Reflecting back on the most iconic figures in the history of horror cinema, characters like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees still shine brighter than all the rest – even despite their current lack of utilization. In the meantime, an array of other “big bads,” ranging from Ghostface, Jigsaw, and Annabelle, has attempted to climb the proverbial ladder into the (imaginary) horror hall of fame. Truthfully, though – and not for a lack of trying, there’s just something missing from the “new school” brand of horror villains, the majority of which attempt to do their damage within an overly abused haunted house setting. A few haunting characters, like The Babdook or the unnamed entity from It Follows, stand out as clever genre additions. …show more content…
In the first film, Bughuul was sly and sinister enough to remain a shadowy mystery – only to have this latest installment treat him like an angry puppet master that isn’t capable of carrying out his own dastardly plans. Like the Saw franchise, though, Sinister 2 features an array of unique murder sequences – varying from electrocution and Alligator (or Crocodiles) decapitations to lighting victims ablaze on a cross and forcing vermin to munch on people’s insides. Jigsaw would surely be proud, but keep in mind children are behind these deadly deeds – and such nonsensical occurrences typically forces this film to be more laughable than frightening. On the storyline front, Sinister 2 is a lackadaisical tale that reinforces the notion that horror sequels are usually inferior films. Here, the overuse of children, meshed with a lackluster lead with barely anything to do or accomplish, culminates into a flaccid, unimpressive production. It also doesn’t help that previous film’s most interesting characters, including Ellison (Ethan Hunt), the Sheriff (Fred Thompson), and Professor Jonas (Vincent D’Onofrio), are nowhere to be
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...
In order to scare us, books, movies, and television shows will take the most ordinary things and make it into a monster. For instance, the movie IT takes a clown and turns it into
Analysis of Halloween by John Carpenter and Evil Dead by Sam Raimi The horror genre is characterized by the attempt to make the viewer experience dread, fear and terror. Some of the most common elements include vampires, zombies and werewolves. One of the films which I am going to analyze is “Halloween” by John Carpenter which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence. This film was made in 1978; this was considered the film which started the “slasher film” genre. This genre was continued in dozens of violent movies throughout the 1980s.
Halloween is rife with psychological scares that affect its audience greatly. “Symbolism, dreamlike imagery, emotional rather than rational logic” are present in Psychoanalytic criticism. Siskel and Ebert talked about how the movie makes you feel as if you are the protagonist, scared for your life and feeling every bit of suspense (Siskel and Ebert). The movie is purely fueled by emotional responses to what is happening to the characters and focuses itself purely on how the audience will respond. In the clip shown, the main protagonist talks about how she killed the killer but he is shown alive. The movie is not concerned with the logic; otherwise, the killer would have at least been slowed down by the injuries he sustained. Siskel and Ebert laud the movie on its set up of scenes, score, character development, and use of lighting to make the audience feel the terror the characters undergo.
Some would say watching horror movies and being scared out of your wits is a fun way to spend their hard earned money. They go see these movies on average once a week, each time choosing a newer version of a trilogy like “Chucky” or “The evil Dead”. Film making has come a long way over the last few decades, the graphic...
Overall the form of ?Evil Dead 2? was not meant to be realistic or, as Bazin said it otherwise should, add to it. Its form creates an environment which is hostile but at the same time comical. It shows you a man who is tortured and tormented losing everyone around him, but makes this into an amusing tale. To do this it had to detach itself from reality, for otherwise this film would be hated.
His experimental and unique perverse screenwriting has shocked and inspired numerous people. His aesthetics painted horror vividly and presented itself dramatically. His musical and cinematic vision was a healthy extension of his devilishly, clever, and demented mind. His modes of publication with music, film and print, had and still a tremendous fanbase. He has gained our attention in every media related forum and we can’t look away, even if we try. He has left us cheering, screaming and on the edge of our seats. We leave feeling bad about ourselves for watching his visual storytelling unfold. “You know, it’s like, I’m going to sit here for 90 minutes and watch these guys get fucked up with no hope. That’s what I love about these films, you walk out feeling bad about yourself, saying “Why did I enjoy that? What does this say about me as a person?” It is a cathartic experience that horror lovers can have again and again. Not acting on those horrific urges, but instead, becoming one of his characters that were just never really understood and that evil is real. Evil never dies and revenge always wins or at least in horror
As writers and producers saw the amazing popularity and success of the movie Scream many other copy cat versions were made. Movies such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend all followed the same teen slasher format. Nothing is being left up to the movie viewer’s imagination anymore. Everything for the past thirty years was spelled out and given to the viewer, leaving the identity of the killer as the only form of mystery. The genre of horror was losing a very important battle. The bone-chilling movies of the past were giving way to the comedic teen movies of the present.
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
In 1978, John Carpenter created an evil force with his film Halloween and the introduction of the psychopathic serial killer, Michael Myers. His story of a faceless murderer who returns to a small Midwestern town on Halloween night frightened theatergoers all over the world. Nearly 30 years later, heavy metal musician turned director Rob Zombie re-envisioned this classic horror story, by presenting a frightening new take on the story of Michael Myers. Although the original and remake share similarities, Zombie’s use of characters, character development, plot
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)
siblings, "creature features" and "slashers," both terrify and fascinate us with their ghoulish brand of
The zombie subgenre, unlike many other branches of the horror movie genre, adapts completely to fit the audience of its time. For instance, in the slasher subgenre, both the killers and the victims have shared common characteristics since the very first film. On the other hand, the torture porn subgenre of horror changes, but does not adapt to the audience. Although new concepts are fashioned, there is not a correlation to the fears of the audience. Specifically in the zombie subgenre, particularly when examining the origin of zombies, it is clear that directors and film writers adapt to fit both the desires and the fears of their audiences.
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.
Many of the major studio horror films are marketed towards a PG-13 through R audience. The genre has evolved over time where it is at a point that the blockbusters seem to follow a basic formula that is easily replicated. Jump scares and loud noises are common throughout many of these films, which tend to be released in mass as the years start to reach the autumn season. Sequels and reboots to the major horror franchises are also commonplace for studios, one such example is the Saw franchise. Independent horror films differ from this strategy. Typically they rely on either a unique character or focus on building elements of suspense. They don’t often rely on jump scares, rather opting for an emphasis on acting, direction, editing, and a cohesive script. One such example of a successful independent horror film would be El Orfanato, which New Line Cinema eventually purchased the rights of the film after its release in American