Theoretical Approaches to Horror Films
There have been many theories developed regarding the horror genre, from the camerawork and special effects to the psychology behind why we enjoy watching them.


The philosophy of Horror- Noel  Carroll: Noel's big idea was the attraction and repulsion people feel when watching horror films. When we watch horror films we are attracted to the gore and transgression as well as repulsed by it. As an audience we enjoy seeing a POV shot from the killers perspective, however we fail to identify with the killer, we fear vampires but we are attracted to them .We cant stand what we are seeing but we cant stop looking.

Sub-Genres of Horror

Action Horror:
Action Horror is a sub-genre that combines supernatural with gun fights and chases.Themes in this genre include Zombies, vicious animals and vampire.

 

Comedy Horror:
This sub-genre combines horror and comedy. Examples of this sub-genre is "scary movie".

Body Horror:
This where the main theme in the film is the deconstruction of a human body.

Gothic Horror:
This includes both elements of gothic and horror. This is the earliest sub-genre of horror films dating back to the 1930s. Themes in this sub-genre include magic, supernatural and castles. An example would be Dracula

Psychological Horror:
This sub-genre of horror relies on the protagonists fears, guilt of the past. It involves supernatural aspects and ghosts to scare the viewers and further the plot. A  film that would be in this sub-genre is "The Shining".

Science Fiction Horror:
This often deals with paranormal however it also involves mad scientists or experiments going wrong.. mutation. An example of this is Alien.

Slasher Films:
This involves a lot of violence from a psychopathic serial killer, who kills several victims however the main target is women in these films e.g "psycho". Slasher's are built around mystery and suspense making the viewer always being on the edge of their seats.

Arteur Theory


Arteur theory is the idea of filmmaking that holds that a film reflects the directors personal creative vision.Auteur theory was first established in the late 1940s after the Andre Bazin and Alexandre Astruc was outgrown. The Auteur theory focuses on:
1- Indivudual stylistic features
2- How texts are determined by artists creativity
3- How texts emerge as part of an artists body of work


Some of the most well know for  using of developing the Autuer theory are Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma  and FrancoisTruffaut. All three had an influence on thetheory.


Alfred Hitchcock was often acknowledged for his skill, some elements of Hitchcock's style consists of:

• The cool platinum blonde
• An innocent man accused
• Restricting the action to a single setting to increase tension
• Climax plot twist
• The presence of a domineering mother in her childs life
• Characters who switch sides and/or cannot be trusted.

Brian De Palma has directed many films including Carrie and The Untouchables. He sparked alot of controversy within the film industry with film critics and the public because he did many psychological films which had graphic violence. As well has his that he was also highly regarded my film critics for his obscure camera angles and compositions. Most well known would include the split screen technique, showing to seperate events at one time, another would be framing the characer using a canted angle against the background.


Francois Trufaut contributed to the origins of the theory and stated that directors should use the mise-en-scene to leave a mark on their work. He still remains an icon of the French film industry because of his long career and amount of films he worked on, acounting to 25 films. Trafaut wrote an article called 'une certaine Tendance du Cinema Francais', translated to 'A certain trend of French cinema'. This article was very controversial, because of the way traffaut talked about the state of French films and certain screenwriters and producers, not always talking about them positively.This was when the Auteur theory was born which simply said that the director was the 'author' of his work.

The Smiling Man


We were set the task to find a short film each, as my one I brought in the smiling man , a short film where a little girl at home finds herself face to face with an evil character.


'The Smiling Man'is a great example of a perfect short horror. In a short horror film , you have to keep the narrative relatively simple that creates a creepy impression. The main story line is that the little girl is at home with what she thought was with her mum,however we ater discover she is all alone. The little girl is lead downstairs by a series of balloons leading her down We dont ever see the evil character we just see their hands. The little girl finds herself in the kitchen where the smiling man is waiting. The contrats between the innocence in the little girl and the evilness in the man create a disturbing atmosphere.The smiling man brings the little girl round the corner of the kitchen unit. This is were we unexpectedly discover her mum lying in a pool of her own blood. This shocks us ,to make us feel even more uncofortable the man then starts scooping up the womans blood in his hands and rubbing it all over is face. 


What will I take from this?  
I liked the fact we didnt seet he evil character until the ver last section,we only saw glimpses of the man. I liked how we thought we knew what was going on but there was a massive plot twist at the end where we saw the little girls mum lying there. The unexpected plot twist left us thinking what he was going to do to the little girl.Another thing that interested me was the contrast between innocence and evil, this put you on edge and helped you connect with th little girl and sympathise with her. It also made the evil man look even more evil.
Apart from narrative I also like the camera work involved especially the birds eye view one in the kitchen. We can see exactly what the girl is walking into.
In my film I will do a birds eye shot because it really engages the audience and makes you feel on edge, its one of those moents where you shout at the scream " No don't go that way!!".

History of Horror films

Before 1930 horror didn't exist people thought it was gothic or melodramtic.

1930-1940s was a time for lots of big hollywood horrors for example frankenstein and dracula etc.
B-movies horror became more popular and things from the real world started to be refelected within the films.
1950s was the height of hammer horror.
1960s counter culture- a new type of horror emerges with lots of gore and violence.
1970-1980s was a prolific time for horrow it was the era of the slasher films.
1990-today low turn out of production of horro in 90s and 2000s , again peoples idea of horror was changing based on truth or within a realistic seeting become popular (paranormal).


The development of horror through the eras is truly based on how people need new things to be scared of. What was seen as very scary in the 1940s is not as scary in the modern day. Its alot harder to make people scared nowadays.

Short film conventions


A film is classed as a short film if it is shorter than 40 minutes. Anything longer than that and it is just a regular feature film. They are usually made with a low budget and by independent film makers.The best short films tend to have one simple idea because they have less time to get their ideas across .The unity of time and action usually stays in one location and happens within a short amount of time. In comparison to a normal film where the film can happen over days, weeks, months or even years. Many people say a cliff hanger or twisted ending is better as it leaves you wondering and thinking about it, many short films show this.

What uses and gratifications do people obtain from the horror genre?


Horror films are very big money makers, They are normally made on a 

low budget but however make a large profit. Unfortunately horror  films are not highly regarded by critics but are highly praised by by many general people looking for a thrilling experience. The general audience goes with the expectation to be scared and is greatly entertained when they are, while critics arrive with preexisting expectations of their own. When we are afraid the Amygdala , a set of neurons in the brain, triggers the "flight or fight" response, causing palms to sweat , pupils to dilate and ensures the body is pumped with dopamine and adrenaline. So some people may say the thrills of horror gives them a sort of rush. Marvin Zuckerman proposed in 1979 that people who scored high in the sensation seeker scale often reported a greater interest in exciting things like roller coasters, bungee jumps and horror films. Studies have shown many people like to watch horror films with other people so it becomes a social experience, women like to act scared in-front of males and males like to act like a protector and show their masculinity. 

People get an escape from horror films, and in most cases you get to watch people who are worse off than yourself. When watching a horror films you get to experience the threats the characters face without actually having to face them.