Sleepy Hollow Poster Analysis

The title of the poster is positioned at the top of the page, and is therefore is one of the first things which catches the audience’s eye. The text font is representative of an old fashioned letter, which adds to the setting of the film itself. The text itself is not bold, and is imperfect, which adds ro the mystery of the film which is initially created by the title. By colouring the title in red, this connotes to the stereotypes of blood, death and danger, all of which are particularly relevant within the horror genre. Though, since there is a close companionship of the male and female displayed in the centre of the poster, the colour may also symbolise their love and perhaps lust also.

The colour scheme includes black, red and white, all of which are very basic yet cold colours. This represents, through the black, the dark and evil essence of the horror nature within the film, yet the white is seemingly used to enhance the two protagonists, and highlights their faces. The colour white is seemingly the opposite of evil, and represents virginity aspects, hence related to the ‘good’ within the film, and on the poster. The red however is used to add minor details of fear, danger, love and possibly blood. These colours are all commonly used within horror movie posters since they successfully portray fear, anxiety and danger.

Since giving a subjective gaze, it is easiest to relate to the two central characters, which are perceived as the protagonists. The female is sporting a particularly stereotypical innocence, since she has large eyes, blonde long hair and a youthful look, which makes her a vulnerable target for the villain within the film. In addition to this, it could be argued that these features make her a possible final girl within the film, since these features could show her as virginal and pure. The second character, however, has more of a harsh expression on his face, which suggests to the audience that he shall be the main protagonist in the piece. This character also gives an insight into the era of the film since his high neck scarf and jacket suggests that this film is not set within the 21^st century. The third and final character is the headless man on a black horse, who we can assume to be the antagonist of the film. The audience is only able to see his silhouette, which adds to the further fear of the unknown. He is seemingly surrounded by fog and a graveyard which creates the assumption that he will be killing people. This is very effective horror movie iconography.

Essay on Paranormal Activity 3

Following the other 2 paranormal films, Paranormal Activity 3 is interpretation of a ‘real life’ everyday environment, which seemingly gets distorted by the influence of poltergeists and paranormal sprits and events. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman made in 2011, this film, unlike the other 2, is based in 1988 and takes a look at what cases the paranormal activity within the previous 2 films. This enables the audience to already feel a connection with the two main characters, Katie and Christy, and therefore, to some extent sympathize with them. This relationship also allows the audience to then make assumptions throughout the film themselves, though the film still does not fail to shock its audience.

To begin with it could be argued that this film follows Todorov’s narrative structure perfectly, however it takes its own spin on things towards the end of the film. At the beginning of the film a clear equilibrium is set, and the audience is able to relate to the recap of the previous two films. This recap allows the audience to know that the children we see are actually the adults in the previous films, since it takes a step back in time. The first footage we see this time shift is seemingly of Katie’s birthday party; the typical home footage you would relate to any normal, American, suburban family. This is known as the equilibrium. However, in this equilibrium, the audience is made aware of Katie’s younger sister, Christy, taking to ‘herself’, which we later find out to be the poltergeist named ‘Toby’. It could be argued that there was in fact no equilibrium in the first place. Following this there is a disruption to the calm; which could be the first glimpse of the spirit during the earthquake. In addition to this, Christy alerts her mother that she cannot tell her any of ‘Toby’s’ secrets or she will be in trouble. This not only alerts the mother but also in fact alerts the audience that Toby is an evil spirit. This not only makes the characters inside the film aware of the disruption, but more importantly involves the audience as well. The recognition of this is when the characters set up all of the cameras, and continuous paranormal events occur. According to Todorov’s theory, following the recognition is the attempt to repair the disruption, however this does not really happen within Paranormal Activity 3, since the spirit in fact defeats the mother and step father, and takes over the innocent minds of Katie and Christy. This is ultimately the new equilibrium.

Since Paranormal Activity is seemingly part of a sequel of films, to an extent, the audience expects it to follow the codes and conventions of the previous films. For examples, all films use ‘home filmed’ footages, which seemingly makes it more realistic and believable to the audience. This also makes it easier to scare the audience, since there is no real use of music build up that is often evident within other horror, therefore each paranormal event is very abrupt and is therefore very jumpy. However, unlike typical horror films, in all of the Paranormal Activity films, including Paranormal Activity 3, the evil spirit seems to be victorious in the end, leading the audience to feel very uneasy at the end of the film. This is created a daunting feeling since the use of home-made footage makes it feel like the events are in fact following a true story.

