in these movies is that “everyone is potentially insane… thus making an... ... middle of paper ... ...film may come from emotional manipulation. Many theories are available to explain this. The Gender Socialization theory or “Snuggle Theory” states that horror films act as a coordination of gender roles. Studies show that when a boy watched a movie with a female plant that showed signs of being visibly scared, the boy enjoyed watching the movie a great deal more than when she was apathetic. The opposite was true with girls- when the male was visibly scared. They enjoyed the movie a great deal less than when he was protective and brave (Filmmaker IQ). Another popular theory was first recorded by Aristotle- and while he wasn’t exposed to horror film, he thought that people enjoyed frightening plays and stories because it gave them an outlet to expunge negative emotions. But recent studies have shown that horror films make viewers more angry and hostile (Filmmaker IQ).
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” a quote that sums up humanity’s unchanged love for horror movies. Over the years, as millions of people have watched horror movies the graphics, special effects, and sounds have changed for the better. While scenes have intensified yet remained the same someone gets stabbed, butchered or killed violently. It’s hard to imagine how anyone in their right mind could choose to see such violent acts. Which is the reason why Stephen Kings say’s “I think we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better- and maybe not all that much better after all” (405). That sentence provides us with his twisted example of “Why we crave Horror Movies” claiming it’s mainly a matter of our mental state. King includes examples of reasons people continue to go, he says it’s to have fun, to dare the nightmare, and to re-establish our sense of normalcy. Kings arguments within this essay are strong enough to prove his thesis making this a well written essay. He easily convinces normal people that they are mentally ill, with his use of analogy’s, comparisons, and logos. Stephen King’s use of practical wisdom leads his audience to believe that without horror films, humans are all emotional ticking time bombs waiting to explode.
Audiences love to be scared. Horror films attempt to find some sort of trigger in the audiences mind, and develop it to create horror. Preceded by the great horror novels such as Dracula, and developed in the early nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties in Germany. From slash movies, to the post-modern psychological thrillers, horror films have evolved into an art form. This genre relies heavily on the basic horror conventions.
“Poor decisions and bad luck are contingencies of most horror films” (Wesley Morris). The 1960’s thriller, Psycho, is no exception. It has been acclaimed as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films because of its use of psychopathic elements to create what has come to be known as a “slasher films”, a subcategory of horror films. It evolved the horror genre from monsters and the supernatural to the human condition and the monster living inside. The motion picture Psycho tells the story of a Marion Crane, a secretary who flees Phoenix, Arizona with $40,000 she steals from her boss. Days later she arrives to the Bates Motel in Oregon. At the isolated, vacant motel, she meets the owner Norman Bates who shows her hospitality. Later, however, we find
Hitchcock's Film Psycho Ever since the first horror movies were produced they have attracted huge audiences seeking to be scared, chilled and thrilled. Horror movies are so popular because the audience can get the adrenaline rush of being scared without actually putting themselves in danger, and also the audience ultimately get a rush of relief at the end of the film when the killer is killed. This is the same reason why people go on roller coasters because you get the adrenaline rush and then the relief when you get off. Also often horror movies are highly sexual films, and what's more it's a great excuse to hug your girlfriend! Horror movies started in the 1920's with German masterpieces of the silent era such as the ''Nosferatu'' directed by F.W Murneau (1922).
One of the most telling traits of a society is how it entertains itself. Although Americans of the late twentieth century have many choices for distraction, one medium has had a particularly significant impact upon the fabric of American culture: film. Through pandering to the ideas and beliefs of the audience, filmmakers parallel those ideas and beliefs in their creations. This correlation was demonstrated in the glut of so-called "slasher" films during the period 1974-1984. Although the films were diverse in form and execution, the basic plot of these movies involved some sort of deranged psychopath gleefully stalking and killing a number of unfortunate teenage victims. Within this sub-genre there can be found a number of basic character styles, or archetypes. These archetypes not only serve to bind certain movies into the slasher category, but also to provide a window into the culture that they cater to.
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.
Overall, in Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, his suggestion that we view horror movies to “reestablish our feelings of essential normality” (562) and there is a “potential lyncher in almost all of us” (562) has brought forth many aspects that I have never really thought about. Why do we have so much excitement when it comes to horror films? Everyone has their own opinion, which will never end with one definite answer. Stephen King thinks there’s and evil in all of us, but I don’t think so. The evil only comes out if you make it, we do not need horror films for psychic
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)
In 1960 one black and white movie shocked us all. This movie attacked our minds and our hearts in one of the most vulnerable places in what is considered to be one of the greatest and most epic scenes of all time. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho made women and even some men afraid take a shower. This movie was the first of its kind and gave birth to a whole new genre of movies, the slasher film. Without this movie Freddie Kruger, Jason, Michael, Leatherface, and all of the other psycho killers would cease to exist. All these killers, even Ghost Face from Scream owe Norman Bates a huge debt of gratitude. If it wasn’t for him these killers would not exist Norman Bates was the first of the masked psycho killers.
“Why We Crave Horror Movies,” an essay by the legendary Stephen King, explains two challenging concepts to understand: why people like gory horror movies and how people are able to control their darkest desires. “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better, after all.” King opens the essay by addressing the hard truth- we are all insane. People have dull lives, and often it’s the little bit of crazy within in us tha...
Throughout the extensive history of cinema, particularly in its inception, women had been relegated to the roles of the damsel in distress, a character which usually was kidnapped and hoped to be rescue by the male hero. Other female archetypes in cinema are the seductress, also known as the femme fatale, a character who was aware of her beauty and mystery and would use those traits to manipulate her suitors into serving her agenda, seen throughout many noir films. Lastly, as the object of desire; in simplest terms, the female serves the role of merely a prize to appeal to the male protagonist, and by extension, the audience. For years, these three archetypes would reappear across genres, and continue appearances within modern cinema. However,
Too many horror films provide scares and screams throughout their respective cinemas. Not many viewers follow what kind of model the films follow to appease their viewers. However, after reading film theorist Carol Clover’s novel, watching one of the films she associates in the novel “Halloween”, and also watching the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” I say almost every “slasher” or horror film follows a model similar to Clover’s. The model is a female is featured as a primary character and that females tend to always overcome a situation at some point throughout the film.
Horror movies have been part of mainstream cinema since the early 1930s when films such as Dracula and Frankenstein were created. As the horror genre evolved, so did the stories in the films. Friday the 13th (Marcus Nipsel, 2009) is a very good example of this evolution. Even though it is a remake, Friday the 13th changed the way horror movies were seen by the audience. The ideas and theory behind this slasher sub-genre of horror films can be summed up in a book. Carol Clover, an American professor of film studies, wrote a book in 1992 entitled Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film in which she described the horror film genre. In a chapter entitled “Her Body, Himself”, Clover describes how weapons play a very important role in horror movies as well as explaining her Final Girl theory. Her book’s ideas changed not only academic notions but also popular beliefs on horror films. The 2009 remake of Friday the 13th implies that Carol Clover’s ideas about 80s slasher films, including male tormentors, the importance of weapons, and the Final Girl, have stayed the same through the years.
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.
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.