IH: Opening Analysis "The Awakening" (Murphy,2011)

NEEDS PICTURES

The Awakening (Murphy,2011) is a supernatural horror/thriller about a hoax exposer named Florence Cathcart who is called to a boarding school in England where a boy has died of fright. Supposedly he saw the school ghost and died on the spot, but Cathcart believes he was the victim of an innocent prank gone wrong by one of the school boys. Soon, however, her beliefs unravel as she finds it harder and harder to prove that the "Ghost" does not exist, as she reaches the heart-stoppingly chilling climax of the film.

[00:00 - 03:55]

Genre

The Awakening is a supernatural horror/thriller film that focuses on the strength and determination of a woman, an unlikely protagonist for such a movie.The opening sequence is chilling and dark, however is revealed to have been a hoax all along. This is a typical way for a movie of this genre to begin because it chills the viewer enough to scare and interest them, whilst also keeping it light enough to set the premise for the film.

Form and Style of Opening

The opening is thrilling yet mysterious, chilling enough to coincide with genre codes and conventions yet light-hearted enough to keep the film from being too heavy. The first 2 minutes and 40 seconds are entirely serious and scary, however the audience is left relieved when it is revealed that the events up to now had been a charade. Cathcart, the protagonist, is shown to be strong and intelligent, outwitting the group and solving the set-up before the audience can suspect a thing.

Film Language - Telling the Story

The mise-en-scene in this scene changes after the "big reveal" to emphasize the difference in the atmosphere before and after the charade is revealed. Before the low-key lighting connotes darkness, evil and spiritual malevolence, however the change to high-key lighting post-reveal suggests that the characters and the tone of the scene are completely changed now. Camera angles are used in this scene to change the way the audience perceives Cathcart. In the opening shots, a high angle is used to suggest her timid nature and the fear she feels as she approaches the mysterious gathering; however we learn it is all a hoax of her very own. As she enters a matched eye-line is used to suggest Cathcart is now in her element, comfortable as she picks apart the scene clue by clue. Finally low angle shots are used to show her power over the other attendants of the gathering after the reveal when they realise she is really the famous hoax-exposer.

Narrative

The narrative is structured in a way that starts by showing Cathcart arriving at the gathering appearing to be nervous, looking attentive throughout and finally revealing her true strong self when she unveils her identity. This is an interesting form of narrative because we do not know who the character is until the moment she explains the event is a hoax, so the audience feels deceived in a way. The audience is aligned with Cathcart because she is the first person to be seen, and the person given the most screen prevalence throughout the scene. Major themes in the narrative are:

• Magic, or "black magic"
• Death
• Deceit
• Fear

Tension is created in this sequence through the hypnotic chanting of the charlatans, the dark moody interior of the room and the tense soundtrack that anchors the images on screen. For example, at one point in the clip the audiences sees a long, intense shot of the "sorcerer" with his bony hands on the glass, supposedly offering the birds life. The camera then tracks downwards vertically and reveals the bird has died, creating suspense as the soundtrack changes to a malevolent, scary rhythm. 

Representation & Ideology
In this sequence the upper class gather to "commune with the dead". It is soon revealed to us that the lady who witnessed her daughters supposed miraculous appearance has been scammed by the charlatans who exploited her wealth and vulnerability after her daughters devastating death. This scene creates a negative representation of the upper class, as it is suggested they will do anything for wealth, even abuse an emotionally damaged woman. Cathcart is a very interesting character as she is a woman, however she is intelligent and determined enough to outsmart the hoaxers without resorting to physical strength she realistically does not have. This is a very positive representation of women as it promotes progressive ideologies of women potentially being powerful and successful, without the need for unrealistic brawn. Residual ideologies of woman are very negative, suggesting the place of the woman is in the home or the kitchen, but here is Cathcart outsmarting con-men and women who lie and prey on the weak.

Isaac H

AS G3: Group Discussion Summary

The group convened today to discuss some key aspects of production, such as basic concepts for the opening and any interesting potential locations we have at our disposal. The following is the summary of the discussion.
 

Genre

The main decision we made was to make the genre of the opening sequence a psychological/thriller. We came to this conclusion because it seemed a pragmatic, achievable genre which we felt could allow us to make a credible, authentic and more importantly chilling opening that would be pragmatic and doable. Moreover the nature of psychological/thriller films is that the content is generally more subtle than many other sub genres of horror, meaning we could make the opening by relying on our filmmaking skills and techniques rather than monsters and gore which we felt might be perceived as cheesy.