Along with following the similar conventions of the previous films, Paranormal Activity 3 also has to follow similar technical conventions which are used generally among horror films. The use of home-made footage makes the plot seem more realistic, therefore when there is a ‘jump’ the audience is able to be shocked more effectively. The final scene is also set in darkness, therefore the surrounding and sounds all are incorporated to create fear to the audience. Along with this there is an effective use of low key lighting and motivated lighting through the use of the handheld camera, which once again makes the film seem more realistic overall.

Within the history of horror, Paranormal Activity 3 doesn’t have a specific space, though it could be argued that it follows the conventions of the 1960’s obsession with Satanism, and therefore the influence of paranormal forces and activities. Although this is the case, ghost stories have become more popular within the 21^st century, following the likes of The Others and the Paranormal Activity films.

Since the film holds such as twist at the end, it is difficult to fit into Propps theory of character roles, since not all roles are used up. The film includes an obvious villain, Toby the paranormal force; though at the end of the film it could be argued that the Grandmother is also the villain, since she forces the children to team up with the evil itself. Also, she kills the children Mother, her own daughter, along with their step father as well. These two characters could be seen as the heroes throughout the film; however, unlike typical film conventions, both of the characters are murdered, therefore the theory is not relevant within this film.

In terms of binary opposition, there is a clear divide within Paranormal Activity 3. The audience is able to relate with the good, who is seemingly the natural, or in fact humans, against the evil who is Toby, the supernatural spirit. This relates to Strauss’ theory, however, the twist in the end means we also fear the Grandmother, who is a human, and therefore twists the theory itself.

In conclusion I feel that Paranormal Activity doesn’t follow all conventions religiously, unlike other films, and takes its own twist on the genre itself. I feel that this works effectively in order to create suspense and fear within the film itself. The audience is able to relate with the characters, due to the home made footage, which allows them to think about footage they may have made themselves.

Paranormal Activity 3 Trailer

House of Wax Film Analysis

Based on the 1953 version, House of wax is a modern interpretation of this classic, re made in 2005, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film focuses on a group of teenagers, who decide to take a camping trip in what seems to be the wrong area. Due to traffic they are not able to continue on with their journey and are forced to look for car parts after suffering from ‘random’ car troubles, within a deserted village. After wondering around the village, they discover that the village is in fact populated by corpses coated in wax, and these teenagers are seemingly going to be the new

additions. The film is classed as a horror-thriller, though it has elements of the typical slasher film, where a group of teenagers get stranded in an isolated area and gets slaughtered by the killer, one by one.

It can be argued that this film has all the conventions that perfectly follow Todorov’s theory of the films structure. To begin with, we see the teenagers, content with their everyday environment, known as the equilibrium. Examples of this within the movie itself include having a meal at a typical fast food venue, and talking around the camp fire. This would relate to the audience, since it is the typical actions of a group of teenagers, and therefore the audience would relate to this as being ‘normal’ and safe. Following this was the disruption of the equilibrium, this being the appearance of the ‘creepy’ car, or in fact when the teenager’s car is suddenly broken. This alerts the audience that something is not quite right, and therefore is a trigger for all the following actions and activities. The recognition of this within the actual movie would be when Carly Jones, the final girl, realises that the car she is sitting in was in fact the ‘creepy car’ which appeared on their campsite. This works as a trigger for all the following activities that occur, such as the realisation about the wax figures and the deaths of the fellow characters. The audience are then made aware that two of the characters, Carly and her brother, Nick are going to attempt to repair

the disruption. This is made clear by the house of wax eventually burning down. This symbolically resembles the death of all the wax figures and the two murderers themselves, since one was partially made of wax as well. This activity allows the audience to feel relaxed and therefore a new equilibrium is created within the film since the village is now destroyed.

