Research on Psychological Horror

           

Sound in Horror

QUIET/LOUD

Soft, calm piano music introduces a new beginning to family life. Quiet voices between family members. A children’s toy sets a soft tone, but has a rather creepy vibe to it as there is no evidence of it being controlled by anyone. Tranquil singing of ‘Merrily, merrily…’ through the baby monitor which sets a rather disturbing atmosphere. This is followed by another song ‘Tip Toe Around the Window’ which is again quiet and sets a troublesome mood. The peaceful/quiet tone rarely gets interrupted by any loud noises, which makes the trailer that much more effective. ‘He’s got your baby’ is repeated numerously towards the end of the trailer in a rather silent, yet shaken, voice but this gets interrupted with a deeper, louder voice, repeating the same thing.

CRESCENDOS

Due to the set calmness of the trailer, the crescendos rarely happen but when they do, it causes a shock for the audience because you’re not expecting it.

CHAOS

There is no ‘chaos’ when it comes to sound and music of the trailer, which is juxtaposing their situation (it’s obviously chaotic).

HOW IT AIDS THE BUILD UP OF TENSION

Because its continuously so quiet, one would expect something to eventually jump out or something major to happen and this causes tension. However, its not until the ending when we find something ‘supernatural’ appear out of nowhere.

HOW YOU MIGHT LIKE TO INCOPORATE SOMETHING SIMILAR/DIFFERENT INTO YOUR OWN FILM AND WHY

I found the peacefulness and silence of the trailer effective as it was disturbing and uncomfortable. The composer of the soundtrack said “silence can create a listening space, where rather than give you something else to listen to it enables you to hear things.”

QUIET/LOUD

Opens with loud thunder signifying some sort of disturbance. This is juxtaposed with the quiet voice of the girl speaking: something is clearly not right at this point and the sound proves this. As the intertitles come in, there is use of a ‘thud’ that happens once the words come in. The speaking is very quiet which suggests that something will follow that that will make the audience jump. Towards the end of the trailer, someone is singing “we’re gonna get you, not another peep, time to go to sleep,” in a quiet, subtle voice but there is again use of juxtaposition as its followed by the girl running up wooden stairs  and as they break, the thunder matches the step.

CRESCENDOS

Though there is not much music at the start, towards the middle/end, the music rapidly increases and it begins to sound more like  ‘dance’ music which I find makes it harder to take seriously.

CHAOS

There is some chaos in the sounds (which are indicated through the use of thunder and ‘dance’ music). Its different from Insidious 2 in the sense that while they made the situation seem calm, in this trailer, it’s obvious that something has gone terribly wrong.

HOW IT AIDS THE BUILD UP OF TENSION

I would argue that the chosen music and sounds do not build up tension as you can tell that something bad is going to happen due to the constant use of thunder – there’s too much sound while in the Insidious 2 trailer, the silence is abnormal and you wouldn’t know what to expect.

HOW YOU MIGHT LIKE TO INCOPORATE SOMETHING SIMILAR/DIFFERENT INTO YOUR OWN FILM AND WHY

I think if I were to use fast-paced and dramatic music, I would use it within reason and not too much as that gives away the idea of danger.

QUIET/LOUD

It starts off with country music which gives a sense of reassurance. As the little girl goes on her bike, the music starts to become fast paced and ‘swept away.’ This is then followed by a somewhat quiet piano sound, suggesting that something is approaching. During the montage of scenes, the music becomes louder and more fast paced.

CRESCENDOS

Piano music slowly increases as the little girl talks about her dreams implying that this is when the plot is about to unravel.

CHAOS

The music does seem to suggest chaos after the country music stops playing, however, its done more discretely than it was in the Evil Dead which made the fact that danger was approaching more obvious.

HOW IT AIDS THE BUILD UP OF TENSION

It builds up the tension through using music only at certain points in the novel which means that they do not give away too much of the plot.

HOW YOU MIGHT LIKE TO INCOPORATE SOMETHING SIMILAR/DIFFERENT INTO YOUR OWN FILM AND WHY

While I think their use of music is good,  I would argue that they use too much dialogue which takes away the ‘scariness’ of the trailer and makes it rather anecdotal – they’re not letting the music speak for itself.

