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Dictionary definition:
µHorror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear,
horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve
themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror
movies also include a central villain.¶
µJeepers creeper¶s , µSaw¶ and µTexas chainsaw¶ massacre are
very similar with a protagonist and a main antagonist who
consistently kills the whole way through. These films show
genre well through death, violence and blood.
Audience¶s of horror films generally believe in the typical
conventions of a horror movie, this usually consists of a
protagonist and an antagonist and someone dying at the end, we
have realised that we need to make our movie more different and
striking to entice our audience. We have decided that we need to
broaden our target audience to any ages above 15 and both
genders. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90 This is a
trailer for the film saw which shows the genre within the first 30
seconds.
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Horror movies have to begin to build on a narrative before they can build a storyline for characters in the film.
Films from the past express genre¶s in different ways. From the 1950¶s all the way to the present day there are
links that can be drawn between each year. This generally consists of a person with a possession, a
psychological thriller and someone with a mental illness. From our research we have drawn these links and
found that each year reflects psychological thrillers as technology has developed.
Over the last 50 years, technology has increased vastly in the film making industry. This means that the need for
audience intelligence has had to increase. The use of technology now allows more µsupernatural¶ events to take
place within horror films. In the 1960¶s the genre of horror films begun to inflict themes of death, the
supernatural and mental illnesses. Many of these films are based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre
such as µFrankenstein¶, µDracula¶ and µThe phantom of opera¶. Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood
of the decade, many films begun to look optimistically with sexual and cultural revolutions. The 70¶s started to
reflect fear¶s of children, and the messy painful, process of childbirth. Some films to reflect the 70¶s would be
µThe Exorcist¶ and µThe shining¶. The 80¶s had a growing popularity of horror movie sequels, such as µHalloween¶
and µFriday the 13th¶ were successful supernatural thrillers as well as µA nightmare on Elm Street¶ These films
started to develop and create re makes which were seen to be more gory and supernatural than ever. Horror
films continued to cause controversy, mainly in the United Kingdom. The growth in home video¶s led to growing
for public awareness of horror films and concern about the ease of availability of such material to children.
Many films were banned because of this and were named µvideo nasties¶ these were films that failed at theatres
and were withdrawn from being viewed. In the first part of the 90¶s films remained to draw connections to the
90¶s except they begun to touch upon the relationship between fictional horror and real world- horror. The film
µCandy man¶ for example showed the link between an invented urban legend and the realistic horror of a villain.
There were two main problems within thee 90¶s because the horror genre begun to wore itself out with the non
stop slashes and gore from the 80¶s. Another problem was because many of the audience members started to
grow up, the replacements began to prefer a more imaginative nature because of the growing special effect
courtesy of special effects by computer generated imagery. English language horror films in the late 1990¶s such
as µThe Blair witch project¶ found success naturally for it¶s independent hit of thrilling. The beginning of the
2000¶s started to release previously made films such as the restored version of µThe Exorcist¶ in September 2000
as well as the beginning of µThe final destination¶ which marked a successful revival of clever teen cantered
horror. There was a major return to the zombie horror around 2002, such as ¶28 days later¶ which involved which
featured and update on the zombie genre of films which were made.
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Horror movies have to begin to build on a narrative before they can build a
storyline for characters in the film. Films from the past express genre¶s in
different ways. From the 1950¶s all the way to the present day there are links
that can be drawn between each year. This generally consists of a person with
a possession, a psychological thriller and someone with a mental illness.
From our research we have drawn these links and found that each year
reflects psychological thrillers as technology has developed. The µstoryline¶
typically refers to the plot of the film, or the subplot. It can also depend on a
storyline being fictional or non-fictional. The storyline is a method of teaching
the audience what is going on through the narrative. An example of this is in
µJeepers creepers¶ when a brother and sister (Darry and Patricia Jenner) are
returning from college when they see what appears to be someone dumping
bodies down a hole near an old church. When the figure speeds away in an
old truck, the pair go back to investigate, they find a cavern full of bodies.