Within horror films, there are many audience expectations which need to be met, one of these being the need for the audience to be shocks, scared and in some cases disgusted. All of these characteristics could be argued to be included within the film House of Wax, since it incorporates elements of a horror thriller and, as previously stated, slashers. The deaths within House of Wax are seemingly simplistic yet creative through the influence of the use of wax to cover each victims dying body. I feel the use of this creativity could be seen as a little unbelievable and unrealistic for the audience to imagine, however on the other hand, this use of creativity allows the audience to open their mind to the typically ‘unbelievably’ situations, and seemingly make them real. By seeing the deaths the audience does not have to use their imagination to piece together what has happened, by instead are shown the full brutality of the situation. This could be both positive and negative since it allows them to know directly what is happening and there is no confusion, however in some situations the greatest tool can be an individual’s mind and the fear of the unknown, which this seemingly doesn’t incorporate.

Following from the expectations within the plot, comes the technical expectations. The film uses a vast amount of low key lighting, since the majority is set at night time. This allows the use of candles to be very effective since it is the only source of hope within the house of wax itself. This then entwines the title of the film along with some of the props as well (candles, house of wax). In

addition to this, the film effectively uses background music in order to express tension and panic, depending on each situation within the scene. This allows the audience to feel the build-up of tension and therefore get involved with the plot itself.

It could be argued that House of Wax takes a prime spot within the ‘gorenography’ stage of the history of horror; a clear representative of this would be the death of Paige (Paris Hilton). Within this scene 2 deaths occur, the death of Blake and the death of Paige. The audience is only clear of Blake’s death after a 2 second shot of his body on the floor with a knife in his throat, which is seemingly contradictory to the next 3 or 4 minutes the audience sees of Paige running around in her underwear before then getting a pole through her head. It could be argued that therefore the audience is predominately male, and therefore enjoy seeing this, which supports Laura Mulvey’s theory on the male gaze. This therefore could prove that the audience enjoys seeing the ‘gory’ deaths of each of the characters, however its gore is not to the extent of films such as Hostel and Saw.

House of Wax does include some key roles within Propp’s theory of character roles, however not all of them are relevant within this film. The film includes 2 villains, Bo and Vincent, the killers

themselves, the hero, Nick, who rescue’s Carly and the helper, who is Carly herself. The fellow character’s do not hold any other important roles within the film, other than the companions of Carly and Nick themselves. The audience are lead to relate to Nick and Carly through their love and family bond, which proves that they will stick by one another.

In terms of binary opposition, there is a clear divide within House of Wax. The audience is able to relate with the good, the teenagers, and the evil, those making the Wax works, since it relates back to Strauss’ theory, as the audience can relate to the teenagers as being ‘known’ and therefore good, whereas the House of Wax is seemingly ‘unknown’ and seen as evil.

In conclusion I feel that House of Wax has many conventions of a typical horror film, as it makes has characters, the teenagers, which relate to the audience, and a clear villain. In addition to this it uses many technical codes and plot lines which are stereotypically used within a horror film, which seemingly will give the audience what they wanted to see, after hearing that this film is a horror. By sticking to the conventions, the audience may or may not be disappointed since it could be seen as predictable, however, it is living up to the name of a horror.

House Of Wax Trailer

1408 Film Analysis

Made in 2007 and directed by Mikael Håfström, 1408 is a film which focuses on Mike Enslin played by John Cusack, a writer who searches for paranormal activity within America’s most haunted hotels, which leads him to stay in room 1408 within the Dolphin Hotel. Although the hotel’s manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), warns him not to enter the room after the numerous suicides and natural deaths that have occurred there, Enslin’s stubbornness and disbelief in the supernatural takes over, and to his surprise, Olin warning wasn’t just for show. The film itself is based on a book, written by the famous horror Stephen King, therefore the audience is aware that this psychological horror will not disappoint.

In terms of following a narrative structure, it could be argued that 1408 both supports and challenges Todorov’s theory. Within the story there is a clear equilibrium set to establish the piece within the film, this would seemingly be Enslin’s everyday activities of staying in haunted hotels and going to the book signing. Although to an everyday citizen staying in haunted hotels would not be seen as ‘normal’, it is recognized that this is the case for Mike himself. Though, Olin’s warning about the room 1408 makes the audience alert that when he enters the room, and the door closes, this is the disruption. This is reinforced by the recognition, and the first act of paranormal activity within the room. Various acts of supernatural activity then reoccur throughout the film, which reinforced Todorov’s idea, and leads the audience to believe that the protagonist has to perform some kind of

activity, in order to stop the commotion. This is known as repairing the disruption and displayed by Enslin burning the room (destroying the supernatural). To the audience’s disbelief he is still alive and makes it out of the fire, along with destroying the room, which perfectly represents Todorov’s theory. Although this is the case, the audience is left on a cliff hanger since the remains of the voice recorder still haunts him and leaves a taste of what really happened within the room. This could suggest that really the supernatural was not defeated at all.

