Horror Through The Years

I have decided to research the topic of how Horror has changed. I really enjoy reading and watching things with a Horror theme and so to help my project, I have decided to see what has changed. This will help me to update and recreate a convincing trailer.

Below is an example of some movies.

Horror Movies 1980s to 2000s

• The Shining (1980)

What's It About? A writer named Jack moves into an isolated hotel with his young son and wife, not knowing the horror that lies ahead. Worse possible case of cabin fever.

Who Makes the Movie? Jack Nicholson

What Will Scare You? Jack tells his wife, "Wendy, you've got a big surprise coming to you. You're not going anywhere." While at a separate point, the poor boy, Danny, sees those ghosts of the twin girls who have passed, while riding his tricycle through the halls.

• Friday the 13th (1980)

What's It About? A good old fashioned camp, where, unfortunately, a young boy drowned years before, and someone is seeking revenge on the current counselors.

Who Makes the Movie? Betsy Palmer

What Will Scare You? When the true killer is revealed in the end, and for this movie, it's NOT Jason.

• Poltergeist (1982)

What's It About? This movie is so realistic from its characters to its dialogue, that it's scary. A typical family is forced to face the ghosts residing in their home, and things get only worse when their youngest daughter is kidnapped by those spirits.

Who Makes the Movie? Craig T. Nelson

What Will Scare You? When the daughter, Carol Ann, cries out, "They're here."

• Silence of the Lambs (1991)

What's It About? Clarice Starling is a young FBI agent, played by Jodi Foster, who tries to understand the mind of a serial killer by speaking with Hannibal Lecter, a man who is both a psychopath and a psychologist.

Who Makes the Movie? Anthony Hopkins

What Will Scare You? When Hannibal Lecter utters, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

 

• Scream (1996)

What's It About? A psycho is on the loose, and one by one, the teenagers at your regular high school are getting killed off. Could it be one of the friends we have been watching this whole time?

Who Makes the Movie? Neve Campbell

What Will Scare You? When I saw this movie, I had NO idea that Drew Barrymore would die so soon. So for me, I was genuinely surprised at her death in the very beginning. Scary to think of that happening in your own home, minding your own business, making JiffyPop...

• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

What's It About? One little accident kept a secret among four teenagers. They accidentally struck and killed a man with their car. But what if that man wasn't dead? What if he is coming back for revenge?

Who Makes the Movie? Jennifer Love Hewitt

What Will Scare You? Sarah Michelle Gellar's character desperately trying to escape the killer

• The Sixth Sense (1999)

What's It About? An M. Night Shyamalan classic about a young boy with an extraordinary gift of seeing those who have passed. A child psychologist tries to help, but what if he is the one who truly needs helping?

Who Makes the Movie? Haley Joel Osment

What Will Scare You? "I see dead people."

• Final Destination (2000)

What's It About? A select group of teenagers cheat death by avoiding a plane crash when Alex, one of the group, has a dream foreshadowing the accident.

Who Makes the Movie? Devon Sawa

What Will Scare You? Believing that there really is a predetermined fate none of us can escape.

• The Others (2001)

What's It About? A mother remains in a home with her two children and the eerie caretakers. Suddenly we begin to feel as though they are not alone.

Who Makes the Movie? Nicole Kidman

What Will Scare You? Who exactly ARE the ghosts in this house?

• The Ring (2002)

What's It About? When you watch a specific videotape, you will die within seven days after viewing it. Or so says the movie. Journalist Rachel Keller tries to stop this from happening by digging deep to uncover the hidden legend.

Who Makes the Movie? Naomi Watts

What Will Scare You? The vision of a girl actually crawling out of the TV is purely haunting.

• The Strangers (2008)

What's It About? Three unknown killers stalk and terrorize a young couple in an isolated home. Truly one of the scariest movies I have ever seen.

Who Makes the Movie? Liv Tyler & Scott Speedman

What Will Scare You? When the girlfriend asks the strangers why they are tormenting them, the one simply replies, "Because you were home."

Conventional Horror Movie Shots

Below are some shots that are typical of Horror Movies.

This shot comes from the movie "Mama". It causes fear by not showing the childs face. The slightly low angle implies that she has power despite her being a ltitle girl.  It also uses dark lighting contrasted with light snow and this leads to images of good and evil.

This film shows two characters having a heated argument.This is a two shot.  I guess this scene is taken late in the film as the blood is spattered over her and she looks like she has been through an ordeal. The lighting is quite dark but you can still make out the characters.