Then a creature starts hunting them down, that needs to eat fresh body parts
to survive. This teaches and guides the audience, making them aware what is
going on, using the narrative and the plot. The siblings soon find themselves
investigating the basement of an old decrepit chapel in the middle of nowhere,
where there lies horrors that they least expect, this shows the typical general
conventions of a re-made 21st century horror movie, with an antagonist and
protagonist's).
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The overall target audience of the horror genre is people over the age of 15 or 18 years
old. In the 1940s horror was banned in Britain because it was seen as propaganda, It was
the B movie for years until the 1970s when horror returned to the big Hollywood
productions and since then it has risen and become very mainstream. There are several
niche markets for the horror genre, for example Atics- thrill seeking young couples, Tribe
Wired- Free spirited young singles, Early adopters- people in to new technologies.
However there isn¶t really a niche in the market as of yet for the family horror.
Films in the horror genre are becoming more and more scary and less suitable for young
children, therefore most films in the horror genre are classed as an 18. A new film just
been released in cinemas is called Paranormal Activity, it is an American film written and
directed by Oren Peli. The film is said to be the scariest film in the last ten years and
people have been so frightened when watching it they have had to leave the cinema. This
is the trailer of the film, it shows one of the first views of the film and how the audience
reacted to it.
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The setting used in all three films that we are comparing to are based on dark, isolated places as in saw it is
based around a warehouse, in Texas chainsaw massacre it is based in woodland area with a house on its
own and in Jeepers Creepers it is based in the middle of no where, woodland area with a house in the middle.
Using these derelict places sets the audience into feeling that they are alone also and helps to add suspense
and tension to the whole film making the genre for this film realistic. The setting for the film is one of the
most key points to get right in a film as it is what sets the genre of the film. For example, a bright sunny day
in the middle of the town centre is not the ideal set for a horror film as none of the surroundings symbolise a
typical horror and a dark, stormy night located in the countryside with no one around for miles is not the
ideal set for a family movie.
In the opening scene for Saw 1, the setting sets the genre of horror as through most of the clip it is dark
and when the lights are put on there are two characters chained up in a gloomy, run down isolated room
(either a shower or bathroom) screaming for help but no one can hear as they are all alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opz1kxZSk10
In the opening scene for Jeepers Creepers, it is set in a forest in the middle of no where, the lighting
around the place is during the day, but more on the evening side as its dim to suggest that the film is going
to be filmed through the whole night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEEdKzyaukA
In the opening scene for Texas Chainsaw Massacre it starts with a picture of the serial killer when he was
a baby presenting that he was deformed to help to explain why he does what he does. As it progresses it
shows the problem he had; having a facial disease and it proves that it is him as it shows his birth certificate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RgkSMXyLY
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In a typical horror film a lot of mid, close up and extreme close up shots are used to film as the type of genre is a revealing film because as it
progresses, you find out more and more. Also, the use of these shots allow the audience to understand the emotions of the main
characters present so they can get to know them and connect with them to help them be more involved in the film. As well as using these
shots, panning and tracking shots are both used instead of juxtaposition because the film wants you to follow every step of the character as
anything can happen next. Once the main object of the film is revealed, a long shot is used to capture the moment as it allows the audience
to see the surrounding environment and helping them understand the whole concept. When characters are talking to each other a eye line
shot or shot reverse shot is used to show to the audience which characters are engaging in conversation with each other. Using these shots
makes the characters on the same page; status is equal to each other instead of when high angle or low angle is used. However, when
engaging with the murderer high and low angle shots are used because the killer has more dominance over the victim. While the shot
reverse shot and/or eye line shot is used, a close up or mid shot is used as well to show that the information conveyed between the
characters is important in the film and a long shot is used to if the conversation isn't very important or is in the background of the main
piece of the film.
Close up and Mid Shot-These are used to show the conversation between two characters with an importance and emotions that are being
felt between the characters so the audience understands what's happening.
