17 Jan 2011

Research - Finidng the right genre - How about Horror?

Definition
A horror is a type of film that creates an unsettling atmosphere aiming to frighten and unease the viewer. "Horror films effectively center on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsions, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality." (filmsite.org)




Background & Examples
Horror films focus on provoking our inner fears, making the actual scene more intense than it is to different people. Horror films are usually combined with science fiction to create an over exaggerated storyline in which the characters are being threatened by aliens, or a menacing monster of technology.


Within the horror genre there are many sub genre's that are slightly related to the main genre horror, however aren't completely the same;
  • Fantasy ("Jennifers Body" - 2009)
  • Supernatural ("The Exorcist" - 1973)
  • Thriller ("The Shinning" - 1980)
  • Psychological ("The Girl Next Door" - 2007)
  • Mockumentory ("The Poughkeepsie Tapes" - 2007)
  • Sci-Fi ("Alien" - 1979)
These films usually focus on the killer/madman rather than the general idea of horror. They don't focus on our inner fears, however still have the shocking effect of a horror.

Relevance to our project

We are aiming to produce a story which is thought provoking and surprising. Our plot will have a twist revealed in the first 2 minutes which we hope will surprise and unsettle the audience. Therefore we are going to class it as a horror and a thriller.


exorcist The_Shining JENNIFER'S BODY poughkeepies 2007_the_girl_next_door_008 alien-1979-screen-3

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