introduction to sub genres of horror
TRANSCRIPT
Horror Sub Genres
Within the sub genre of ‘slasher’ there is usually a masked killer with an unknown identity, who ‘slashes’ a young group of teenagers, usually a group of friends (who are transgressors - rule breakers) who drink, do drugs and have casual sex. One by one they are then killed. At the end of the film, the final girl puts a stop to the killer somehow, provoking him leading to the movie to end with many questions. This usually results in a sequel. Such as the Halloween Franchise and the Scream Franchise.
An antagonist is an opposing force that brings conflict with a protagonist. In the film ‘Halloween’ is Mike Myers, who was a young boy who murdered his sister and then came back to town fifteen years later to murder more teenagers. The antagonist is usually a male, showing superiority to all his victims. Low angles shots are often used throughout horror films to present this idea to the audience. They always seem to have a lot of strengths, fighting many of his victims of, yet still coming back for a sequel. Insinuating to his victims that they are doomed as he is undefeatable. The killer is usually masked, so
the identity is hidden and unknown. This is intriguing for the audience, as they will be desperate to see who the killer is and what his motive is behind the killings.
The antagonist usually has a signature weapon that they are renowned for using. In Mike Myers case it is a machete knife. Other weapons that are common in slashers are: swords, chainsaws, knives, hammers, axes and hatchets.
The reasons behind the killings is usually caused by a childhood trauma. This can be depicted by the location of the film as well as some of his victims.
Mike Myers, Antagonist in the Halloween Franchise.
A protagonist is an individual/group who come into conflict with the antagonist. The protagonists in Halloween are three females. Female victims are often seen as sexual transgressors, which can sometimes be the cause of their death, it is there punishment for being a transgressor. They usually surround themselves around alcohol, drugs and sex. This combined with a lack of focus, awareness and coordination leaves them less likely to protect themselves and makes them even more of a victim. They are usually chased and scared witless by a male antagonist making them appear weak and powerless, eventually, they are killed in graphic ways making them seem even more like a victim. All of them end up dead, apart from one who is known as the ‘final girl’. A final girl is a lone survivor who remains after her friends have been killed. However, she looks death in the face plenty of times before her eventual escape/defeat of the killer. Unlike her friends, she is sensible, brave, virginal, intelligent, perspective and reasonable. She is a proactive fighter, not a passive victim, which is why she manages to survive.
Antagonist may seem normal however it is evident throughout the film that they have a twisted mind. This can be adapted to the film ‘Psycho’ by Alfred Hitchcock, whereby the character Norman Bates both looks and seems normal, despite this, we are exposed to the dark side of the human mind.
The audience may also be fooled into thinking that the antagonist is innocent/harmless. Just like in the film the orphan whereby the audience will think esther is a sweet, innocent little girl, before they find out she is a 33 year old woman who is very violent and has killed at least 7 people. Also in relation to the Orphan, a shock can be revealed. It was not predictable that Esther was going to be 33 years old who had hypopituitarism, a hormone disorder that stunted her physical growth.
The twisted nature of the antagonist would scare the audience, and deaths are not ruled out, despite the idea that they will not occur as often as they would within the slasher genre.
In ‘Scream’ a total of 8 people died.
In ‘Gone Girl’ 1 person dies.
The narrative of a supernatural film focuses on the presence of an evil spirit that cannot be controlled nor defeated with ease.
Those within the world of the film try to make contact with the spirit through an ouija board/seances, or call upon psychics and mediums to help to get rid of the spirit. This always seems to make the situation worse. Just like in Paranormal Activity. Once they seek help from a professional, he is driven out of the house being warned by the spirits, which eventually lead to the paranormal activities to develop even further.
Contrapuntal sounds such as nursery rhymes increase the scare factor. Additionally, by using innocent objects do the same as they are often used in order to do something unnatural making it terrifying for the audience and the characters.