Long shot-These are used to show the surrounding environment of the characters or reveal the importance of the scene.
Shot Reverse Shot-These are used to show who's talking to who
Panning-Show a 360° angle of the whole set from the main character
Tracking-Follows the main character
High Angle- Used on the character that is weaker than the othe
Low Angle-Used on the character that is stronger than the other
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Jeepers Creepers is the famous 2001american horror written and directed by
Victoria Salva. The film meets most of the common horror conventions, it is
scary and thrilling. The film has the strong and powerful perpetrator who is an
ancient demon known as the creeper, there are also the victims powerless to
the perpetrator. The setting of the film is very common in most horror films, it
is in a near deserted town and the demon stores the bodies of his victims
underneath a derelict church, this further emphasises the normal horror
conventions. The film fits in very well with the horror genre, it involves many
murders and gory deaths which is very synonymous with most horror films.
We chose to analyse Jeepers Creepers because it has similarities to the horror
film that we are going to create, the setting of the film and the place where the
creeper stores the body, has given us inspiration for our own film and what we
want it to be like.
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The Texas chainsaw Massacre is a re-make of then 1974 film. It was produced in
2003 by Michael Bay and directed by Marcus Nispel. The film is based on
Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, Gein skinned human bodies and made up furniture
out of it, but he acted alone and did not use a chainsaw. The Opening of the film
claims that the events in the film are factual but this was done by false use of
documentation. The film includes the protagonist who is disfigured and his face is
hardly ever seen this is very common in horror films as it adds to the suspense of
the audience, the perpetrator is known as Leather Face because of his
disfigurements, and when he kills people he skins them and sews the skin to
himself. The film is set in America and the victims are young American students
which is very common is the type of Hollywood horror. There is a lot of Murder
and goring killings throughout the film which is obviously very synonymous with
the horror genre. In the film that we are going to make you hardly ever see the
protagonists face as we feel it adds to the suspense and horror of the film and this
is the same as the Texas chainsaw massacre.
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The film is a 2005 American horror and sequel to the 2004 film Saw. It was directed and
written by Darren Lynn Bousman, it was also co-written by Leigh Whannell. Saw films are
renowned for being the goriest films in the horror genre. All the films follow the same plot
line, the jigsaw killer puts people that he feels need to redeem themselves for something
they have done, he puts them in a life or death situation where they could survive but
they have to harm themselves to get out. An example of one of the awful traps that a
victim is put in, is the Venus fly trap. It involves a spiked filled helmet locked around his
neck, the closing of the helmet is on a timer, to get out of the helmet the victim has to cut
his own eye out with a scalpel in order to get the key to unlock the mask. The victim can¶t
do it and is killed instantly when the mask closes. The sheer gore of the films are what
make them scary, however saw does not meet all the horror conventions, in horror films
the norm is to have a strong and powerful protagonist. However in saw the jigsaw killer is
a weak and dying old man and this is a total contrast to most films in the horror genre.
This is the reason why we chose to analyse Saw because of the protagonist, in the film
that we are making we have a protagonist that was bullied at school and was seen as
weak, but now he has grown up he is out to get his revenge.
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The Blair witch project is a 1999 American horror film, the film was directed by Daniel
Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The film is about students that travel to Burkttisvile in
order to interview locals about the legend of the Blair witch. Whilst on their trip they
decided to look for evidence of the witch in the forest that they are told that she haunts.
They camp out in the forest and strange things begin to happen to them, they hear
strange noises, find humanoid stick figures and eventually one of them goes missing.
The film is terrifying and very realistic. We chose to analyse the Blair Witch project for
one main reason, the great use of camera angles and the overall footage makes the film
very intense and seem so real. The film goes against a lot of horror conventions as it is
not the normal protagonist killing its victims, its all about the fear of the un-known and
that is what makes the film all the more frightening. We have been inspired by the Blair
witch project and we are going to use as many different camera angles that are normally
used in the horror genre in our own film.
