Critical Study of Horror Film - Blog Week 9

This week we looked at Spoofs and Parodies

These movies are seen in almost all the Genres, but tend to spoof Horror movies most often. Unlike their "model" movie the spoof often is slap stick not always the best rated.

The Directors are often famous for comedy films. These include Director/producer: Sam Raimi and Mel Brooks, the Wayans Brothers and Actors like Leslie Nielson, Charlie Sheen, Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Rick Moranis, etc.

Spoofs

Exaggerated stereotypes

Exaggerated and/or superfluous actions (violence with no consequences or pointless visual gags)

Entire scenes that have no bearing on the story

Entire scenes that have no bearing on the story and only exist for humor’s sake

Mocking of other film genres, films, or iconic scenes from specific films

Sarcasm

Characters with silly names or names with obvious meaning

Parody

Parody makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of it.

Parody is meant for mocking and does not contain anything serious.

Parody is pure entertainment and nothing else.

Parody is pure entertainment and nothing else.

Parody does not intend to bring about societal change.

Parody can make fun of literature, film, advertising, popular culture, etc

What is the difference between Parody and Spoof?

• Parody and spoof are very close to each other, especially when they are trying to imitate a person or his style.

• Parody is harmless fun of the characteristic style of an author, whereas spoof is senseless.

• Forging the return address of an email is called spoofing.

• Parody is clean fun and is often more truthful than a spoof.

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-parody-and-vs-spoof/#ixzz33ohzbs5I


The Movie this week was really far off of the topic this week, but really worth seeing.

 

Basis of the movie:

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. Simple right? The Conjuring depicts the 18th-century farmhouse in Rhode Island where Roger and Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston) and their five daughters allegedly were terrified and even possessed by spirits.

Ed Warren died in 2006, but Lorraine, now 86, was a consultant on the film and remains a paranormal investigator. She insists that many of the movie's harrowing moments actually happened.

"The things that went on there were just so incredibly frightening," she says, citing her own investigation nearly 40 years ago. "It still affects me to talk about it today."

To Read more
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/07/22/conjuring-true-story-perron/2457209/

 

The idea going in is the same as many other Paranormal Horror movie, but the directing, acting and scene work make this movie stand out.

There is not a horror/scary trick out there that was not used in some way in this movie.  From the  bumps and noises around the corner,

to the sheet covered beings and creepy toys.

There is a constant monolog running in you head of "...you really don't want to do that...: and ".. ok, now would be a good time to leave..."

A Critical Study of Horror Film - Week 8

The Slasher film (sometimes referred to as bodycount films and dead teenager movies) is a sub-genre of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer (sometimes wearing a mask) who stalks and graphically murders a series of adolescent victims in a typically random, unprovoked fashion, killing many within a single day.

Although these movies have had their place in the spotlight they often are mirror images of each other. The story lines all read the same...

The victims are usually photogenic teenagers or young adults who are away from mainstream civilization or far away from help and often involved in sexual activities, illegal-drug use, or both. These films typically begin with the murder of a young woman and typically end with a lone female survivor who manages to subdue the killer, only to discover that the problem has not been completely solved. Although Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho provided early inspiration, the first authentic slasher film was Black Christmas, though the success of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street helped popularize and revolutionize the genre in the 1980s. Another main these of the slasher seems also to be how many seques can be made. The slasher style horror has the ability to leave openings when the villian is a ominous being that is supposed to have died a tragic death at the hands of a lover or rival.

There are a few slasher style horror films that are almost open and shut and not a lot in the middle.

This weeks movie Malevolence is one of these movies. The story line of a group of bank robbers that think they have pulled of the great heist. Then the bad luck starts. The getaway car breaks down and the replacement car that they steal has hostages to deal with.Then they think they have found the perfect hideout to split their money only to find that it is the home of a seriel killer. They are now picked off one at a time along with the hostages. Yes there is the token survivors and the lead in to a possible sequel. The back story of the killer is touched on (a boy, kidnapped and turned into the serial killer) but could have made this movie an easier viewing with more details.

 

This movie does have a little bit of a redeemer, there is another movie released in 2011 that is a "Prequel" to Malevolence called Bereavement. This is another slasher style movie but has a little more of a psychological turn.

Critical Study of Horror Film - Week 7

Our study this week was on the use of Intertextuality and the movie The Exorcist.