Suburban family home, seems like a perfect family home, that they have usually just moved into. They are unaware of the horror that is about to happen. This happened in the film the ‘Amityville Horror’ whereby a family move into their new house, without knowledge of what had happened in the house prior to them moving in.
Mirrors/Windows/Baths are often used in order to create a jump scare.
Possession movies have similar convention to those in the supernatural genre. However, there are distinguishing conventions. It is likely that a family have just moved into a new suburban family home/house. Just like in the film “The Possession” whereby the two girls are visiting their dad's new house, and the box with the possessive spirit is brought to and were the possession takes place. Religious subjects and symbols are also very common, which is then why priests and rabbis are sought out to help and resolve the issue, however, they are usually unsuccessful. The spirit is often shown to move onto another person, also present in the film “The Possession”. A common contrast within supernatural movies is a juxtaposition between good and evil, a common example is young children being possessed, like in “The Exorcism”. Lastly, contortion/levitation of the body is presented, implying just how much control the demon has over the victim and their body.
● Locations within the films are set in a far and mystical land which is also largely uninhabited, like Transilvania is Dracula.
● Mise-en-Scene seems to be majorly dark, gloomy, foggy and misty. ● Mythical monsters usually featured as the antagonist, however,
unlike other horror genres the monster can be deafed. ● The films themselves are usually set in the past and feature a
protagonist who saves the day who is usually a male, the female takes on the roll of the damsel in distress. This is potentially due to the times in which these films were set.
Typical Conventions
Vladimir Propp - Character TypesVladimir’s theory suggests that certain characters was to be used in narrative structures. He came up with eight different roles.
1. The villain2. The dispatcher3. The helper4. Damsel in distress5. Her father6. The donor7. The hero 8. The false hero
It is evident that not all these roles are fulfilled within the horror genre but a basis of these characters are adapted into horror films.
‘Orphan’ If you look closely to the narrative of orphan, some of these character types are present throughout the film. Esther takes on the role of the villain, she has previously killed people and attempts to continue to do so. Though not stereotypical, John, Esther’s new foster father takes on the role of the father. As far as he is concerned, he is over the moon and sees no faults with his daughter, further convincing his wife Kate that nothing is wrong. Kate, Esther’s foster mother, can be seen as the hero, she senses something is wrong with Esther from the beginning, and is also the one who kills her at the end. This situation could have fact been avoided as Sister Abigail (the helper) tried to warn the family about Esther before they went through with fostering her and tried to advise them not to do so.
Todorov's Narrative Theory
Todorov suggests that there is five steps in a plot/narrative.
1. Equilibrium - a “calm state”, everything is as it should be.
2. A disruption - a problem occurs and something disrupts the calm state.
3. Realisation - the problem is recognised, chaos begins.
4. Restored order - an attempt is made to repair the damage caused.
5. Equilibrium - problem is resolved and everything is back to normal.
However, I do not think that Todorov’s theory is exactly followed regarding the horror genre. I am going to use ‘Grave Encounters’ as an example.
1. Equilibrium = the crew was excited to continue their ghost investigations for there tv show, they were on their way to their next location, prosperous.
2. A disruption = odd noises, doors slamming. 3. Realisation = matt going missing when collecting surveillance cameras.4. Restored order = there is no restored order, more bad things begin to happen; T.C pushed
down the stairs and injured, “HELLO” is scratched onto Sasha’s back, Lance is dragged away by a doctor who was famous for working in this abandoned hospital and then returns with a bleeding eye.
5. Equilibrium = as their is no restored order, and it is unsure as of yet that they are unable to get out of the hospital, the problem is not solved, and the camera cuts, leaving the audience unsure if there was a happy ending for the Grave Encounters team.
This film portrays that not all film narratives follow Todorov’s narrative theory. However, it could be said that by not adapting all of these, allows originality and memorability for the audiences, making the film more exciting and enticing for them to watch.