Todorov’s theory is representative of many film genres, not only horrors; however there are some expectations that need to be met. Within horror’s the audience expects to be scared, since this is the key within a successful horror movie, which I feel 1408 successfully portrays. Unlike slasher films, such as Saw or Hostel, 1408 is more psychological, therefore it scares the audience due to the build-up of fear and the unknown. It could be argued that the audience would want to see some kind of battle between good and evil, and in the case of 1408, this would be the supernatural vs humans. We are therefore keen to side with Enslin, the protagonist, since he is a representation of the audience itself. To some extent, the audience’s expectations of the film lie within Todorov’s narrative structure, therefore 1408 meet these.

In addition to expectations within the film story itself, the audience also expects certain technical qualities to be present within the film. Stereotypically, horror movies include a vast amount of low key lighting, deep, dark sounds and props which are symbolic to the situation, for example grave stones in a grave yard, skeletons and blood. The expectations within 1408 however differ from stereotypical horrors, since the horror is based around a seemingly ‘normal’ looking hotel room. This means that in the beginning of the horror, the audience are not alerted with all the typical

mechanisms, since the idea of story is that horror can be all around you, no matter how ‘normal’ something is. This matches it criteria as a psychological horror since it feeds of the fear of the unknown. As the paranormal events start occurring, however, there is more evidence of the build-up of low key lighting and sound, in order to add to the initial fear of the audience. By looking at this description of the horror 1408, it is difficult to say where its trademark year was within the history of horror genres, since unlike slasher films, they did not take off, or essentially have a climax.

Within the film, the audience is only really able to connect with the main character Mike Enslin, since he is who is on screen most often. Mike is clearly the protagonist since he is fighting the supernatural forces, which allows the audience to sympathise with him and encourage him to fight on. His character is seen to be quite arrogant at the start of the film, since he knows everything about the supernatural, therefore when he enters 1408, it could be argued that he deserved to be scared, in

order for him to finally believe. Although at the start he may not be favoured, as the film progressed, the audience learns more about his past and the death of his daughter, therefore when she dies in his arms, the audience is once again able to relate to Enslin, and adds a solemn feel to the film itself. The only other character the audience really gets to know is Olin, the manager of the hotel. His warning to Enslin is seemingly harsh, but fair, and although his exterior may be firm and fierce, it is clear that he is only trying to protect himself, the hotel and Enslin. He could be argued to therefore be a fellow protagonist against the room itself, known as the dispatcher in Propp’s theory.

1408 is clearly defined by its binary opposition, which in Strauss’ theory would be the known vs the unknown, which leads to good vs evil. This is successful since it allows the audience to relate with what they known as ‘normal’ and therefore see the paranormal events as abnormal and evil. The binary opposition allows the audience to relate with the protagonist, Enslin, more than the room, which makes the film successful.

In conclusion, the film embeds various theories in order to fit the typical horror expectation, though it takes its own twits on these, to scare the audience and defeat the unexpected. 1408 is a successful horror film overall, since its own feel and influence on the horror genre allows it to stand apart from other films such as Paranormal Activity, which also focus on the supernatural.

1408 Trailer

Forget Me Not Trailer Analysis

It is important for the name of a film to stick in your head; therefore it was a necessity for the title of the film, ‘forget me not’ to be places at the end of the trailer. This allows the audience to connect with the activity seen within the trailer, and then relate this black to the title itself. The title

connotes the idea of ongoing cycles, which could be seen as horrific due to never ending fear and pain, therefore the association of these words brings the audience back to the theme of horror.

Unlike films such as The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and fellow other Hollywood actors, it is  not necessary to ‘name drop’ within horror trailers, and in many cases, the genre avoids using any big stars since they can distract the audience from the plot itself. For this reason, this trailer avoids presenting the names of the actors and actresses involved so that they are only associated with Forget Me Not.