The 1973 release of this cult classic has spawned an uncounted number of cross references. The supernatural theme of the movie laid the groundwork for the sub-genre of supernatural horrors to this day. The idea of demon possession and religions role in ridding the world of said evil. There are over 550 of these movies released since the original release of The Exorcist.
Because of this the references that can be seen in not just the horror genre, but also include almost all the genres from Comedy to Science Fiction. There are just to many to mention.
If you're up for it here is a good place to check out a "Short" list.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/movieconnections

Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 6

This weeks topic of Hybridity made me stop and scratch my head.

The general description of Hybridity touches on the idea of taking different styles and combining them to create a single idea. 

Our movie this week is Event Horizon. Up front this movie combined the Genera of Horror with that of Science Fiction. However it also added the Psychological aspect of the fear of the unknown. This movie did not receive rave reviews when it was released in the late 1990's there is a lot to the movie that most people did not focus in on. This was a Horror, yes, but also the psychological aspect that dug into the what if. Up until the mid 90's all of the horrors and sub-genres of horror focused on pure shock. This was one of the first that made you wonder, it made you think.

Don't get me wrong this movie had a lot of gaps. The storyline was all science fiction and could have been done a lot better. The ideas that drive the horror side of the movie however where better designed.

 The blood and gore where not random acts like most of the Slasher style horror movies of the late 80's and early 90's. These where more thought out, used to show the "intelligence" behind the evil that is supposed to be residing on the ship.

 This is a true Hybrid. Not the best done, but it does fit the definition.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 5

This week I am reviewing The Chain Letter

As horrors go to me this is a fall back to the late 80's. The shock and gore style that brought us Friday the 13th and Nighmare on Elm Street. There are so many holes in this movie that you have to not think to much about what is going on. The release of this movie in 2010 was at the height of the Chain Emails that plagued everyone and that is what the directors and writers were depending on for the sucess of this movie. This movie made so little of an impression that I won't be upset if I don't have to watch it again.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 4

This week we looked at the use of Mise-En-Scene. Each movie style uses Mise-En-Scene to make aspects of each Genre stand out. As a Horror movie is developing the different parts of Mise-En-Scene play a major role. The use of props and settings build the location, driving up the sense of apprehension for the audience. Costuming, hair and make-up define the characters so that we as the viewers know who is the victim and who is the villain/monster.  Facial Expressions & Body Language - This aspect of Mise-En-Scene brings out the responses to a scene and often mirrors the reactions and feelings that as an audience we feel.  Without the right lighting and color a horror goes from being terrifying to just gore and shock. The lighting makes the scenes stand out by giving the impression of a hidden threat. Positioning of characters/objects within the frame - This is an aspect that is as varied in the sun genres of the horror Genre as it is when comparing Horror to comedy or even a romance. It all depends on the sub-genre that you are seeing. The positioning of the villain or the lack of the villain in the shot along with symbolic items varies.

Darkness Falls

Darkeness Falls is a prime movie to see the use of Mise-En_Scene when the discussion of lighting and coloring is the topic This movie plays on the boogy man or in this case the Boogie woman in the dark. The movie has the storyline of a wrong done an the vengence that is saught by the villan. The lighting in this movie is defining for all the scenes. You know when there is about the be a scary moment based on the lighting. Although there are a lot of the remaining aspects of Mise-En-Scene used this movie could have been even more scary if they had been used more.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Evil Dead II

Study of Evil Dead II

Unless you have seen the original Evil Dead there are several scenes in the movie that will make no sense.

However for Horror sequels this is one of the best.

This is a Horror that falls across two Sub Genres and is often misundertood.

Sub-Genre 1 -Horror Comedy
There is a lot of symbolism in this movie that you really don't catch in the 1st or second watching. A parody follow up to Evil Dead, Evil Dead II takes the action and graphic content and pokes fun at several 1970's and 1980's films.
Showing a constant stream of blood and violence the director still manages to hide symbolisym throughout the whole movie. The struggle between good and evil is the main topic. The curiosity that always seems to cause something bad to happen, every horror has it. The vomit scene plays back to the exorcist movies. The "SlapStick" Fight between Ash and his hand. 
The use of Camera angles gave unusual visuals to scenes. The angles of many shots gave the perspective of the attacker and not just the victom. This format made scenes go from scarey to comical and then back to scarey. Lighting efects used to make sudden action and added to camera shots.

