Until 1996, American horror films had become disgustingly sad, desperately looking for a kick-start, yawn-filled predictability was the best we could expect. Then finally, we were able to leap out of our seats and gawp at Scream. It’s witty, clever, dangerous and fresh. With that giving hope to the horror movie genre, it was adhered by an amazing sequel. Who can forget the amazing one time prequel to the stunning trilogy of scream? Back in 1996 it came to haunt us… The brilliant director as we know of, Wes Craven; the maker of ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’; the horror movie maestro; the punch-back ultimate thriller; the complete package to your nightmare, came forward with the horrendous starter to what became as the invention of slasher genre film, not forgetting that it was a major box office success. SCREAM…. What more can I say, the title says it all. From start to finish the velocity of your heart never stops as a result your eyes will be chained with the screen. You will find yourself hunched up in the corner furthest away from the T.V screen without realizing that craven has yet made himself another victim of his movie…… and yet you’re forced to give away and let the suspense gobble you up. The intensity is just terrific, petrifying and devastating. Watch it, if you can…..If not…..“Then it’s a DEATHWISH”. The stunning premise is simply a young girl’s battle for survival against a brutal, retchless killer. Who, not for one second will let you take your eyes away from the screen. He stalks us, makes us feel the pain and not knowingly, he makes us scream for our life. It’s definitely not a setback, relax and enjoy kind of film but rather the opposite, in a good way. A bravura opening five minutes winds the tension up brillian... ... middle of paper ... ...reatened and attacked by the movie’s murderer. It’s done expertly well, the cinematography and sound makes for a great introduction to the movie. There are three don’ts to this movie; DON’T ANSWER THE PHONE; DON’T OPEN THE DOOR; DON’T TRY TO ESCAPE. This movie will give you a blood-curdling experience on a terrifying rollercoaster ride. The gore and violence will churn your inner organs and will put you on the edge of a cliff. It’s spine-chilling, eye-popping…. what more do you want? I will hate for you to miss it. Those, whose penchant are horror films; you’re missing out on the complete nightmare. I’ve seen it 3 times and it still chills me in the most predictable scenes. Do not watch it alone, you’re in for a complete torture. God help you but no one is going to help you when you’re dead-locked with the movie. Remember craven is haunting us. It’s a DEATHWISH!!!
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.
Older films relied more on a sense of dread, rather than jump scares, to create horror films. As for the newest film, The Mummy will “adopt elements of James Cameron's Aliens. Just as that beloved sci-fi sequel blended a visceral amount of carnage with genuine terror, so too will the upcoming Mummy film deliver the scares in a gripping manner. Rather than rely quiet tension, the film will utilize terror that comes at you full force” (Schwerdtfeger, 2017). The recent films, such as The Mummy directed by Stephen Sommers, are action packed in hopes of delivering a film with the same storyline as before, but still offering entertainment and terror.
Since the release of George Melies’s The Haunted Castle in 1896, over 90,000 horror films have been made. However, none have been more frightening and influential than that of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Each a product of horror’s 1970’s and 80’s golden era, the films have a reputation of engulfing viewers in fear, without the use of masked killers, vampires, or other clichés. Instead, Kubrick and Spielberg take a different approach and scare audiences on a psychological level. The Shining and Jaws evoke fear through the use of three different film aspects: the use of a “danger” color, daunting soundtracks, and suspenseful cinematography.
Analysis of the Opening Sequences of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) and Wes Craven’s Scream (1996)
The film is quite gruesome and brutal in some parts. It is a film with
The horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible circumstances conceivable. King also points out that by watching horror movies we “may allow our emotions a free rein . . . or no rein at all.” (King, 784). According to psychiatrist James Schaller, by vicariously “experiencing contrived fears, a person develops a sense of competence over similar types of fears.” (Schaller). Horror films allow the viewer the opportunity to safely examine their fears safely and to the depth and extent they wish to do so. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 provides the opportunity for the viewer to consider a diverse range of fears, with a little humor thrown in for balance, from the safety of a darkened room, a comfortable seat and in less than 120 minutes.
Movies are a huge part of many Americans’ lives. Everyone has a particular genre that they like the most or a particular actor. There are many genres to choose from such as action, romance, drama, musical, documentary, horror, comedy, and children’s movies. This is always attached with the cliché ‘Everyone’s a critic.’ Movies will only want to be seen if someone else says that the movie is good. They trust that advice so that they will spend anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours watching a motion picture. This form of entertainment is driven by the viewer. Horror movies however, are designed by the same chronology: introduction, conflict climax, resolution. Horror movies also have many actors that do not show up in the sequel. The actors also are very unrecognizable because of the possibility that these actors are killed off in the movie as it progresses. Horror movies cause people to do many things no other type of movie can deliver. Horror movies make viewers jump, they make them scream, and they make the viewers want to cover their eyes. All of these aspects make horror movies a heart-pounding and enjoyable form of entertainment.
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.
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.
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
Are you a fan or horror? Or are you the one that hides under a blanket during a movie? Intense scenes, a little blood and gore mixed with creepy characters and monsters, is what makes a good horror movie, television show or even a book. Many of us wonder why we are attracted so much to these horror elements like foreshadowing, suspense, mystery and imagination within a book, movie and or tv show. There are actual characteristics of this horror related theme that gets our attention, and makes us want to crave more of the story. But the fear, obsession and power is what sets the tone for the monster realm, in both fictional and nonfictional people and characters.
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)
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...
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.