Textual Analysis: House at the End of the Street

Textual Analysis: House at the

End of the Street

The trailer opens with the traditional rating certificate. 

                   

After the silence of the certificate, the audience is hit with fast, loud and almost squeaky music indicating that the audience can expect something big to happen. The camera shot used is a mid shot to symbolize 

isolation/no escape, which is further established as she is crouching under what seems to be table.

The camera zooms in to show her reaction; it shows darkness vs. light/ bad vs. good – an everlasting battle between the two in horror. At this point, the audience is still expecting to see what she’s hiding from.

It then jumps to a ‘blackout’ suggesting that the audience won’t see what she’s scared of. The music stops during this point as she whispers “oh my god.”

She breaks the glass with a hammer, perhaps reflecting that everything has become fragile. She shields her eyes for protection but there’s only so much that will do. Diegetic sound of the glass breaking, the music enters in the form of a heartbeat which could be mirroring how out of breath/scared she is.

  

Mid shot shows that she’s close to escaping whatever she’s running from, however, as the scene transitions from the car to another blackout, there is diegetic sound  of the door slamming which is used to suggest that she’s locked in/there’s no way out.

A big close up is used to show the worry/confusion on her face. There’s a sense of moral panic as the scene progresses – will she/won’t she escape. The audience here would sympathise with the character as they would want her to escape for her own safety.

The close up of the chloroform is accompanied by a ‘static’ sound which slowly fades out as she reads the bottle. Chloroform is used to render someone unconscious, which foreshadows upcoming events.

As the ‘static’ sound stops and the audience are reeled into false certainty – they believe that she’s somewhat safe at this point. But then there’s a ‘monster’ like scream (which is strange because there are no supernatural monsters in the movie).

It then cuts to the production logos, leaving the audience to question the character’s fate. It signifies that the first movement of the trailer is over. 

The producers have used the production logos to signify the fact that the trailer is done backwards. All of the events that happen are edited in non-chronological order which seem to reflect the idea that there’s disruption and disorder.

The trailer is heavily filled with intertitles, these were replaced by the traditional voiceover.  It’s also important to note that the wallpaper of the intertitles sometimes changes from well kept to damaged – perhaps symbolizing the story of how the girl’s life changed. At this point, the music goes back to a heartbeat rhythm.

The extreme close up clock is going anti-clockwise symbolizing the fact that the trailer is backwards. It also suggests that time is running out for them – she’s soon going to be exploited by him. Also, the clock ticks at the same time as the music; there’s rhythm which would suggest that the characters and audience know what to expect but that’s not the case.

Though a simple mid shot is used, the carpet lifts up as there is a key change in the music. The sound almost sounds like someone breaking out of chains, which may be what the girl is doing metaphorically. 

There is a slight squeak as the girl opens the basement door, showing that perhaps it’s been a long time since she’s opened in. Also, the girl is wearing a white dress which represents the innocence of her and purity – while her brother blamed her for killing their parents, it was actually him and in that sense, the girl has always been innocent, he just exploited that.

The close up of the knife foreshadows upcoming events; she tries to use the knife for protection. As it progresses to the next scene, there is a sound bridge when she says “what are you doing?” However, it’s another blackout so the audience can’t tell what’s happening again (this is probably to build cliff hangers so the audience ends up watching the movie). 

This long shot is effective as it depicts her struggle to escape; she’s tied to the chair and, presumably, the door is also locked. While the room suggests normality, it’s what’s happened to her that is disturbing. In order to get where she is, she was probably drugged with chloroform.

The mid close up of the girl shows disruption because she appears to be crawling after the other female character. Also, the cuts on her arm are a contrast to her pure white dress. 

There is a montage of ‘attacks’ which change as the beat of the music changes. As it happens at a quick pace, the audience is left questioning why the attacks are happening and how they happened.

The high angle mid shot shows the character trying to escape once more. However, this time we see a policeman in the background who appears to be injured. In a sense it depicts the traditional role of men in horror – they’re supposed to save the damsel in distress but now we see the ‘damsel’ saving herself because he failed to fulfil the role. She’s looking up helplessly.

The sound used is of her screaming for this scene. The ground-level mid shot cuts out the who/what is dragging her which again causes the audience to question what’s happening. The use of the blur during the shot of her legs is done from the point of view of the antagonist; the blur may also be representing the fact that she’s about to get drugged with chloroform. 

