Is Jaws a Horror Movie? First, I will intend to take you on a brief journey through the horror genre and the conventions that have been associated. Second I will show you how these conventions are used in the film Jaws. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the horror genre. To get started we are going to start with the first era or as it’s called the silent era. This era was based on monsters such as Frankenstein (1910), Dracula (1912) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). The horror was all about the make up and the clever use of lighting, to add thrills. The first conventions were that we see are the ‘revealing of the monsters’ and the use of ‘isolated houses’ where the monsters are based. This left audiences feeling panicky. These films had to rely on the music, yet they still lack the big horror genre fear factor. Through the talkies little changed, they still had the monsters, the same monsters, the same storylines, but the Atomic Phase of the 1950s soon had a impact. Sci-fi and hammer movies took centre stage, Godzilla (1954) and The Blob (1958) box office hits. From here we moved on to the witchcraft and the undead such Peeping Tom (1960) and The Night of Dead (????) . New films brought with them new conventions. Zombie films trapped the audience, claustrophobic attack scenes when the zombies came closer towards the camera. Horror finally became horror with the slasher movie era. They became realistic but also they became more stylised. Based on a real life tragic such as, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978) and Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) screens where awash with blood. This is where we see male psycho, the unwilling hero and teenage trouble. There are also soul survivors that carry the seque... ... middle of paper ... ...horror so it is a bit of both but compared to the horrors that we have now with all the blood and gore special effects that make it better and the 3d its nothing like the horror’s today. Compared to the final destination 3D jaws is not even scary because of the 3D it makes it better with the way that if someone has an axe or something chucked at them it comes out of the screen at you and it comes towards you therefore you think it’s going to hit you which makes you get scared and it makes the film more jumpy so there for I don’t think jaws is a horror even if it was in its time compared to now day films I say it is a thriller. My opinion is that Spielberg is still in his twenties when he made this film, this shows his talent for creating suspense, delivering shocks and defusing situations through humour and this shows he is building up to a great climax.
The horror genre of film captives the frightfulness of individual fear, horror is the only genre that is meant captive the terror of the audience. The horror- the genre has been around well over one hundred- years there has been an extension of different types of horror and how the audience perceives horror. Many would even argue that horror films often reflect the fear of society in that certain time period. The evolution of horror reflects the evolution of society’s fear.
Max Brooks explains in his article ‘’The Movies That Rose From The Grave’’ [2006], that zombies and the supernatural forces have impacted and have become popular in the world today. The first main idea that Brooks points out is the way society has changed the meaning and glimpse for the supernatural creatures like zombies causing them to become increasingly popular. To support this zombie movies have changed from darkness and mystery to violent and bloodier scenes therefore making them more prevailing. The second main idea that is discussed by Brooks is how the media has helped to increase the popularity of zombies, vampires, ghosts. Highlighted by the author particularity both ‘’resident evil,
The tension is constant, there are thrills, there are terrifying scenes, there is humour, there's even a cover-up. There are few horror films in which you'll so identify with potential victims. Jaws had all the conventions, the killer, the hero and the death sequences, the only convention it lacked was blood and gore, certainly when compared to modern day horrors. If you compare Saw (2004) to Jaws, Saw uses a multitude of special effects not available to Spielberg. As a result I think Saw is more intense and scary. I find Saw horrific and appauling, whereas I found Jaws tense and gory and still classed as horror genre.
A zombie is a monster that has been a horror movie legacy for many years now. Zombie is defined as “a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc.” Zombies haven’t always been the creature that we see today though. George A. Romero merged the old-forgotten zombie into the standardized version we see today. James Conroy writes, “With his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, George Romero brought the concept of the slow-moving, flesh-eating zombie into mainstream American culture.” (1) Night of the Living Dead not only set an iconic image for zombies, but it also brought issues you would not normally see in a Zombie film, dealing with race and gender stereotypes.