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The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and it is directed
by Takashi Shimizu. The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow, the curse then gathers in the place
where that person died.
The scene starts with a camera tracking down a thin alley way, there is a fuzzy sound in the background which gives the audience a sense of unease about what is to
come, Also the sound of a bird crowing is heard which further adds to this. The camera continues to track towards a house, the fuzz continues and footsteps are heard this
denotes that someone is about to enter the house. The door to the house opens with an eerie squeak the camera is at a high angle looking down at the door making the
person entering appear small and timid. The camera tracks around the room exposing to the audience a dishevelled house, with things strewn over the floor; this makes
the audience question what has happened here? The lighting is hard, with lots of dark shadows making the house appear all the more hostile.
The camera flicks to a the taps of a bath a loud dripping sound is heard, the camera then moves down to reveal a mass of black hair submerged in the water, this strikes
the audience with fear. The camera then zooms in quickly on the figure of a woman, the room is dimly lit by a window so the character is covered in shadows, and the
darkness of the figure connotes death and danger. The use of loud, fast extra digetic sound at this point adds to the fear the audience feel. There is a loud crash of
utensils and the figure is shown walking away from the window. The heavy breathing of a man is heard and then a loud bang which further adds to the suspense of the
scene. The camera tracks and footsteps are heard of someone running to see what the noise was; the tracking of the character with the camera makes the audience feel
more involved in the scene which makes it all the more terrifying. As the camera tracks upwards the women figure is revealed at a window and a shrill laugh consumes the
audience. The figure is lit from the left, the lighting is naturalistic, it is daylight and the house is being lit from the windows.
As the figure moves away from the window, there is a loud bang of the door next to the window slamming, this is unexpected so therefore makes the audience jump which
adds to the horror of the scene. The heavy breathing and footsteps return and the camera tracks up the stairs this denotes the character running up the stairs, the shot is
very unclear and a lot of Dutch angles are used making the audience unaware of what is happening. A high pitched creepy extra digetic sound is then used which impacts
the audience because it makes it all the more scary. A grunting begins and continues to get louder as the camera does a 180 degree spin to exposes the women figure in
the plain light for the first time. The figure is wearing a flowing white dress which usually connotes innocence and purity but the female character is very sinister and
mysterious so this is going against the normal horror conventions.
There is then a montage of clips faded and cross cut together very quickly, it ends with a close up of the characters haunted eye. During the montage the grunting and
high pitched extra digetic sound continue to get louder and louder only adding to the terror of the clip. The montage ends suddenly when the screen goes black and the
sound abruptly stops.
The darkness fades out and the camera shows the outside of the house again, and then fades to show the female character sitting at a dressing table, surrounded by
pictures drawn by a child, the echoing laugh of a small child is heard. This is going against most horror conventions because it is portraying innocence of the perpetrator
in the film, which is not normally done. This makes the film more appealing to young tribe wired and early adaptors audiences because it is fresh and different. The camera
then zooms in on a cats face; it is a black cat which usually connotes bad luck and evilness so it is therefore adding to the scariness of the clip. The laughing of the young
child is continues as the camera zooms in on a child¶s face, there are dark shadows surrounding the child which makes the whole thing all the more sinister.
The camera then shows a blood stained hand and a man with blood splattered over his face which connotes murder and death. The lighting remains dark and harsh
creating a harrowing atmosphere. A woman¶s scream is then heard which only adds to the realism of the film. The camera fades in and out and becomes blurry; this makes
the audience feel more involved in the scene as it is like they are watching through characters eyes. The extra digetic sound at this point is very harsh and dark sounding
and this has been used to make the scene more frightening.
There is another montage of clips which include the male character covered in blood and the body of the female character. The montage was used to show the audience
what had happened in a short time and it is done really effectively, because it only adds to the horror of the scene. A lot of effects and transitions are used in the opening
scene of the Grudge and they have been used to add to the overall impact of the film on the audience. The male character is then shown putting a noose around his neck
so this denotes that he is killing himself and without being graphic it gives the audience an understanding.