The trailer itself is extremely action packed, yet does not reveal the plot of the film itself. Unlike other trailers, this one includes a montage of clips, all cut with strong black outs, in order to represent the chaos and travesty that occurs within this film. This effect leaves the audience in ore of what the end result of the film will be, leaving them wanting to find out more, which ultimately is the aim of any trailer. To begin the piece, the shots are longer, which represents the equilibrium of the piece, however as the main antagonist is displayed, the clip length shortens and the jumps between each clip becomes more jumbled. This gives the audience sneak peeks into the film, though doesn’t make it clear what the end result is.

In addition to the visuals, the sound also plays a huge part within this clip. To begin with the backing track is seemingly one that you would hear at a youth club, which in this instance represents the equilibrium of the piece. This music however cuts at the first viewing of the girl on the side of the street, which makes us aware that she is the antagonist. The sound then becomes more eerie, and imbeds noises such as deep breathing, an evil laugh and general low key sounds which are commonly related with the horror genre. The use of these sounds compliments the images since each cut is represented by a sound. This enables the trailer to feel jumpy and tense, which is seemingly one of the characteristics of a horror film.

The final shot displayed is extremely short, and emphasised by a loud, low pitched scream. This is placed directly after the display of the title in order to reinforce some of the films context, which will seemingly scare the audience. This is present in various horror movie trailers as a reminder of the plot and genre. In some cases the build up of the slow camera movements and tense music can give this away, however these movements allow the audiences fear of the unknown to grow until they finally see the end clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfj7a5GfyoY&feature=relmfu

The Crazies Trailer Analysis

A trailer is used in order to capture the audience’s attention, and create a ‘want-to-see’ vibe, without revealing too much of the plot. The Crazies is a trailer which successfully displays an outline of the films plot, though it leaves the audience wanting to see more. This trailer uses various mechanisms in order to create these effects, the first of which being the introduction of the main characters.

To start the trailer we see a montage of shots to display the setting; a quiet tranquil village, full of

families, children and friendly neighbours, the first of whom we seeing are the two police officers, watching a game of baseball. These initial shots set off the equilibrium of the piece, so the audience feels comfortable and happy with the current setting. This equilibrium, however, is soon disturbed by the introduction of a man threatening to potentially kill him, or others. After stopping all

controversy and shooting this ‘crazy’ man, the audience immediately becomes associated with the main police officer, , which alerts the viewer that he is in fact the protagonist. The influence of the ‘crazy’ man then refers back to the title ‘The Crazies’.

The title itself is positioned at the end of the trailer, so it is the last piece of information the audience sees. This allows them to associate all of the previous actions with the title itself, which could be classed as summarising the actions. In the case of some horror trailers, we see a final shocking clip just after the title is displayed to re enforce the shocks that could potentially be entwined into the film. This is the case within ‘The Crazies’ trailer.

In order for a trailer to be successful it is necessary to include both images and sound, since without this combination, there is no real fear created. This is particularly the case within this trailer. To begin the piece, when we see the first equilibrium, there is a subtle piano playing in the background, though as the pace and action increases, so does the intensity of the music, for example through the use of distorted low keys noises, flicking between the emphasis of guns, screaming and one of the most influential sounds, silence. Towards the end of the trailer, the track ‘Mad world’ fades into the piece. This allows the audience to relate the story the plot is giving to the song itself. Although there is a constant use of backing music and sounds to enhance the tension, there is no evidence of a voice over, however, the visuals play a part within this. Shots are used in order to present the same information that a voice over would. The text ‘your neighbours, your friends, your family, are changing’ is clearly displayed on black slides, in order to add a sense of mystery and fear to the audience, which raises many questions. This combination of both music and sound create a

successful representation of horror and suspense within the trailer.

The audience are aware that this is a horror by the use of low key lighting and sounds, along with the build of suspense through the music, and the continuous pace throughout the editing, which captures the audience’s attention. Overall I feel that this trailer is does not represent a typical ‘jumpy’ horror, but also entails a story line as well.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs&feature=related

The Ring Trailer Analysis

The trailer itself is a montage of clips which keeps the audience in suspense through the use of tense music, fast pace cuts and flashes of lighting, which could be seen to slightly disorientate its audience. The ring is a trailer which gives brief outline of the story, in order to give the audience an indication of what the film will present. I feel that this particular trailer reveals too much of its plot in the trailer, since we are made aware of many of the activities that occur in the film before even seeing it. This is not the case for all horror trailers, however, since some uses a fast, jumbled montages of flashing clips, in order to confuse the audience, and leave them wanting to know more.