The shot of the mum ringing the bell is used after it was answered which again demonstrates the fact that the trailer tells the story backwards.

The close up of her lying unconscious on the floor is followed by more words said backwards which then shows that the scene is rewinded – he’s reflecting on what he done to her.

The ‘fish-eye’ effect is used when she’s looking through the peephole to find a mysterious figure walking past her door, uncomfortably close. The concept of looking through some sort of hole is a common horror movie convention.

The characters are walking backwards again to show the trailer is reversed (they clearly do that a lot, which is not a traditional convention of a horror movie trailer). Also, the blondes are usually the victims in horror movies and they have stuck to this convention. 

Everyone knows that once you make out/have sex in horror movies, you immediately become the victim because there is no longer a sense of purity and innocence. At this point, he says “I want you to leave her alone, you understand me?” which represents him as a caring guy who’s willing to keep evil away from her, 

but little does she know that he’s the one that she should be staying away from.

It isn’t a conventional trailer because it started with disruption and ended with normality. The establishing shots seem to suggest a middle class rural area, which is vibrant compared to the rest of the movie and there’s a sense of community and peace. However, the music is contradictory as its off-key, suggesting that something is out of place and will go terribly wrong.

The mid shot of the antagonist comes up after “what exactly happened here?” and it then goes on to tell the brief story of the girl. The fact that the trailer is set out this way implies that one of the characters is stuck in the past. 

The slight dissolve from the trees to the “house at the end of the street” indicates the idea of being trapped, isolation and no escape.

 The non-diagetic music seems to be playing backwards, reflecting the idea of them looking back on how the “double-murders” happened. The big close up of the eye shows the fact that someone’s always watching and waiting for the next victim.

The ‘under-the-bed’ long shot is effective because the audience is ‘blinded’ and they are unaware of what is happening – the fact that it shows the girl running viciously through the door is contradictory of her innocent/pure dress. However, it’s unclear if she’s the one climbing out of the bed due to the shadow effect of their legs. The fact that it seems as if there are pillow feathers on the floor may symbolize her ‘tearing’ up and ruining her purity – her innocence lies on the floor of her parents’ bedroom. 

The close up of her face at the end of the trailer suggests that the audience can safely assume that the movie 

will be focused on her – she’s the antagonist. 

The mother says “I think this place is going to be really good for us” but the whole trailer proved that she could not be more wrong. The close ups of their faces seems to indicate a closeness and a bond between the mother and daughter.

As the trailer progresses, the wallpaper of the intertitles goes from damaged to brand new – the fact that it says “where it all began” on the one that is the least damaged implies that the past was a lot simpler and more peaceful than the present is.

Women in Horror

What is the common representation of females in horror?

In general, the traditional representation of females in horror is that they are often perceived as either vulnerable and inferior (the 'virgin') or that they are sexually driven and almost asking to be killed because of this (the 'whore'). They're also usually the ones that become possessed by a demon and more often than not, a man is usually the one trying to get 'rid' of this evil in order to save her. For example, in The Exorcist, the men are called first to save the young girl rather than it being a woman. Horror often depicts females to be 'the damsel in distress.'

In The Human Centipede, it could be argued that the girls are represented as stupid and naive - they voluntarily go knocking on a stranger's door in search for help, but honestly, if someone looked as dodgy as the man did, they should run straight away. Due to their vulnerable state, their vulnerability is therefore exploited in a series of unfortunate events.

 

In The Shining, the mother is shown as the innocent and paranoid female. This shot shows how she's practically the smallest thing in the room; it seems as if the walls are closing in and that there is no escape for her. And while she does have a weapon, she makes it extremely visible and it makes her seem like a joke because she doesn't know how to be tactical about it. Also, her clothing and hair gives the impression that she is approachable as she has a motherly vibe to her, unlike the girls from The Human Centipede. 

How are Hannah and Selena presented in the first half of 28 Days Later?