 

 

Concept

Afterwards the group came together to share suggestions and ideas of the potential concept for our opening sequence. While several ideas were tossed about and discussed, we decided Alex D's suggestion of a flashback theme was worthy of further investigation. Essentially the concept is to film a sequence that is clearly a flashback of unpleasant memories or horrific events. We consciously noted the potential problem it could present, being how does one reveal to the audience what they witnessed was not reality but a dream or flashback, in a way that is not infuriating. It is generally regarded as an escape clause for cheesy films in which a clever twist cannot be derived, so the filmmakers make it a dream.

 

 

Score

Georgia P raised the issue of music within the opening sequence, and the difficult nature of procuring high quality music cheaply or for free. We noted that potential music sources such as the Vimeo Music Store can sell high-soundtracks for small amounts of money as long as the terms and conditions of the musician are respected. Another potential route we could take to get good music was too approach music students of the school, or budding musicians on the internet and ask for help. While this route would be challenging, it would be highly rewarding as it would mean having tailor-made music that peaked during climactic moments, and built up towards them.

 

 

Location

The group discussed potential locations for filming, collectively summing up any and all locations worth investigating on a "recce". The list came to:

• A derelict building near Alex D's home
• Alex D's large countryside surroundings which also has an abandoned pool
• The woods near Georgia P's house, or Knole Park
• The tunnel/car parks near Sevenoaks Train Station

GP: Opening Scene Analysis - The Woman In Black (2012, James Watkins)

Opening Scene Analysis - The Woman In Black

 

Genre

 

The Woman In Black belongs to the genre speculative fiction, supernatural horror and gothic horror. The audiences expectations would definitely be met with this opening sequence as many aspects of it are conventional of these two genres.

Form and style of opening

The style of opening to this is surrealist cinema as different realms of existence come into contact. The use of foreboding implies that something bad will happen, an example of this would be the abnormality of the girls' behaviour as they would not carelessly crush dolls under their feet or drop cups out their hands voluntarily (1:02). The sense of the lack of control of the young girls implies something bad is bound to happen. The sound also aids the lack of normality of the girls' actions as the volume is increased (1:20) which intensifies the scenario by putting the audience further or edge. Character exposition occurs when the shot expands to show the woman who is wearing black and looking directly in the girls' direction, watching them; this character is portrayed to be evil as watching children is socially unacceptable (1:40) and abnormal. The clue to the nature of this film lies in the title also. The title 'The Woman In Black' connotes the idea of the centre of the story line being around a 'woman in black'. Black is a dark colour which is not often associated with a pure, kind person, but a rather evil character. The idea that this 'woman' has no name establishes her to be mysterious and possibly in-explainable.  

Film language

The film language is mostly conventional to the film's genres:

• Firstly, 'The Woman In Black's' non-verbal language in reacting to the girls jumping out the window shows her as standing still, watching them (1:40) and not helping; this implies she is evil and has no emotion, plus the screaming of the lady enhances how evil the act was. 
• The costumes in this clip (0:32) are contrast each other which establishes the innocent victims and the evil character as black is associated with death and sadness whilst white dresses are associated with kindness and innocence. 
• The chiming of the music is conventional of horror as children's music can be seen as creepy. This sound confirms the innocence of the girls, whilst increasing the scare factor for the audience. The volume also increases as the build-up to something bad happening intensifies. The creepy idea of children's iconography in horror is supported by the close-up shots of the china dolls (1:38) and the "uncanny effect" coming into play.
• The camera slowly zooms out to a wider shot of the window (1:30) after the girls have jumped and they are walking in slow motion (1:05) towards the window (this makes the audience feel incredibly uneasy as they cannot stop the girls and as it is taking long for the action to occur, it increases the unease). This emphasises the surreal and shocking situation that just took place with the impact of the woman screaming.
• The sound is also amplified when the toys are crushed (1:07) and the tea cup is dropped in a close-up shot which is purposefully placed in there to emphasise the abnormality of the actions and the lack of control the little girls have over their own minds. The idea of destruction is also seen which causes the audience to be uneasy.
• The Victorian era is represented in the classic clean-cut dresses the girls wear and the setting of the room with the old china dolls and interior design. This Victorian era is conventional of horror and gothic horror as the Victorian era is shown to be creepy. 

Narrative

• We are put in the perspective of the 'woman in black' which is discovered when the girls look up towards the camera (0:50), jump out of the window (1:25) and then the camera pans out to find the woman in black standing where they were looking (1:40). The audiences knows this because of the 180 degrees rule and the non-verbal language of the children.
• The tension is maintained by the consistent tone of the music and the slow motion which creates anticipation.