There is a bang and the camera zooms in on the stair case to reveal the female figure struggling down the stairs, she is covered in blood. The grunting and gasping noise
that she is making is bone chillingly scary and very hard hitting so therefore affects the audience deeply. The scene ends dramatically after this with an extreme close up
of the male characters smile, as his distressing laugh echoes. It is a very disturbing end to a terrifying opening scene.
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This is a 1980¶s American horror film, directed by Joel Schumacher. Like many other horror films the typical target audience would be young people of both genders. The title of the film µLost Boys¶
instantly plays with the audience¶s emotions leading to insecurity and unawareness of who the boys are and what the word µlost¶ implies, the title also creates a sense of fear for the audience, letting them
use their imagination to connect the title and the story line together for the film.
For the first 23 seconds we are shown the presentation of the beginning using a background of black deep water with the film¶s title µThe Lost Boys¶ in a bright white font with a red line running through the
middle. Being on water gives the viewer a feeling of eerie isolation and the symbolic sense that something dangerous could have happened beneath the water or in connection to it. The use of the red line
running between the middle could also connote danger or even death, the colour red being alarming to the audience in contrast to the black water and white writing connoting innocence.
The scene then uses an establishing shot of a fairground to accentuate the darkness with the bright lights creating a contrast between night and day, denoting night time. The camera is panning across at a
high angle shot almost like a bird¶s eye view. The music in the background becomes clearer, a soft low key sound using children¶s voices singing, this goes with the typical generic conventions of horror
films, children singing is not usually related to horror, but with youthfulness and happiness, however in this context, it has the effect of creating an uncomfortable, tense uncertain atmosphere.
This scene is the opening scene which sets up the narrative for the rest of the film. The mise en scene is a fairground, a carousel, with shots of children enjoying themselves, their parents looking on. This
happy family scenario is interrupted by a shot, close-up of the pole on the ride up to a man dressed in dark black clothes with a big black coat and gloves, with bright white hair. The set-up suggests that
this character will be the antagonist. His unusual physical appearance (an albino) is often representative of a µbad guy¶ indicating that he is dangerous and we should be skeptical of his presence, This
sequence is accompanied with diegetic music of fairground noise, however the shot of the antagonist is accompanied with high pitched non-diegetic music which adds to the audience¶s feeling of peril or
jeopardy. There is also another guy who is introduced to the audience just moments after the first character, also dressed in black, only seen vaguely as this shot has been faded out, showing us that the
first character is more important within the scene than the second.
Using a high angle shot across light blue glaring water,the camera pans to reflect the danger of water once again, denoting it is during the day time, subtitles are shown using a white font which is also
underlined to show the opening. The camera then uses a bird¶s eye view zooming into a long winding road with driving cars denoting that there are characters within the film that are on a road trip or
heading somewhere, the us of a trailer on the back of it indicates this.
The camera then cuts to another shot revealing to the audience that there are three characters in the car a man, boy and a women who is driving, the woman is dressed in a pale cream cardigan over a light
blue top with jewelry and short cropped hair, the light pale clothes present the female character as innocent and pure, the female character is also reflecting happiness through her smiley facial expressions
as she is driving the vehicle singing to the diegetic sound coming out from the radio in the car. The boy sitting in the passenger seat is young and fresh faced around twelve or thirteen. He is dressed in a
pale colored shirt, pastel pink, with short neatly cut hair. He is smartly dressed this emphasizes his youthfulness and innocence; he still looks like he is looked after by his mother and cared for very well.
The man sitting in the behind passenger seat is dressed in a pale grey t-shirt, with long hair, because the woman is driving, this could show that the woman has more authority and he is lower down than
her, however the male character could also be seen as more important because he has people doing thing for him. The three characters give a sense of the stereotypical happy family going on a summer
vacation, the woman singing along with the two other characters joining in emphasizes the happiness of all the characters, this also bring a sense of enjoyment for the audience, feeling their happiness.
