Genre Research: Horror

Genre Research: Horror

What is Horror?

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Today of all days is a perfect day to talk about the well known spooky genre: horror. Over the years, horror films have become more and more popular within their audience. Horror is an intense and profound fear experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger. Horror films strive that exact feeling whether they incorporate physical violence, or psychological terror. 

Content

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From the originals we all know to the new horror films still in theater, they all strive to achieve the same feeling in the audience: suspense and fear.

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3J6ACKQ7K0         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQdXvvtu-iI

 Fear is a huge part in every horror film as it is what makes horror so different from other genres. Horror films have plenty of psychology hidden behind the spooky parts of the films. Horror movies can contain psychological tricks that create illusions in the audiences minds. These illusions can include danger and suspense through images, sound, music, gore, and the story itself. Even though you brain is aware that the threats and danger aren't real, your body registers as if they were. Suspense is also implemented very often in horror films. This is because it brings out the "twist or unexpected moment of realization that makes someone scream and one's heart race". A classic way to build tension in a specific scene is to simply present the audience with a moving shadow or object in the background of the shot to make the viewer feel a loss of control or on edge knowing something just moved. Suspense is also incorporated using sound fairly often. For example, in a non-horror movie, you'll likely know where footsteps are coming from using sound. However, in horror movies, many times, the editors incorporate a technique to confuse the audience and make the footsteps barely audible so you feel as if you're really in the moment. 

      Production Techniques

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Horror films also incorporate a number of production techniques to keep the production in check. Horror uses unique and unusual angles and shots to create confusion and an unsettling aspect to the audience. This can include really quick cuts to represent madness and action or the camera could be rotating to create the feeling of confusion and being lost. Lighting is also a very big part in horror films as it can transform a well light playful looking area, to a creepy mysterious place. Lighting in horror films tends to be very dark to fit the topic or theme and many shadows or dark spots to create a barely lit atmosphere. This causes the audience to feel on edge and tense due to the lack of vision designated for that scene or movie. Music and sound is also one of the biggest parts of horror films. Many horror movies such as Jaws incorporate the use of scores and leit motif to give the audience the idea that the horrifying shark is heading their way. This gives the audience a calming feeling as they think they know every time the shark will appear. This is true until the end when the shark starts appearing without the theme music playing and it can give the audience a big scare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fu_sA7XhE

          Marketing

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Believe it or not, the target audience for horror films are people in between the ages of 15 and 25. The main reason for the target audience is because teenagers young adults enjoy the thrill, scare, and on-the-edge feeling that horror films give to the viewer.  This is why horror is more likely to be watched by and excite a younger audience rather than an older one that might feel different watching one. Some movies re just advertised through normal commercials or ads may reach the target audience, but many movies try to incorporate the movie marketing in a much more intriguing way. One example is the new movie "Smile". This movie did not only have a very good trailer, but also had a very clever marketing strategy. This included hiring an actor to go to a baseball game and stand there the whole game with a terrifying and eerie smile on their face. This was while wearing a neon shirt that said "Smile" on it to promote the movie and incorporate the scariness into real life, edging more people to go watch the movie and see what it's about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcDK7lkzzsU

Other movies have put up missing person posters around college campuses or famous locations, recorded real footage (not staged), interviewed real people, fed false information onto the web or social media, and so many other marketing techniques that draw people into wanting to find out more about the film.

        Film Samples

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The Nun (2018, Horror/Thriller) is about a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order's unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

The Nun is rated R for its violence and bloody images, and this is present from the opening sequence. There's a fair amount of blood shown, with one decaying corpse returned to in various states throughout. While that will definitely upset the very squeamish, there's nothing overly extreme in The Nun.

Friday the 13th Crystal Lake's history of murder doesn't deter counselors from setting up a summer camp in the woodsy area. Superstitious locals warn against it, but the fresh-faced young people -- Jack (Kevin Bacon), Alice (Adrienne King), Bill (Harry Crosby), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor) and Ned (Mark Nelson) -- pay little heed to the old-timers. Then they find themselves stalked by a brutal killer. As they're slashed, shot and stabbed, the counselors struggle to stay alive against a merciless opponent.

The trepidation surrounding Friday the 13th is rooted in religious beliefs surrounding the 13th guest at the Last Supper-Judas, the apostle said to have betrayed Jesus-and the crucifixion of Jesus on a Friday.

    Other Horror Films

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paFgQNPGlsg  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnCdOQsX5kc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7cc5t7tv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kbQAJR9YWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1ePFp-nBI

        Citations

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https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Suspense-Is-Crucial-in-Horror-and-Thriller-FKZMY6AVC#:~:text=The%20significance%20of%20suspense%20in,that%20links%20them%20all%20together.

https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/57621/GCSE/Media-Studies/What-are-the-conventions-of-a-horror-film-and-how-would-the-audience-respond-to-this/

https://now.tufts.edu/2018/10/30/why-do-we-horror-movies 

https://www.highonfilms.com/horror-movies-then-vs-now/

https://www.harmoniamentis.com/society/can-horror-movies-be-bad-for-your-mental-health/#:~:text=Watching%20horrific%20images%20can%20trigger,the%20sensations%20as%20real%20threats.

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-do-horror-movies-affect-your-mental-health#:~:text=Horror%20movies%20contain%20psychological%20tricks,them%20as%20if%20they%20are.

Introductory Posting

        I am writing this blog to express my thought process through my projects in AICE Media Studies. Writing a blog not only helps people show what they think and feel to the world, but also to help others view what the writer is thinking through their point-of-view. In my personal experience, my thought process is all over the place at the beginning, therefore, this blog may help organize my thoughts and allow my mind to make ideas in a different manner to expand my thinking.

- Dana