Wednesday 24 October 2012
Let The Right One In - Trailer Analysis
I analysed the Let The Right One In trailer, looking for the common codes and conventions found within trailers.
Sunday 14 October 2012
Room 1408 - Trailer Analysis
I analysed the Room 1408 trailer, looking for the common codes and conventions found within trailers.
Friday 12 October 2012
History of the Horror Film Genre
Although there are films credited for being horror in the
end of the 19th century, the horror genre first emerged with
German Expressionism in the silent era of films from around 1920. As imported
films were banned from Germany, the demand for more films made within the
country was high. These films relied on non-realistic, distorted sets to add an
eerie quality as after the First World War there were no large budgets
available for production. This and the absence of spoken dialogue, (actors of
silent and German expressionism films had to use over exaggerated expressions
and body language to communicate their emotions with the audience), resulted in
a very abstract and distinct, recognisable style that greatly influenced the
film noir and horror genre of films especially. Examples of these films are The
Cabinet of Dr Caligari (sometimes accredited as being influential for zombie
movies later on because of the sleep walking assistant of Dr Caligari) and
Nosferatu which is based unauthorised on Bram Stokers Dracula which meant that
later on that the courts ordered for all copies to be destroyed because Bram
Stroker’s wife sued the company for stealing the idea.
In the early years of horror movies with dialogue, the company Universal Pictures began making a succession of successful films based of gothic horror novels such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula (which had been mimicked earlier by Nosferatu) by Bram Stoker (both of the film adaptations were released in 1931). These films created an appetite for the horror genre and other companies soon followed such as Paramount with Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde also in 1931. Films in those times were often based around themes of insanity and mad scientists and built upon the techniques that were employed in German Expressionism films such as over exaggerated facial expressions. Often the movie theatres would use gimmicks such as ambulances waiting outside and nurses on hand in the movie theatre to further scare the audience. Although these movies were in black and white, sometimes such as in the original screenings of Frankenstein, coloured screens were used to create atmosphere such as red for the climatic ending.
After the success of films such as Frankenstein, Universal pictures not only created sequels to their successful horror films they began creating other horror films rapidly as they saw there was a gap in the market for them. There was an emergence of films where nature goes wrong and started attacking people and also the beginning of werewolf and cat people stories where humans transformed into animals. Although werewolf novels existed they were not popular on the scale of classic gothic horror novels such as Dracula, so it fell to Universal Pictures to make them popular. Although they created the movie “Werewolf in London” in the 30’s, their first big werewolf movie was the influential “Wolf Man” starring Lon Chaney Jr. son of Lon Chaney Sr. who was known for silent movies. This kick-started the craze in the 40’s for horror movies based around nature going wrong.
In the 1950’s, the horror film genre started moving away from its literary roots and with the help of new advances in technology, there was instead the beginning of films about the horror of Armageddon and the horror of the demonic. Often these were inexpensive B-movies without well-known actors. Horror of Armageddon films such as Them! (nuclear waste spill that created giant ants) were about existential threats that could end the human civilisation and were often based on themes of nuclear warfare, pandemic or extra-terrestrial attack. This fear of an outside attack changing the entire world was part of the American fear of Communist infiltration and often the monsters were unnamed to further the feeling of unease in the USA at that time. The Blob (1958) is a good example of this as it is a red faceless blob that grows as it devours people and if you watch the trailer and replaces all instances where “The Blob” is said with “Communism” it still fits.
A British film production company that was well known for horror in the 1950’s – 70’s was Hammer films. It began to dominate the market at that time with worldwide distribution and financial success, probably helped by partnerships with studios in the states such as Warner Bros. It was known for a series of films based on gothic novels such as new workings of Frankenstein and Dracula. This success made the company well known as ‘Hammer House of Horror’ and during the 50’s and 60’s they produced a vast amount of films as because their popularity increased, American companies wanted in on the success. Halfway through the 60’s a new financial deal meant there was a burst of more gothic styled films such as The Devil Rides Out (The Devil's Bride) which is about a group of satanists who invoke the devil. Unfortunately, in the 70's they lost popularity and lost backing by studios as nobody was really interested in the traditional gothic horror genre anymore.
The first splatter/slasher movie, the influential Psycho came out in 1960 but the trend in the 60’s and 70’s was actually more based in Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism and Family. The first influential zombie film was Night of The Living Dead (1968) which moved even further away from classic gothic horror and gave horror more everyday realism. The supernatural became a bigger theme and Japanese horror often used folk religion such as Satanism in their movies. Because the restrictive “Hay’s Code” was lifted in the 60’s movies could be more gory and shocking than ever before. Satanism also became huge in the western world when The Exorcist came out in 1973 leading to a whole branch of film dedicated to the possession of women and children that is still very much alive in the horror movie genre today. Satan is a villain that often features in horror films because he is invincible to humans. Another popular satanic movie is The Omen from 1976.
