Similar Media Works[1]

Similar Media Works

Emmaline Gordon and Lucy Clark.

Genre. Genre: a category of artistic composition as in music or literature marked by a distinctive style, form or content. Horror: an intense painful feeling of repugnance and fear. Intense dislike, something unpleasant ugly or disagreeable, intense, nervous, depression or anxiety.

Our opening sequence would be typically classed as that of a horror. Another genre often linked with horror are thrillers, often psychological or scientific. The psychological plays on the inside emotions and fears of it’s audience. A lot of the drama may be unseen which allows the audience to imagine in their own mind and feed each persons individual needs to be scared. The definition changes to a narrative that makes the characters exposed to danger on a mental level rather than a physical one. Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their perpertrator (which is often the case in typical action horrors), but rather are reliant on their mental resources. A good example of a psychological horror is “Hide and Seek”. Throughout the film the perpertrator is not physically evident for the viewer, which forces them to create an image in their mind and the unknown creates fear and suspense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Kc7UEgOjE Other types of horror genres are “Demonic Horror” which suggests horror due to evil forces existing that were constantly undermining the quality of existence. The evil forces often could remain mere spiritual presences. This is an example of films such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Omen. Another Horror genre is “Body Horror”, in which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction of the body. Such works may deal with disease, decay, mutilation. An example of this genre is “The Thing”, in which Members of an American scientific outpost find themselves battling an alien organism capable of perfectly imitating its victims. They soon discover that this task will be harder than they thought, as they don't know which members of the team have already been assimilated and their paranoia threatens to tear them apart.

Emmaline Gordon & Lucy Clark

Generic Signifiers Generic Signifiers are objects or symbols that are stereotypically associated with a specific genre. For example; blood, death, darkness and weapons etc would be automatically associated with the horror genre. These symbols help to set up a theme or atmosphere that the audience is, to a certain extent, familiar with so they automatically relate an object such as a knife to death, danger or other such things related to horror movies. The weapons that we always see in a horror is commonly a knife. It’s an everyday weapon item and is normally used in a completely different context to how it would normally be used in day-to-day life. Stereotypically, a knife is used for cutting objects, eating food with and buttering bread. So by using it to inflict harm, the audience could imagine the pain inflicted on the victim because they use this object nearly everyday. Another Generic Signifier is a horror film is darkness. Darkness symbolises the unknown, which is often scarier than being able to see what is happening in the light. The main antagonist, could use the darkness to their advantage, so the audience can relate to the feeling of the victim. This is the unknown because most people sense a scared or weary feeling when walking alone in the dark.

Jo Roberts & Roisee Fenner

Emmaline Gordon and Rosiee Fenner.

Audience Presumptions

Audience make automatic presumptions according to the genre of the film they are viewing. When presented with a horror film the viewer tends to expect typical styles and conventions such as violence and death. A stereotypical horror film often includes a victim presented as innocent - and often female as they are seen as more vulnerable and in danger- as well as a villain who generally inflicts the horror. Some films play on the aspect of the unknown, to create a sense of fear and emphasise the ambiguity, meaning the audience has to make their own assumptions as to what happens, the personalities of the characters etc. Other stereotypes and common aspects of horror movies include: Intimidating male voiceover, “damsel in distress” character, shrill screams, blood, isolation, ambiguity of character personalities etc. An example of this is Scream, the opening shows many of these features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFCStOMqpfk

Rosiee Fenner & Lucy Clark

Target Audience

Rosiee Fenner and Lucy Clark.

Stereotypically, the audience of a horror film is predominantly male, although this may depend on the content of the film itself. They are also traditionally aimed at young couples, which mirrors the main features of the film in question, where the male often has to protect the female. Depending on the theme on which the horror is based on, be it psychological, thriller, brutality. Psychological thrillers are usually more complex than just a just plainly brutal horror and may require a slightly older audience to fully under stand the context where as horrors such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” are more popular in a slightly younger audience and often not as much complex understanding is required. A horrors target audience is also influence by the films rating certificate. An 18 rating would be more aimed towards a young adult rather than a teenager, where as a 15 would be aimed towards the older teenager.

