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"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest
and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”-H.P Lovecraft
What is Horror?
Horror films aim to trigger an emotional response from their audience. They do this by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often have scenes which may startle the audience through supernatural or macabre (disturbing and horrifying). Horror films also usually overlap the thriller genre.
The History of the Horror Genre: Film
• The horror film genre was birthed in 1880s in silent shorts depicted monsters and vampires. However, the popularity rose in the 1970s with films such as The Exorcist, Jaws, and Rosemary’s Baby.
Nosferatu (1921)
The History of the Horror Genre: Literature
• 1764 Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
• 18th & 19th Century Gothic Horror: –Frankenstein By Mary Shelley –Edgar Allen Poe–Dracula by Bram Stoker–The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The History of the Horror Genre: Literature Continued
• 20th Century – H.P Lovecraft –M. R. James redefined the ghost story– Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am
Legend influence an entire genre of apocalyptic zombie fiction.
– In 1974, Stephen King published Carrie and became “The King” of horror.
Horror Sub-genre• Body horror – shows realistic obliteration or
deterioration of the body, for example, the Human Centipede (2010)
• Comedy horror - this combines both themes of comedy and horror fiction, for example Beetlejuice (1988)
• Gothic horror - contains elements from both gothic and horror fiction, for example The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• Kiddie horror – this is aimed at a younger audience that only play on common fears . It contains less gore, and usually has a young protagonist, for example Monster House (2006)
• Monster movie – contains creature or monsters, for example Cloverfield (2008)
• Natural horror - contains mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and animal and plants that are usually harmless, into killers, for example The Birds (1963)
• Psychological horror contains supernatural and ghosts and uses such things as fears, beliefs and eerie music to create suspense and tension, for example The Ring (2002)
• Science Fiction horror - contains murderous aliens, mad scientists, and or experiments gone wrong, for example Alien (1979)
• Slasher film - involves a psychopathic killer who goes round killing a series of different people using a knife or axe, for example Scream 1996)
• Splatter film - focus on the gore, usually contains a lot of special effects and a lot of blood splat, for example Saw (2004)
• Zombie film - contains creatures who either corpses or mindless humans, for example The Walking Dead
Conventions of a Horror Genre
Setting - Isolated or Urban
atmosphere all community
- – dark streets, ghost town, narrow alleyways-Abandoned houses, insane
asylum-Cabins, barns, subways, underground tunnels, graveyards, dark woods etc
Conventions of a Horror Genre
Types of Characters1. Protagonist – hero or
villain2. Villain – monster,
alien, serial killer3. Immoral teenagers4. sinister children5. Police officer6. Demons, ghosts,
zombies, stalkers
Conventions of a Horror Genre
Themes1. Good vs. evil2. Religion3. Supernatural4. Nightmare5. Insanity6. Revenge7. Darkness8. Envy9. Murder10.Mass murder
The Question
“Why are horror audiences
attracted by what,
typically (in every day
life), should (and would)
repel them?, or “How can
horror audiences find
pleasure in what by
nature is distressful and
unpleasant?”
The Argument
Carroll argues that it is not a
pleasure in the
grotesqueness of the
violence but rather solving
the mystery that surrounds
the violence. Specifically,
the mystery of the monster
and the way that mystery
is worked into the plot.
The Pain of Suspense
“The pain of suspense, and the
irresistible desire of satisfying our
curiosity, when once raised, will
account for our eagerness to go quite
through an adventure, though we
suffer actual pain during the whole
course of it. We rather chose to suffer
the smart pang of violent emotion
(fear) than the uneasy craving of an
unsatisfied desire.”
The Monster: Pattern of Discovery
• The monster story follows this pattern
1. Proved: The monster must first be proved
to exist.
2. Disclosed: The monster is made known
(often by one character at a time)
3. Discoveries: The audience/protagonist
must discover its identity, origin, purpose,
and astounding powers and properties.
4. Confirmation: something is proven true or
false
1. ProveAt the beginning of horror
stories, the monster is
generally unknown.
Strange events occur that
suggest something sinister,
but it has yet to be proven.
Once the monster’s
existence is proven, the
reader moves to the next
stage.
The first stage that the audience must endure is to
be led through the process of
proving that the monster is real.
2. Disclosed: make known
At this point, the
protagonist and reader
come face to face with
the monster and minor
characters begin to
believe as well that the
monster exists. More
information about the
monster is released.
The second stage that the audience must endure is to
be led through the process of
being exposed to the monster.