Although Splatter films had been present before the 80's, in this decade there was an emergence of 'Slasher movies' which are a different genre as it typically involves a psychopathic murderer who stalks and kills many victims, usually in a very graphic and violent way which a cutting tool that is often a knife or an axe. Although there were a couple of these in the late 70's such as Halloween (1978) they became very popular in the 80's with such films as Friday The 13th (1980) and My Bloody Valentine (1981). This decade also became known for its 'B-movie' films that are now considered cult classics such as The Lost Boys (1987) and the gory Fright Night (1985).
After fifteen years of these types of film and the success of them falling, directors wanted to come up with something new and interesting to re-grab audiences attentions. They started making parody horror films where the characters are aware of typical horror movie conventions which creates humour in films such as Dead Alive (1992) and Scream (1996) where they compile a list of how to survive a scary movie. This trend continues today with modern movies as Scary Movie (2000) and Shaun Of The Dead (2004) that use both gore and black humour to create the Comedy Horror genre.
Many of the gory 80's 'B-movies' mentioned before are termed 'Video-Nasties', these are movies that were deemed unfit for cinema showings, and so went straight to video, with the worst parts censored by the BBFC. There was uproar because of the lack of regulatory system on videos and people were concerned they could fall into childrens hands - this caused there to be new laws by which movies for video sale went through a stricter censorship than even for ones shown in cinemas. In some cases, there have been 'Moral Panics' caused by attacks and murders that were blamed on the criminals having seen a certain film. Examples of this are Evil Dead (1981) and Childs Play 3 (1991), the latter being said to have influenced the murder of three year old boy James Bulger by two 10 year olds who had seen the film. There has always been concern about how the viewing of graphically violent films could effect members of society, especially young people.
In the 2000's, gore returned with a vengence and the terms 'gore-nography' and other similar terms came into existance to describe the new breed of movies that try to titilate the audience with excessive amounts of gore. This spawned series of movies such as Hostel (2005). David Edelstein of New York Magazine was negative towards the director (Eli Roth) for creating what he termed 'torture-porn' where audiences were excited by gore "like a sexual act". These movies are only really enjoyed by a very niche audience, but have become popular because of the hype surrounding them and how gory they are. 'Gore-nography' is ultimately about killing and torturing people in a variety of ways and often don't focus at all heavily on character or plot, however, some series such as Saw (2004) and Final Destination (2000) try to include a story line as to why the events are occuring which removes them slightly from the 'torture-porn' genre as it is not entirely focused on the gory violence depicted.
In conclusion, over the years, with many updates in technology and interests of the general public, the Horror genre has developed and expanded into many sub-genres to create the vast array of films being made today. Although there are many things that you would expect to see in a horror film, the two thing I think that all horror films have in common is the use of suspense and having an 'enemy'. The horror genre is constantly evolving and changing to re-grab audiences attentions and although certain themes tend to stay with the genre such as isolation and blood shed, it's constantly being reinvented.
In the early years of horror movies with dialogue, the company Universal Pictures began making a succession of successful films based of gothic horror novels such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula (which had been mimicked earlier by Nosferatu) by Bram Stoker (both of the film adaptations were released in 1931). These films created an appetite for the horror genre and other companies soon followed such as Paramount with Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde also in 1931. Films in those times were often based around themes of insanity and mad scientists and built upon the techniques that were employed in German Expressionism films such as over exaggerated facial expressions. Often the movie theatres would use gimmicks such as ambulances waiting outside and nurses on hand in the movie theatre to further scare the audience. Although these movies were in black and white, sometimes such as in the original screenings of Frankenstein, coloured screens were used to create atmosphere such as red for the climatic ending.
After the success of films such as Frankenstein, Universal pictures not only created sequels to their successful horror films they began creating other horror films rapidly as they saw there was a gap in the market for them. There was an emergence of films where nature goes wrong and started attacking people and also the beginning of werewolf and cat people stories where humans transformed into animals. Although werewolf novels existed they were not popular on the scale of classic gothic horror novels such as Dracula, so it fell to Universal Pictures to make them popular. Although they created the movie “Werewolf in London” in the 30’s, their first big werewolf movie was the influential “Wolf Man” starring Lon Chaney Jr. son of Lon Chaney Sr. who was known for silent movies. This kick-started the craze in the 40’s for horror movies based around nature going wrong.