Emmaline Gordon

By Emmaline Gordon and Jo Roberts, Rosiee Fenner and Lucy Clark

Storylines, Settings and Characters Typically in all horror films there is a main protagonist who will often “survive” until the end of the film, and an antagonist who generally causes the drama. For example; the main protagonist in Halloween is Laurie Strode whose brother Michael Myers, escapes from a mental institution, comes to find his baby sister. Michael would be the antagonist or perpetrators because he kills anyone that stands in his way and inflicts the drama upon the characters. Many horror films are set during the night because the dark is typically scarier and more dangerous than the day. In the film Donnie Darko, the meetings with Frank the Rabbit and the things he makes Donnie do are during the night and the viewer is more tense because of this. The dark brings an element of the unknown, as things are easily hidden in the dark. Also a popular setting for horrors are isolated areas such as the country side, or an undiscovered warehouse or cellar. In films such as The Strangers, the location for the drama is an everyday house – to create comfort and familiarity. Then when the perpetrator arrives and the attack begins this complete contrast leaves the audience feeling un-easy emotions and helpless. However the settings for these homes are also often isolated, this is effective on the audience as it makes them feel again as though there is no escape for the victim and inflicts an even deeper sense of fear.

Jo Roberts.

Technical Codes Many horror films make use of jerky, quick shots to create an air of mystery to them, due to the fact the viewer can’t make out exactly what is happening. Another key feature is the stereotypical high pitched eerie backing music made use of in many horror films; quite often it is a piano playing and builds up in volume and pitch as you get closer to the climax moment. The film “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” makes use of this kind of music in its opening sequence as the credits come up and the medical examiner is looking up at the window, to build suspense and captivate the audience/.

Emmaline Gordon & Jo Roberts.

History of Horror The 1960s horror movies were very different from those that preceded it, in that they made use of soft, low lighting and bought an air of erotica to the genre. They were strictly X Adult Only and were very camp, with emphasis put on female characters being in distress and being seduced by mythical creatures, such as vampires. The 1970s horror films were very different and reflected the grim and dejected feel of the decade. It was also during this time that horror movies, previously demoted to B grade, were invested in again and became big budget films. The films started to deal with contemporary issues, and started to address psychological fears. Fear of children and child birth, reincarnation and evil children were popular storylines. Also, killer animals were a big hit. Films were produced, such as ‘Jaws’ and ‘The Exorcist’, with ‘The Exorcist’ voted scariest film of all time. The 1980s horror films produced new energy, and used special effects editors. Film producers tried to create sequences that has never been done before. Films were ‘slasher’ films that terrified the audience through suggestion. For example, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ was produced in 1984. The 1990s horror movies became psychological thrillers. Pacing the plot, representing characters and manipulating shock mechanisms of the audience. Intelligent horror was provided and became a big hit when ‘Seven’ was made in 1955. Set in a modern city, a serial killer was on the loose. This gave the audience the chance to think about who he was and the plot behind the storyline, therefore being a intelligent horror. The 2000s horror films hit a recession after the 9/11 attacks on New York. They found it hard to create a horror film that didn’t relate to the attacks. The government tried to ban horror in order for world peace. Psychology used the audience and a minimalist approach was used. ‘Final Destination’ was then produced in the early 2000s.

Lucy Clark & Jo Roberts.