At the end of the trailer, the name of the film is displayed. This is the case within many movies, not just those of a horror genre, since it is often the last thing the audience will see, which means there is more chance of them remembering the title. It would not be effective to show the name at the beginning, since there is a huge distraction of the montage of clips, and in some cases the title does not fully correspond to the film itself. This is not the case for the ring, since the trailer constantly repeats the title and the phrase ‘when you see the ring you die’, which emphasises this.

 

Unlike films such as 1408, who mention the actors starring in the production, The Ring makes no attempt to do this. Since there are no ‘well known’ actors within this film, it would be a waste to do this, and it may take up valuable time on the trailer. Without mentioning actors on the trailer, we are not reminded that this is a film, so the fear remains intense to make the audience feel like part of the story. Along with not taking up valuable time on the trailer, without mentioning the names of those starring in it, we are only able to relate them to The Ring, which means the audience are not distracted from the plot itself.

It is vital to use a combination of both distorted images and sounds, in order for a horror trailer to successful scare its audience, this is something I feel that this trailer successfully achieves. To begin the trailer, there is a mellow tone of simple church bells, to set the initial suspense. As the pace of the clips increases, so does the music. In addition to the church bells, the trailer includes distorted noises, low keys sounds and a build of drums, all of which successfully allows the audience to relate to this as a horror trailer. To add the sounds, there is a slight voice over which repeats ‘when you see the ring you die’. This relates the audience back to the title, and therefore reinforces the film itself.

The title itself could be seen as very effective within the horror genre itself, since a ring can been seen as never ending, therefore this could represent never ending pain or suffering. In addition to this, the trailer says ‘when you see the ring you die’, and at the end of the trailer it displays the ring itself. This allows the audience to feel involved within the film itself, and could lead them to doubt reality itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt6JCKDFZf0
The Ring Trailer

History Of Horror

The first horror movies made were inspired originally by the First World War, a terrible era causing many lives lost and therefore could be argued to inspire artists and producers, leading to ‘German Expressionism’, and seemingly silent horror films. This was a creative movement, beginning in Germany, which allowed citizens to express themselves through the means of art, architecture and film. It occurred due to the widespread of human activity and discordant relationship with the rest of the world. The pieces of ‘art’ which were created included extreme angles within scenery, and distorted figures and sets to show that not all is right.

 The horror that we see today however, was not always a representative of the horror that appeared within the 1920’s. It is clear that technology has dramatically increased over this period of time, therefore certain pieces of equipment, such as cameras, made it difficult for dark lighting to be filmed within the 1920’s. This lead to light horror films, such as ‘Nosferatu’, being created. This film used bright lighting throughout, and with such a variety of horror films and subgenres, it would be difficult to scare the audience todays without components such as dark lighting, heavy sound effects and technical visual effects; all of which were not available in the 1920’s.

Past the 1920’s, horror was greatly influenced by gothic horror and literature, including Frankenstein, Dr Jekyl and My Hyde and of course, Dracula. These classic novels gave producers the material to develop these gothic outlines into in depth films. In 1931, Frankenstein was made into a black and white film, directed by James Whale. This story line then gave further directors the idea to develop this into sequels, such as Frankenstein’s Bride and Young Frankenstein.  This is a perfect example of the influence of monsters and mad scientists within the 1930’s. It is obvious that films made in the 1920’s were very simplistic; therefore within the 1930’s producers enabled sound effects to create more atmosphere and tension. This ranged from music to simple howling and footsteps, all of which were able to captivate the audience’s attention more than that of the 1920’s. It was said that the use of sounds added another dimension to horror, so the audience have more elements being presented at once, and the fear subconsciously builds.

The 1940’s adopted a new vibe of horror; steering away from mad scientists, and onto the path of the primal animal within. The film industry was mainly controlled by Universal studios, a seemingly American based company.  Companies like these attempted to steer away from European ideas around horror, though this was exceedingly difficult since in the First World War, many German producers, such as Fritz Lang, evacuated German, to American, bringing with them their abstract ideas following the war. As I previously stated, the 1930’s adapted a theme of mad scientists, though European producers decided to opt for a new theme; the animal within. This lead to the creation of films such as The Wolf Man. Though it was many years from the First World War, inspiration was still driven from Hitler himself, since Adolf was seen to mean ‘wolf’ which incidentally inspired this Era. Although this is the case, the 1940’s also lead to the creation of ‘mash ups’ of films, including ‘Frankenstein meets Wolf Man’, which is seemingly a collaboration of both of these eras.