Representation and ideology

• The social groups represented in this are young girls and a middle-aged lady. The little girls are established to be innocent (with the use of costume, props and smiling) and the victims (jumping out the window).
• The idea of the girls being the victims, young and female conveys a residual ideology that young people are the helpless victims and also a residual ideology of women.
• The ideology of the youth and females being innocent is also conveyed; this supports a residual ideology for the females being innocent, but a dominant one for the youth.
• The woman in black is an older lady or a middle-aged lady and is established through various techniques to be evil (black clothing) and controlling (camera perspective and shots suggests she is the source to the surreal actions of the young girls, and the cuts are motivated by her 'actions'). The idea of older people being evil in contrast to young people is residual and the idea of them having more power than younger people is residual as that is robbing the control of the youth. Yet, she is challenging the residual ideology of men being the evil characters with all the power.
• There is a clear contrast in how the social groups are represented through many mediums.

Media Audiences

• The concept of the movie is not too hard to grasp and it is not too graphic; the target audience would appear to be males and females 12-25 which represents the core audience.
• A preferred reading will most likely take place for this clip

What We Can Take From This

• Amplified noise for certain actions which emphasise mood or uneasiness.
• Slow camera movement to intensify the anticipation of the scene.
• There doesn't need to be dialogue for an effective opening
• Iconography emphasises the theme 
• Can position camera as if from perspective of a person
• A certain tone of the music can create a certain mood

By Georgia P

AD: Opening Scene Analysis - Funny Games (Haneke, 1997)

Funny Games (Haneke, 1997)

Alexander D.

Genre

Funny Games belongs to the sub-genre of horror known as psychological horror. This is due to its breaking the common conventions of horror, as will be explained below.

Form and Style of opening

The style of the opening - as well as the film in general - is postmodernist. This can be seen in the title and credits, which contrasts the high-key lighting of the sequence, supporting the idea that post-modernism attempts to break from the mainstream conventions of narrative structures and character development.

It is this attempt to break with the mainstream that the audience gets a sense of foreboding, especially so when the non-diegetic sound of heavy metal followed by the title put an abrupt end to the tranquillity of the scene.


Introductory title

Film Language - Telling the Story

The mise-en-scene reveals a good deal of information about the three characters present in the sequence. Listed:

• Props: The collection of classical music CDs connote the idea that the mother and father in the film are both well educated, as seen in the picture above. The second prop to connote this is the large boat on the trailer of the car, which gives an insight into the social class of which the family is from.
• This is further explored in the dialogue, as the mother and father are guessing which classical music artist is playing - and guessing correctly. 
• The costumes of the characters are civilian, almost to the point where it draws on the stereotypical family: child wears denim dungarees, the mother a flower print dress and the father a blue shirt. This will be discussed further in Representation & Ideology.
• The high key lighting of the shots connotes that everything is fine and calm, and doesn't change when the discordant heavy metal song overpowers all dialogue and diegetic sound.
• With the placement of the camera from a high angle birds-eye view, slowly zooming in from an ultra long shot, finally reaching  down to a medium shot of the characters places the audience with the characters in the car, putting them into focus and thus sets them as being the protagonists of the story.

Narrative

One of the key method in which the director positions the audience in the narrative is the camera movement. As mentioned above, this is done by the camera starting from a birds-eye view, slowly positioning itself closer and closer to the family in the car, finally reaching a medium shot and introducing the three members. This shot is then followed by a few tracking shots, further emphasising the importance of the characters and positions the audience with them.

We, as the audience, position ourselves with the family. Therefore, the sudden impact of the non-diegetic sound is alien to the audience and brings a sudden chaos to the sequence. This could also mean the establishment of one of the themes in the film, as the sudden chaos that is injected into the otherwise tranquil scene could imply the same will happen later on. 

Representation & Ideology

In this opening sequence, the social group represented is the Caucasian nuclear family, as the family presented in this clip consists of  a mother, a father and a son, all of which are (as mentioned further above) wearing traditionally male and female clothing, representing the sexes in a what we would now consider a residual ideology. However, as the idea of the nuclear family has been around since 1947 and is still largely promoted in modern society, although much more as part of a conservative way of thinking. Therefore, the clip promotes a - perhaps - dominant ideology, as the family represented in the sequence is created from core values that are still common today.

Media Audiences

The target audience in this film is audiences from the age of 18 and over, as it is also certified by. The reason for this is due to the excessive violence later shown in the film, as well as the extremely mind-bending and manipulative narrative. Thus, it is not entirely possible to fully comprehend the possible audience readings, as it differs greatly from audience to audience. However, from the initial intro of the film, one would think that the reading of the scene would be that of the preferred or dominant interpretation, as the camera and dialogue places the audience with the characters in the car and thus promotes the above readings.