Sub-Genre - Slasher
Adding to the theme of demons and possession from Evil Dead, the Director ramps up the gore in this sequel. With the combination of an ax, a shotgun and a chainssaw the main character Ash defends himself and attachs an demonic attach. Killing and slashing his way through attackers / victims.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 3

Playing a lot of catch up and staying on track is a little hard.
This weeks reading is

Read in Doc Sharing the following:

Camera Shots and Movement

Read in Webliography

7 Shots Horror Film Makers Should Never be Allowed to Use Again

Top 10 Hand Held Horrors

and to watching

Summer's Moon.
 

This movie shows a lot of reasons why a movie goes straight to DVD. The story line does have the twists needed to keep a steady flow, but is still fairly predictable.
The movie is also known under the name Summer's Blood and was released in 2009.
After watching this the Sub-Genera could fall into the slasher and also the Pshyco thriller area. There are a lot of traits that lead you to the Psycho thriller vibe. The play on roles, the rise of the expectation as Summer hunts for her lost father only to have the brick wall of a realization that her Father is so far gone that he is the last person she should have been looking for. The Graphic scenes lean toward the Slasher sub Genera and tend to detract from the movie more than support the overall story. In the end the impression is left that really Summer fits right into the family.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 2

This weeks assignment was to watch a trailer from the 1920's and 1930's
I chose
The Mummy, the Boris Karloff Movie (1932).

http://youtu.be/1i6xNScZRP4

The movie itself is in black and white and shows a the use of lighting and short shots that help the draw the intended audience into the movie. The Movie trailer hits on a lot of the points for the time that where needed to draw in the audience.

The Reading this week was focused on the Sub Generas of horror.

Ghost andParanormal

Natural Horror

Slasher Horror

Splatter and Torture Horror

Found Footage Horrors

Science Fiction Horrors

Comedy Horrors

Haunted House Horror

Monster Horrors to include Warewolves, Vampires andZombies

Creature Features

Pshyco Horror

Possession and Cult/ Deamonic Horror

Canibalism

Witches and Warlocks

And last but not least

B Movie Horrors

We also looked at the first of the Historical Eras of horror - Universal from 1900s to the 1930s. There are some horrors that actually pre-date this era from the late 1890's but are often lumped into the universal era.

This week I watched the 1^st Horror Feature Film The Student of Prague (1913) - 1st Horror Feature Film - Edgar Allan Poe - Paul Wegener | Devil Deal.

This movie touched on the long standing horror topic of how far would you go to get what you desire. Although this is not listed as one of the Sub-Generes I think it should. There are a lot of movies that fall in the Paranormal, Ghost and Pshyco horrors and Cult horrors that could easily be bulked into what might be called the Deal Horrors.

A Critical Study of Horror Films - Week 1

Codes and Conventions of Horror Films

The codes and conventions of the Film industry dictate the style of a movie. From Comedy to Mystery and Si-fi to Drama they all have different styles that label them. The Horror film style is defined by a unique set of codes and conventions. Although they share several similarities with other styles those designated as Horror are often symbolic and invoke a sense of apprehension and fear.

Weapons both physical and physiological. The settings, often closed in an confining, that give a feeling of no escape. The characters, not always people the horror character picks at the ingrained fears we all have. The sights, blood and gore and often images we are not supposed to be fascinated with. The Sounds, used to build up a scene, making you feel like something is about to happen and setting the stage for shock. The costumes, this aspect can be the most telling about the film and can make all the difference in the believability of the Horror. Finally the lighting, transitioning from bright to dark and foreboding, like the sounds set the moods and build-up.

 

History of the Horror Genre

The History Genre study has started us out with the pre 1920’s with the discussion of the fascination with the with mid 19^th century novelists like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Robert Louis Stevenson and of course, Edgar Allan Poe. Then the silent movie era of the 1920’s and the 1930’s. We watched the movie: The Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI

The film is a Black and White silent movie. I imagine that at it’s debut it was amazing. Looking at the movie for the creativity and lighting, the style is very similar to a lot of the movie of the time. The jumpiness of the scenes leaves you felling like you missed something. The characters are simple and shallow. If it wasn’t for the twist at the end there is very little about the movie that would make it memorable.