There is also a dog in the back with the male character, connoting that they are going away and are comfortable enough to bring their pet with them. The music is faded in and out from the scene as the
characters speak, for example when the boy asks the mother a question and then replies µit smells like someone¶s died¶ denoting the place they are heading Is unsafe . A close up of the male character¶s
face reflecting curiosity is used to arise suspicion towards the audience, changing location to outside the car onto a large wall post painted µwelcome to Santa Carla¶ in bright vibrant orange, reflecting an
old fashioned holiday welcome in sign, panning to the back of the wall post which has µmurder capital of the world¶ written in capitals across it, the bright red paint connotes danger and death with a black
outline.
Whilst the family go through the town in the vehicle, the first people we come across are two men, one leaning against a car and the other a wall smoking, they look like typical casual neighborhood people
in the town, the camera then flicks to a man standing crossed armed looking bemused, he has a dark checked shirt on with a black Mohican hair style, he looks like he is waiting around for something and
does not give off a good vibe in contrast to the other town people.
A group of mixed people are shown immediatly grabbing the audeince's emotives of curiosity. They are walking around the town dressed in bright colours such as white, orange, pinks and blues with caps
and sun glasses connoting that these people are on holiday having fun and are innocent.Changing the location of the camera reflect the importance of characters throughout.Two women are shown at a low
angular mid shot addressing them in black sun glasses ,black leather jackets and short cropped hair, they look almost like a team in connection to the other man the camera showed before, this leaves the
audience to use their imagination connecting these character together in contrast to the others. The camera then locates to a bearded man in glasses with a hood up looking conscious as a close up,
representing that he could be an important character to remember, as we are shown this man for a split second we are moved on to another character, also as a close up. She is wearing a black scarf and a
large black cross in her left ear, she also has thick black eye liner on matching her short cropped dark hair, using these darks accessories connoted death and fear. We then see another two male character
sitting on the floor leaning against a wall smoking at mid shot with a car going through the road, the angles that are used to show the audience the type of town the place is and the type of people live their
or go for a vacation, using establishing shots it lets the audience know what is going on and where we are in the scene, connoting importance within the shot towards the audience, it also helps the
audience feel more involved and familiar within the scene. The scene then cuts to a completely location, to the fair but in day light this time, the camera uses an establishing shot to show us where we are,
the same extra diegetic high pitched music is faded in as the customers are screaming on the fair wheel they are on. We then see a range of different people walking along the paths enjoying the scenery.
The camera then uses a close up on a long haired bearded man looking cross as well as angry, he looks mysteriously away from the camera as if he is looking at other people or something which holds
importance, then camera then glances to a couple standing and talking, the male is dressed in a black cap and t- shirt, the female character is dressed in black also with black eye make-up, t-shirt with a
dark green shirt over the top. More subtitles appear on the screen in a bright white, capitals connoting innocence, as well at the subtitles then camera moves across a notice board that is in the village
which is covered in newspaper cutouts and posters for missing people. The first one is of a young girl in her early teens in black and white, there are around ten or more poster signs for other people of
mainly girls and a few men, the poster that is in the middle appears to be very old of two young girls connoting that this place that the family are traveling into is a bad decision, and is regretful. The camera
then uses a high angular mid shot of just a baby in a pram for around 3 seconds indicating the innocence of the villagers and the danger, using a baby shows the innocence of the victims and babies are
seen as innocent, un harmful and a gift, connoting the next target could be anybody.
The signs in contrast to the baby in the scene shot the differences between the targets on the board from the ages.
In conclusion to this all of the aspects of the Mise-en-scene are used to create a build up of tension,the opening scene uses typical conventions to show a 1980's horror film,using sound,lightin,costumes
and extra-diegetic sounds.The opening mis lead's the audience enticing them in to watch more to get to the climax of the film.
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