In the first half, Selena goes against the stereotypical views of females in horror. She's neither the virgin or the whore, but rather a woman who will do anything to survive, even if it means killing those who prevent her to do so. She's presented as selfish, though perhaps not in a bad way and this leads her to be a cunning, dominant character in the first half of the film. Hannah, though briefly seen at the start, is presented as innocent but rather wise - she's the one that suggests for all of them to go to Manchester because its better for them to die there than where they were. She's also shown to know how to drive a car, and while her father tells her to get out, its evident that he is proud of his daughter's skills. 

How do their characters change as the film develops?

Their characters subtly change towards the end of the film and it starts to lean more towards the idea of 'the damsel in distress.' While we saw Selena fight her way to survival in the first half, she still ends up being rescued by Jim rather than being able to rescue herself given the situation she was in. This shows that while she was the dominant and powerful character, she still reflects the traditional female role when it comes to the end. However, I think its fair to say that although she might be presented as 'the damsel in distress' during the last moments, she is in fact the heroin because she put Hannah first before herself. 

Sub-Genres of Horror

Action Horror combines the elements of your regular features of horror such as evil forces and supernatural beings with gunshots and frantic chases that can be found in action packed movies. This, in my opinion, creates a movie that has something happening all time, making it more interesting than a regular horror movie.

Body Horror is the sub-genre which focuses on the graphic destruction/degeneration of bodies. Other forms of body horror include unnatural movements or incorrectly placed limbs to create monsters.

Comedy Horror combines the elements of both genres to create a film. However, its not regular comedy that you find in Romantic movies but rather 'black comedy' which is a lot darker and the focus is more on humour that is based on terrifying people.

Gothic Horror at times may have aspects of romance, which unfolds during the film in a suspenseful way. Some of the earliest horror movies came under the sub-genre.

Natural Horror normally includes mutilated beasts, carnivorous insects and animals/plants turned into cold blooded killers. Sometimes it may overlap with science fiction.

Psychological Horror is a science-fiction sub-genre often including killer aliens, mads scientists and/or an experiment gone wrong.

Slasher Horror often revolves around a psychotic killer who kills a sequence of victims a graphic/violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as knife or an axe.

Splatter Horror focuses on the graphic use of gore and violence. Using special effects and excessive use of blood and guts. They show an over the top interest in the vulnerability of the human body and its mutilation.

Top Three Scary Films

The one horror film that I have watched was the Spanish film 'El Orfanato' (The Orphanage).  

What made it scary was not just the plot, but also the fact that it was in a foreign language. Though the English subtitles were on, barely understanding what was happening made that much more worse when something happened - it was filled with suspense throughout. Another reason why it has reached the top three is because the writers used children as the source of the horror. They're supposed to be innocent and incapable of harm and yet the film showed that it's not always the case. Also, children wearing masks isn't the most comfortable thing to watch. The film was well produced but the scene that stood out to me was 'The Bathroom' scene. 

The scene uses a child, masks, corridors, a bathroom, doors, windows, and doors with windows which makes it effective because it used an everyday environment, making the audience cautious as it could happen to them. Even watching two times in the day, knowing exactly what will happen, I still get freaked out. We don't associate children with being dangerous but rather them being prone to getting into danger so the idea that the boy goes after an adult, who should be able to protect herself, makes it a plot twist. 

Normally I would think that using most of the key characteristics of horror would make scenes seem too overdone, however, El Orfanato shows that it can be created tastefully, as long as you have a strong plot. 

I haven't watched any other scary films, however, the next following two are ones that I would not even think about watching. The second movie that has reached the top three is 'The Human Centipede.' 

The reason for this is pretty obvious I think - disgusting is usually scary, but what's scarier is the idea that humans are capable of not just creating a disturbing movie, but the possibility of someone carrying out a 'human centipede.' 

The trailer alone would make me not watch the movie. A surgeon is supposed to save lives rather than destroy them. The idea that they trusted a stranger and he abused that trust in a corrupted way is why it reached the top three. 

The last film that I would not consider watching the trailer for is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). 

Reading more about the movie, it was marketed as a 'real life story' (though entirely fictional). Due to this, it would have been incredibly popular among people during the release, however, although I would find it interesting, I would rather have read up on the movie rather than watching it purely because of their marketing technique. 

I think the trailer gave away the whole movie in 2 minutes, but regardless of that, it still reached my top three because it still freaked me out just as much as the other movies. Also, the idea that the victim is almost near to freedom but gets dragged back makes a nice touch to the film.