In the 1950’s, the horror film genre started moving away from its literary roots and with the help of new advances in technology, there was instead the beginning of films about the horror of Armageddon and the horror of the demonic. Often these were inexpensive B-movies without well-known actors. Horror of Armageddon films such as Them! (nuclear waste spill that created giant ants) were about existential threats that could end the human civilisation and were often based on themes of nuclear warfare, pandemic or extra-terrestrial attack. This fear of an outside attack changing the entire world was part of the American fear of Communist infiltration and often the monsters were unnamed to further the feeling of unease in the USA at that time. The Blob (1958) is a good example of this as it is a red faceless blob that grows as it devours people and if you watch the trailer and replaces all instances where “The Blob” is said with “Communism” it still fits.
A British film production company that was well known for horror in the 1950’s – 70’s was Hammer films. It began to dominate the market at that time with worldwide distribution and financial success, probably helped by partnerships with studios in the states such as Warner Bros. It was known for a series of films based on gothic novels such as new workings of Frankenstein and Dracula. This success made the company well known as ‘Hammer House of Horror’ and during the 50’s and 60’s they produced a vast amount of films as because their popularity increased, American companies wanted in on the success. Halfway through the 60’s a new financial deal meant there was a burst of more gothic styled films such as The Devil Rides Out (The Devil's Bride) which is about a group of satanists who invoke the devil. Unfortunately, in the 70's they lost popularity and lost backing by studios as nobody was really interested in the traditional gothic horror genre anymore.
The first splatter/slasher movie, the influential Psycho came out in 1960 but the trend in the 60’s and 70’s was actually more based in Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism and Family. The first influential zombie film was Night of The Living Dead (1968) which moved even further away from classic gothic horror and gave horror more everyday realism. The supernatural became a bigger theme and Japanese horror often used folk religion such as Satanism in their movies. Because the restrictive “Hay’s Code” was lifted in the 60’s movies could be more gory and shocking than ever before. Satanism also became huge in the western world when The Exorcist came out in 1973 leading to a whole branch of film dedicated to the possession of women and children that is still very much alive in the horror movie genre today. Satan is a villain that often features in horror films because he is invincible to humans. Another popular satanic movie is The Omen from 1976.
Although Splatter films had been present before the 80's, in this decade there was an emergence of 'Slasher movies' which are a different genre as it typically involves a psychopathic murderer who stalks and kills many victims, usually in a very graphic and violent way which a cutting tool that is often a knife or an axe. Although there were a couple of these in the late 70's such as Halloween (1978) they became very popular in the 80's with such films as Friday The 13th (1980) and My Bloody Valentine (1981). This decade also became known for its 'B-movie' films that are now considered cult classics such as The Lost Boys (1987) and the gory Fright Night (1985).
After fifteen years of these types of film and the success of them falling, directors wanted to come up with something new and interesting to re-grab audiences attentions. They started making parody horror films where the characters are aware of typical horror movie conventions which creates humour in films such as Dead Alive (1992) and Scream (1996) where they compile a list of how to survive a scary movie. This trend continues today with modern movies as Scary Movie (2000) and Shaun Of The Dead (2004) that use both gore and black humour to create the Comedy Horror genre.
Many of the gory 80's 'B-movies' mentioned before are termed 'Video-Nasties', these are movies that were deemed unfit for cinema showings, and so went straight to video, with the worst parts censored by the BBFC. There was uproar because of the lack of regulatory system on videos and people were concerned they could fall into childrens hands - this caused there to be new laws by which movies for video sale went through a stricter censorship than even for ones shown in cinemas. In some cases, there have been 'Moral Panics' caused by attacks and murders that were blamed on the criminals having seen a certain film. Examples of this are Evil Dead (1981) and Childs Play 3 (1991), the latter being said to have influenced the murder of three year old boy James Bulger by two 10 year olds who had seen the film. There has always been concern about how the viewing of graphically violent films could effect members of society, especially young people.
In the 2000's, gore returned with a vengence and the terms 'gore-nography' and other similar terms came into existance to describe the new breed of movies that try to titilate the audience with excessive amounts of gore. This spawned series of movies such as Hostel (2005). David Edelstein of New York Magazine was negative towards the director (Eli Roth) for creating what he termed 'torture-porn' where audiences were excited by gore "like a sexual act". These movies are only really enjoyed by a very niche audience, but have become popular because of the hype surrounding them and how gory they are. 'Gore-nography' is ultimately about killing and torturing people in a variety of ways and often don't focus at all heavily on character or plot, however, some series such as Saw (2004) and Final Destination (2000) try to include a story line as to why the events are occuring which removes them slightly from the 'torture-porn' genre as it is not entirely focused on the gory violence depicted.
In conclusion, over the years, with many updates in technology and interests of the general public, the Horror genre has developed and expanded into many sub-genres to create the vast array of films being made today. Although there are many things that you would expect to see in a horror film, the two thing I think that all horror films have in common is the use of suspense and having an 'enemy'. The horror genre is constantly evolving and changing to re-grab audiences attentions and although certain themes tend to stay with the genre such as isolation and blood shed, it's constantly being reinvented.
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