3. Discovery
• The origin of the
monster
• The identity of the
monster
• The purposes of the
monster
• And the powers of the
monster
The third stage that the audience must endure is to
be led through the process of
discovering characteristics
and purposes of the monster.
4. Confirmation
The final stage of the
monster pattern is
that the protagonist’s
(and reader’s)
hypothesis of the
monster is confirmed.
The final stage that the audience must endure is to
be led through the process of
proving what they believed about
the monster
Final Words:
“ The disclosure of the existence of the
horrific being and of it’s properties is
the central source of pleasure in the
genre… the appetite is whetted by
the prospect of knowing the
unknowable… this desire will not be
satisfied unless the monster defies
our conception of nature which
demands that it probably engender
some measure of repulsion.”
The viewer/rea
der will remain on board until the close of the book or
movie to satisfy their
curiosity.
The Plot Pattern of Discovery
It’s all about Curiosity…
Carroll argues…
“It [horror story] engages its
audience by being involved in
processes of disclosure,
discovery, proof explanation,
hypothesis, and confirmation.”
The Ring
After the mysterious death of her
cousin, Rachel Keller finds a video
that kills people within seven
days after watching it. She begins
to investigate the video and
discovers that a girl named
Samara is behind it.
DisclosureThe director allows
for hints and secrets to be revealed as the story progresses.
dis·clo·sure: the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.
“The disclosure of the existence of the horrific being and of its properties is the central
source of pleasure in this genre”
Katie Embry and her friend Becca are having a sleepover in Katie's home. Katie recounts the story of a supposedly cursed videotape. Anyone who watches the tape gets a mysterious phone call and then dies seven days later. Katie reveals that she had watched the tape the previous week. The phone rings, startling the girls, but it is only Katie's mom. After talking with her mother, Katie returns upstairs and dies.
DisclosureThe director allows
for hints and secrets to be revealed as the story progresses.
dis·clo·sure: the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.
“The disclosure of the existence of the horrific being and of its properties is the central
source of pleasure in this genre”
•Due to Katie’s face is distorted, her cousin Rachel is asked to investigate. •Rachel discovers that the people who saw the video with Katie died on the same night and same time as her. •Rachel finds that each victim has a distorted face, just like Katie’s. •Rachel travels to a cabin that each victim had been at and watches a video. At the end of the video, a girl says, “Seven days”•A fly from the video tape manages to leave the TV screen•After viewing the tape, Rachel begins to experience nose bleeds, nightmares, and surreal situations.
Discovery…“Horror stories are often protracted series of
discoveries: first the reader learns of the monster’s existence, then some characters do, then some more characters do…”
dis·cov·ery: to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown)
•Rachel investigates the tape more and finds out about a horse ranch owned by Anna Morgan and her husband Richard and their adoptive daughter Samara. •The horses at the Morgan ranch went mad and drowned themselves, which supposedly caused Anna, a horse-lover, to become depressed and commit suicide•After the Morgan’s adopted Samara, Anna soon complained about gruesome visions that only happened when Samara was around, so both were sent to a mental institution.•Rachel and Noah go to the barn and discover the attic where Samara was kept by her father.
Explanation/proof…The explanation segment of the movie is the moment when the
monster’s behavior is explained. Logic is finally applied to what appears to be illogical.
ex·plain make clear the cause or reason of
•When they enter the attic, they find a tree burnt to the wall•When they return to the cabin, they learn that the cabin was built on the well. •Rachel falls in and finds Samara's skeleton. •She has a vision, which reveals Anna suffocated Samara and pushed her into the well. However, Samara did not die from suffocation and survived in the well for seven days.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis comes at the end of the
movie. A hypothesis is the
protagonist’s guess at what the
monster is going to do in order to stop
it.
hy·poth·e·sis
a mere assumption or guess.
The Ring
Rachel hypothesizes that Samara will stop killing now that her
body has been found in the well, and her spirit can now rest in peace.
Confirmation
The confirmation comes when there is proof to show that
the hypothesis was accurate or inaccurate. For
example, if the protagonist believed the monster was
able to be destroyed by water then proceeded to throw
water on it. The confirmation would be the death of the
monster by the water. Sometimes, to purposefully
manipulate the emotions of the audience, the
hypothesis may be wrong…
con·firm; to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify
The Ring
• When Rachel attempts to tell her son that they are safe now, her son tells her that Samara never sleeps, and his nose begins to bleed.
• Rachel runs to her boyfriend that watched the video with her and finds him dead.
• She recalls the footage of Samara in the mental hospital and realizes that Samara was truly evil.