Horror Theories
By looking at specific theories towards horror allowed us to understand the original conventions which we stuck to. With our Horror we haven't followed any of the famous theorist such as Wes Craven where bad things happen in safe places as we don't use a house or any location which is considered as a 'safe' place. We also haven't followed Carol Clover where she states that the killers have disturbed backgrounds as our killers are vampires and had a materialistic life.
Wes Craven - 'Horror films don't create fear. They release it'
Wes Craven is an American film director and producer best known for his horror creations such as 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Scream'. He has been particularly noted for the theory's that he uses in creating his horrors which we have discussed below.
Wes Craven believes that horrors are more effective and less obvious if they take place in a stereotypical safe place therefore he chooses to set his horrors in places such as family homes, hospitals and schools - though they are usually secluded.
He also uses the theory that there is usually an absence of parents in the characters life and most certainly within the film. This is because the parents represent an added dimension of safety.
By Kirsty
Wes Craven believes that horrors are more effective and less obvious if they take place in a stereotypical safe place therefore he chooses to set his horrors in places such as family homes, hospitals and schools - though they are usually secluded.
He also uses the theory that there is usually an absence of parents in the characters life and most certainly within the film. This is because the parents represent an added dimension of safety.
By Kirsty
When looking at Wes Craven he combines a range of different ideas when focusing on a film, he uses family issues, specifically family breakdown to symbolise that bad things are going to occur because the family itself isn't 'perfect'. His villains are also often deformed and monstrous looking to make the protagonists seem good in looks. Craven also includes important social issues for example in 'The Last House on the Left' (2009) and 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006).
His protagonists are often ordinary characters caught in extraordinary and horrific circumstances, to make the horror seem real and to portray the idea that horrific things happen to 'normal' people and also his characters often use elaborate booby traps, to capture the villain. He also uses children in most of his horrors, but they are often deformed or brutally murdered, often by the main villain. His unglamorous depictions of sadistic and realistically brutal killers which reflects on the brutal and graphic depiction of violence.
With Wes Craven, he seems to only tend to create Slasher movies like the Scream films and The original Nightmare on Elm Street's which all involve a male killer and female victims, however he has tended to break this association with his recent film, 'Scream 4' (2004) where there is a massive twist at the finale of the film where it gets revealed to the audience that the killer is actually a female but she kills both male and female. In our horror we wish to follow the idea of having a female killer but instead of having unisex victims, having them strictly males to break the conventions of a typical horror.
In the GoAnimate above, I use the creative multimedia in order to represent Wes Craven's film and his major sub genre. When researching Craven, it was evidential he created very popular films. I decided to have the women as the one needed the males help, as in most of Craven's films the women is the damsil in distress and the male being the main protagonist as this is the normal stereotypical association with horror. However, I also followed the modern day timeline by having the women leaving the male as soon as he helps her, being the typical 'provocative' female.
In the GoAnimate above, I use the creative multimedia in order to represent Wes Craven's film and his major sub genre. When researching Craven, it was evidential he created very popular films. I decided to have the women as the one needed the males help, as in most of Craven's films the women is the damsil in distress and the male being the main protagonist as this is the normal stereotypical association with horror. However, I also followed the modern day timeline by having the women leaving the male as soon as he helps her, being the typical 'provocative' female.
By Nicole Russell
Carol J Clover
Carol Clover is an American professor of film studies, Rhetoric language and mythology .
She wrote a book that highly conveys her intentions as a theorist which is 'Men, women and chainsaws' which explores the conventions of modern horror, it also talks about the 'final girl' theory, this theory, which Clover is said to have come up with. the final girl is the last girl standing in a horror film, the one who ultimately defeats the killer or is the last person to be killed, she is usually not the most attractive, and brunette, a virgin and usually has a unisex name such as Max, Jaimie or Billie.
S
he also says that the killers in horror usually have childhood issues or are sexually disturbed. she also says that the female killers tend to suffer with gender confusion, an example of this is the mother in 'Friday the 13th'.
Her 'Final girl' theory has changed both popular and academic portrayals of gender in the horror genre.
She wrote a book that highly conveys her intentions as a theorist which is 'Men, women and chainsaws' which explores the conventions of modern horror, it also talks about the 'final girl' theory, this theory, which Clover is said to have come up with. the final girl is the last girl standing in a horror film, the one who ultimately defeats the killer or is the last person to be killed, she is usually not the most attractive, and brunette, a virgin and usually has a unisex name such as Max, Jaimie or Billie.
S
he also says that the killers in horror usually have childhood issues or are sexually disturbed. she also says that the female killers tend to suffer with gender confusion, an example of this is the mother in 'Friday the 13th'.
Her 'Final girl' theory has changed both popular and academic portrayals of gender in the horror genre.
Wheeler Winston Dixon
"It's sheer exploitation filmmaking with no resonance, taste or value, but it delivers what the action crowd wants: violence, violence and more violence, all served up with a knowing wink in a very postmodern fashion. In short, Quentin Tarantino movies are long, empty, derivative and junk food for the mind, with no substance or nutritional value."
Wheeler Winston Dixon (2012)
Dixon said that horror films characters are seen as sites of activity which means there to be killed off.He authored a book called 'A history of horror' in this book he talks about horror though the decades. It discusses the historical origins of very famous characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein. The book explores how the horror film fits into the Hollywood studio system, and how its huge success in Europe and America has over time globally expanded.
Dixon looks at the key periods in horror, like how the horror genre was established. He also mentions it falling into parody and then rising again to create whole new levels. It is the history of the horror film.
By Kirsty
"It's sheer exploitation filmmaking with no resonance, taste or value, but it delivers what the action crowd wants: violence, violence and more violence, all served up with a knowing wink in a very postmodern fashion. In short, Quentin Tarantino movies are long, empty, derivative and junk food for the mind, with no substance or nutritional value."
Wheeler Winston Dixon (2012)
Dixon said that horror films characters are seen as sites of activity which means there to be killed off.He authored a book called 'A history of horror' in this book he talks about horror though the decades. It discusses the historical origins of very famous characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein. The book explores how the horror film fits into the Hollywood studio system, and how its huge success in Europe and America has over time globally expanded.
Dixon looks at the key periods in horror, like how the horror genre was established. He also mentions it falling into parody and then rising again to create whole new levels. It is the history of the horror film.
By Kirsty
Kaminsky
A popular theory used in horror films is that weapons (E.G. Knifes) are a personal extension of our arms and are more favourable to horror movie killers as the deaths are more personal and intimate than using a gun.
This makes the killer and the killings more intimate and shows that the killer is passionate about what he/she does and doesn't just kill because they can. This makes the killer appear a lot more serious and scary.
By Kirsty.
This makes the killer and the killings more intimate and shows that the killer is passionate about what he/she does and doesn't just kill because they can. This makes the killer appear a lot more serious and scary.
By Kirsty.