Exorcism of Emily Rose This film makes good use of the typical music found in this genre. At the very start of the scene, all the audience can see if a black screen, slowly followed by some quite high pitched music. This denotes that the film is quite weary and scary, as high pitched and slow toned music is commonly found in horror films. They have used a ‘fading’ effect so that the white screen appears slowly, increasing its purity. This could give off the idea that the film is innocent, because white is quite a pure and clean colour, which immediately puts the audience on edge because they are fearful for the girl named “Emily” whose name is being called out. By using a completely blank screen when the screaming is going on, you increase the tension the viewer feels because they cannot see what’s happening to cause this. The film makes use of mainly dark colours or black, which again connotes that something bad has happened. This colour features regularly in horror films because its very bleak and can be seen as mirroring the situation. The first shot is a wide establishing shot, showing the viewer where they are, but is also quite ambiguous in the sense that there is nothing that gives any hint of where in the world they actually are. All you see is a lone house set amongst fields, which is used effectively to cause nervousness due to it being a relatively normal setting but also eerie. Another feature typical of a horror movie is the weather matching the scene; the Exorcism of Emily Rose is set during the winter, with snow on the ground and the sky grey. The snow could be seen as the innocence of the central character, a young girl, and the grey the bleakness of the situation. A young girl is often the victim in horror films because the audience feels more empathy or more fear for them than that of a male character, playing on the idea of men being stronger and more able to look after themselves than women. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Lkwirek8M&feature=player_embedded

Lucy Clark

The Strangers The film begins with flashing lights for a few seconds. This confuses the audience automatically and creates an uncomfortable feeling for the eyes. This is straight away a hint, that the film about to be watched will not be a relaxing one. Confusion is a factor regularly played on in this genre, and the flashing lights add to this because your eyes cannot adjust fully or get the full picture. The titles and production company logo make use of the colour red, a negative colour often linked in with blood and violence. By using this colour the audience are automatically set up for the events of the film, and tension begins to build up, before any actual footage is shown. The credits, however, are in orange, which is unexpected in a horror film. Orange is typically a “happy” and “warm” colour, so by using it here, it adds to the confusion felt earlier on. There is a male voice over, deep in tone, as is usual in a film of this genre. By using a deep male voice, the viewer is put on edge and becomes fearful, and by using a serious tone, the audience is anticipating what is to come. The backing noise, if listened to closely, is based around high pitched screams and interaction, which all stops when the male voice addresses the victims personally, creating a sense of dread. It is also the first time the audience is aware of who is to be targeted. As the flashing ends the camera is tracking alongside some large bright white houses. White is usually used as a sign of innocence creating a sinister feel to the scene right from the start, because you instantly get the impression that the victims live there and that the tracking represents the person responsible for their fate. In another shot of these houses, you get to see the surroundings, and can see that\t it is blue sky in daylight, something completely unexpected in a horror film, because stereotypically they are set at night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnLRdAuzeP0&feature=PlayList&p=38B1CF084BF91DD2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&

Lucy Clark

Donnie Darko The film “Donnie Darko” is also a psychological thriller, a sub genre of horror, which plays on peoples minds rather than showing explicit violence. The film begins with a black screen, and distant sounds of thunder, other than this, there is silence as the opening credits are shown. This leaves the opening ambiguous, the audience is left to guess what the opening scene or camera shot will be. Thunder is also quite an ominous form of weather, and so the viewer instantly expects something to happen. The film instantly grabs the audience’s attention by having an establishing shot of a figure laying in the road, with the camera panning around it. You’re not instantly aware of whether it is male or female, dead or alive, which adds to the ambiguity and confusion. The camera is still panning as the figure sits up and it remains at a medium shot for around five seconds, then turns, and the dull lighting means that it is difficult to see any real detail of the face, until he smiles, the first time the audience sees the figure as a real person, almost interacting with the audience, though eye contact is not made with the camera. The entire opening is very dimly lit, which creates an early morning feel, and works well with the quietness, giving a sense of isolation and coldness, staying in keeping with the conventions of the genre. Throughout the opening, it seems to be getting gradually lighter, perhaps symbolising the change from darkness and fear into a more “safe” daylight. The figure wears what appear to be pajama trousers, seemingly completely out of place, and leaving its significance to the film unclear. Also, the white T-Shirt is often used to convey an image of purity, simplicity and innocence, which is reflected in the character’s personality throughout the film . The character’s hair is untidy, and adds to the lost and confused mood of the scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnKG8C-svaM&feature=player_embedded

Lucy Clark