This picture is from the saw movies. It shows a girl in pure panic but in a lighter location than usual. It also shows implies gruesomeness and gore but leaves it to the imagination.





This is a close up of a man in shock. He has a bloody face and is in a wooded location. The lighting is dark and mysterious.  He has bits of black on his face meaning that he has taken a fall or been in a fight.



This shot is a mid shot and shows a dirty location, the lighting is quite dirty and there is a slight grey tinge to the camera. The person appears to be locked up which is fear for many people.

The couple here in the two shot, are panicking and are scared of whatever has been chasing them. Their dirty faces and clothes show that they have been through an ordeal.

The dark lighting in this shot shows fear. You cannot see what has caused the terror but it is apparent that this is from a horror movie.

This shot is also showing some terrible fear. She is captured within a box which plays upon peoples fear.

The primary image in this picture shows an oblivious man and in the background is the monster. The lighting here is contrasting with the secondary image as it shows danger but still features elements of normal film.





This shot is right before the action happens in Prom Night. The girl is about to get killed. The dark clothing shows an evil nature contrasting to the white plastic sheeting. The sheeting implies a sense of being trapped and the girl is showing fear.

This image is from the beginning of the film. You can tell from the mise-en-scene that these girls are in college and that things are scaring them. The use of the character with the axe in the foreground suggests power.

Here are some typical horror movie shots that I plan to use in my trailer.  They often feature the subject up and close in a close up and often show the action within the shot too.

Convetions of Horror Movie Trailers

Below is some research/ codes and conventions of Horror.

Horror movies are designed to:

• Cause Fear
• Cause Panic
• Cause us to realise fears we have
• Capture and entertain the audience
• Have a major plot twist or scary ending

Charles Derry believed that all Horror Movies could be divided in to 3 categories:

• Haunting and Possesion- The Excorcist
• Apocalypse
• Human Monsters

However, I disagree with him, during my research I found several types of other horror movies that I have referenced on my blog previously:

• Slasher (A horror movie involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner) Halloween, Scream, The Devil's Rejects, Friday the 13th.

• Zombie (Self-explanatory - a movie about zombies; zombies are creatures usually portrayed as either reanimated corpses or mindless human beings)Return of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, The Crazies

• Vampire (Self-explanatory - a movie about vampires)The Lost Boys, Fright Night, From Dusk Till Dawn.

• Monster (A horror movie centered on the struggle between human beings and one or more monsters. Usually the monsters are portrayed as over-sized creatures)Jurassic Park, Cloverfield, Tremors, Jaws, Piranha 3-D

•  Splatter (A horror movie that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore) Braindead.

• Torture (A horror movie that focuses on torture and graphic violence) Hostel, Saw.

• Alien (Self-explanatory - a movie about aliens) Aliens, Predator.

Some other conventions include:

• Unknown Actors
• Blood
• Low Level Lights
• Death
• Mysterious, non diegetic music
• Crying, Screaming, Shouting

Some Horror movies are high budget such as some of the Texas Chainsaw Massacres remakes or Friday The 13th whereas films such as The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Acitvity are low budget. My Horror Movie will be Low Budget.

The differences in trailer type

There are two main types of trailers when it comes to films. You can either produce a teaser trailer or a feature trailer.

• A teaser trailer is often a lot shorter than other trailers and its used to draw attention to the film and allow its possible audience to keep interest until the feature length trailer is released. Its short and is usually no longer than a minute and a half.  The reason for this is so it doesn't reveal too much about the plot.
• Its made with segments of the film, usually the first to be filmed and is released a lot longer before the film is due to be released.
• It doesn't reveal much about the plot of the trailer meaning that it keeps its audiece interested.
• It creates hype and excitment.
• Sometimes, it contains scenes that were cut from the film or not edited in to the film.
• It may contain footage shot only for the actual trailer.
• There isn't much speech.
• Most of the emphasis is placed on the visual effects of the trailer and not on the dialogue.

• A feature trailer is a lot longer between 2 and 3 minutes.
• It includes more detail about the plot line in order to draw in more people. The reason people watch the trailer is to decide whether to watch the film or not.

I have decided to make a teaser trailer!

I have done this because I feel it may show my ability to compile lots of different shots in to one short film. I feel that although a feature length trailer may be longer, I feel that as I'm working alone and want to show my abilities it would be more appropriate to do a teaser trailer.