From the 1920’s to the 1940’s, man of the films had followed many literary roots of famous novels, though in the 1950’s, there was an introduction to science fiction, mutant creatures and alien invaders. Although it was apparent that the stories were getting more advanced, budgets of the film were still kept fairly low, due to the times of ‘drive-by’ cinemas. The Day the Earth Stood Still was one of the first films with the evidence of alien invasion, which stunned the audience, proving that the 1950’s took on a completely new vibe to horror cinema. Following this was War of the worlds, which took a bigger leap, and was the first colour film introducing the same ideas following alien invasion. As previously stated, the 50’s also introduced mutant created, most commonly associated with the film ‘The Blob’. Literally, the film follows the journey of a giant blob which swallowed up anyone that got in its path, though, following the on goings of the time, the films main villain, took on the role of communism, swallowing up society.

The 1960’s and 70’s adopted Hammer horror movies.  Movies such as The Devil Rides out and Maniac, both Hammer productions, really adopted the themes and creations of the 60’s, Satanism and the fear of your own family. These films were used in order to create fear within each neighbourhood. The uses of religious beliefs were able to affect a wide audience, which made them extremely successful. It was argued that The Devil Rides out was one of the most successful films ever, due to its religious emphasis on Satanism, which struck a chord with a popular fear at the time.  Although Hammer films were exceedingly popular, the 1960’s also made away for possibly one of the most influential horrors of all time; Alfred Hitchcock’s, Psycho. This film has changed the way in which horror films are made today, and was seemingly a box office smash.  This triggered the creation of slasher movies within the 1980’s.

 The 1980’s could be described as the year of the slasher. Texas chainsaw massacre, created in 1974, was seen as the godfather of the slasher films, since it inspired many producers to follow this path. Though, this is controversial since when it was first released, the film itself got banned within the UK, until 1999, due to its shocking images and intense detail of the deaths of innocent people. This year enabled the creation of another inspiring slasher horror, and the making of one of the most well-known villains of all time; Michael Myers in the film Halloween. This once again uses the idea of innocent people being able to commit sickening crimes, which allows the audience to fear everyone around them, resulting in the film being a huge success.

In 1982 the word ‘video nasty’ was coined, describing a heavily violent film, which was often criticized for its content by the press and high, authoritative figures.  It was thought that many horror films could fall into the hands of small children, and therefore cause unwanted distress amongst them, therefore the labelling of these video nasties, enabled the creation of the Video Recordings Act 1984, which had stricter limitation on these films, and the censorship that they had to undergo. The making of these ‘disturbing’ films were said to increase violence within youth’s, and were often blamed for their unacceptable actions. Although these may be seen as excuses, parents and authorities had to look into these films, and therefore caused several to be banned completely, and many others to be seriously cut down. An example of a film which particularly shocked the nation was ‘Clockwork Orange’. The name itself is particularly harmless, though the plot itself entails stories of rape, ultra-violence and a hint of Beethoven. The film made many people frown upon horror and was blamed for many acts of rape and violence within the 1980’s. This film could most definitely be described as a video nasty, along with Cannibal Holocaust and I Spit on Your Grave. Along with video nasties the 1990’s also introduced parodies. Since the horror genre is so well established, producers were able to ‘make fun’ of the typical conventions that are seen in a horror film, since in many cases, they are extremely predictable. One of the first parodies made was ‘Repossessed’ a comedy horror of the classic The Exorcist, made in 1973.

Nowadays, it is clear that the audience base of the 21^st century would take a lot more than a film like Nosferatu to be scared, which lead producers to ask, what can we do next? The answer to this is seen in films such as Saw, Hostel and Vacancy; ‘torture porn’ or ‘gore-nography’. These newly coined terms express the use of gruesome deaths and in some instances nudity, often in behalf of the female character, in order to express her weakness and incapability to look after her. After having such a diverse range of horror films already, producers have ventured towards the use of torture in order to attract its audience, and in a way this is successful, though, others feel the use of ‘creative’ deaths is simply there to cover up a boring, already seen plot, which no one wants to see again.