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and his other film Jurassic Park (1993) both contain a major theme of what makes a successful hero in society. In Jaws, police chief Martin Brody must successfully eliminate the threat of a Great White Shark from attacking Amity Island. In Jurassic Park, billionaire John Hammond creates a theme park where cloned dinosaurs come alive, hoping that his ideal resort becomes a major success. Through the use of film style elements, such as editing and mise-en scene, Spielberg develops Brody’s character as a person who must learn from his past mistakes in order to become a successful hero while Spielberg creates Hammond’s character as a man who only sees himself as a hero of science and technology without realizing his attempted control over nature is what leads him to his ultimate failure.
The first stage of the genre cycle is called the primitive stage. During this stage of the cycle, the genre of horror is very new. Filmmakers are trying to decide what makes a horror film a horror film, while audience are figuring out what they should expect every time they see this kind of film. For example, Todd Browning’s Dracula is the basic, stripped down blueprint for many monster-horror films today. It features the “bad guy” accompanied by the “good guy”. After several horrifying events, Van Helsing kills the vampire, Dracula, and good prevails, again. Thus, establishing that in horror films no matter how grue...
...here the dark can conceal many things, such as a killer. Another thing that I noticed was the lack of special effects. During the shower scene, besides the music score, the only sounds were the screams of Marion and the stabbing sounds. The knife also did not touch her flesh but it is instead left to the imagination to the viewer to put together the scene. This is a very sharp contrast to what modern horror films do. Often, more modern horror films will use a lot of special effects to make it actually look like a head was hacked off or that a knife went right through someone's chest. While this does look very gory, more often than not this cheapens the overall effect of it when compared to the execution of the stabbing done in this scene. Rather than the intended effect of looking horrifying, it often is poorly executed and at best is cheesy and maybe a bit bloody.
A Film Review on Jaws [IMAGE]"Jaws (Style A)" Movie PosterBased on the novel by Peter Benchley, the film sees New York cop, Martin Brody (played by Schneider is investigating a series of deaths that bear all the blame. evidence of a shark attack. This was originally rated as a PG but when? re-released in a 12. A great opening scene showing Chrissy ‘the stereotypical blonde’. being devoured by the unknown killer, puzzles most reviewers in the question.
A girl runs frantically through the woods trying to escape an axe-wielding villain. The defenseless victim suddenly trips and collapses to the ground. The villain laughs wickedly as he lifts the axe above his head. The girl releases a final scream as the weapon quickly ends her life, causing the audience to go silent as they watch the villain drag away the lifeless body. Death, blood, guts, suspense, screaming, and terror are just a few things to expect when watching a modern-day horror film.
The Scary Movie trilogy is a spoof of scary and not so scary films. The first of the three movies to date was released in 2000. The movie was based on the scary movies that were released at that time. These movies included: Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Sixth Sense, and The Blair Witch Project. As the movies progressed they seemed to add parodies of not so scary movies such as Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible II. Even though these movies did not seem to fit into the title, they were still creatively incorporated into the second movie. Then, there is the highly anticipated third movie with spoofs of all the movies that have made it big recently. So, of course this seemed to be the best of the three featuring The Ring, 8 Mile, Signs, The Matrix, and even an "appearance" by the king of pop, Michael Jackson.
In the title sequence the music starts of very quiet and slow and as the music speeds up it builds anxiety within the audience because they want to know what going to happen. It also builds a horrific tension within the audience; also it shows the camera from the shark’s point of view in the sea which is an effective way to build tension because the audience...
This is because of the use of oblique camera angels and the use of dark lightening and shadows within the film. The film also contains violence and science fiction which most horror movies relate to as the monster or creature is the cause this force or experiment. The ending of the film is very interesting it is not a typical
Nowadays, people are still enticed by fear, they have a curiosity for the supernatural, evil and frightening. Although modern day society is supposedly politically correct, we are still an immoral society and many of us would treat a creature like Frankenstein’s creation or a vampire like Dracula like a monster. In this way, the novels still have social significance.
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.
In both, the feelings of dread and fear are experienced simultaneously. The goal for these films is to scare and thrill the audience. Horror can thrill and Thrillers can horrify. Another similarity is the dramatic context. Characters are confronted by some conflict and usually flee from the turbulent situation. In the end, the characters end up being forced to confront the conflict. Both genres contain some level of suspense and mystery. Overall, horror and thriller are two genres that are easily mistaken for each other because of the overlapping