(It is key to note in general that Funny Games is convention-breaking in many ways, with the typical sense of narrative being distorted and manipulated by the antagonists, who are shown later in the film - for example, when one of the killers looks into the camera, breaking the fourth wall)

AS G3: Sub-Genres of Horror

Georgia, Alexander and Isaac Group 3
*Warning: Spoilers*

As part of our research into the horror genre and its sub-genres, the group has looked at three sub-genres and their conventions.

Thriller/Horror Conventions (Alex D)

The Thriller/Horror genre is a sub-genre of the thriller genre, and borrows heavily from either two genres. The story of a Thriller/Horror movie is usually set up through a set of extremely violent crimes or psychological trauma. A notable example of a Thriller/Horror movie would be Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho from 1960, largely due to one of the most famous scenes of horror in the history of film, as shown in the link below:

Thriller/Horror also borrows many other conventions and it could be said that the thriller genre borrows from the sub-genres of horror. Occasional Thriller/Horrors contain antagonists that possess supernatural powers. Others have conventions akin to the psychological horror films, as seen in Funny Games (Haneke, 1997).

Generally, it can be said that Thriller/Horror movies contain the following conventions:

• Complex narratives, with misleading clues and pieces of evidence that all seem to suggest one character as the antagonist, only to be followed by a plot twist revealing the true identity of the antagonist or revealing something that the protagonist has not realised - as seen in movies such as Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) and The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999).
• Dark and isolated locations to create the impression of loneliness of the protagonist, or, in the case of Psycho, the loneliness of the antagonist. 
• Iconography that characterises the genre, in the shape of either objects, locations or actors. An example of a common horror object would be a sharp weapon in the form of either an axe or a kitchen knife, as the predominant tool for killing. An example of this would be in The Shining (Kubrick, 1980), where Jack Torrance hunts his family using a fire axe.
• Themes of thriller/horror often play on real life values or religious values or vices. An example of the latter is seen in Seven (Walker, 1995), where the killer plays on the seven deadly sins from the bible, killing his victims following the sins - eventually being killed himself by the final sin, Wrath, performed by the protagonist.

Psychological/Horror Conventions (Isaac H)

The psychological sub-genre of horror is a branch of Horror often closely linked to the thriller sub genre, given it's adrenalin-fueled nature, however it is often more subtle than thriller, usually letting the audience make assumptions about the acts that occur, and the villains who cause them. Perhaps the most famous and original example of a psychological horror film is "The Blair Witch Project" (Sanchez/Myrick, 1999) which pioneered the use of hand-held camera shots and subtlety to suggest rather than actually show the antagonist(s), supporting the audiences imagination along the process of creating a monster far more menacing and personally tailored than would ever be possible through showing the monster clearly.

 

Common conventions in psychological horror films include:

• Often, the only weapons used in psychological horror films are simply psychological ones, a common example being the mind of the killer being used as a weapon of fear against the victim.
• Psychological horror films are notorious users of stock locations, often showing a large creepy/deserted house in the middle of the woods, warehouses, schools, hospitals etc. These enhance the verisimilitude and make the film more engaging and scary for the audience, as they can relate to being in those situations.
• Psychological horrors often employ stock characters, for example "The final girl" is extremely common, as used in The Blair Witch Project. Stock characters are often targeted as being stereotypical, however they are used because the effectively create a realistic, terrifying experience the target audience is supposed to react to in fear, giving them visceral pleasure.
• Flashbacks are often used to explain aspects of a film, a common example being the event that caused the killers mind to become twisted in the first place, or to highlight a detail in the story that changes the film somehow.

Supernatural/Horror Conventions (Georgia P) 

 

As part of our research into the horror genre and it's sub-genres the group has looked at three sub-genres and their conventions. Supernatural Horror involves all kinds of monsters whether they are paranormal, demons or zombies. Some of the most famous horror movies which have grossed the most are supernatural horror and just like any other horror film there is a scare factor involved. In fact, the first ever horror film released, The Haunted Castle (1896 - George Melies), was based on this sub-genre. However, specific conventions make this sub-genre have it's own recognizable identity. 

• Often the setting is in an isolated or quiet location. The protagonists often, as a result, are left stranded. Examples are The Village (2004) and 28 Days Later (2002).
• There is a focus on different types of monsters from 'beyond' which are causing people to suffer. .e.g. zombies and ghosts.
• There are often religious references and iconography, such as Christian crosses to prevent harm, which are most common with ghosts and demons where the devil is on the evil side. Paranormal Activity (2007) and The Exorcist (1973) are the most well known examples. With these religious themes, there are often stock characters such as a priest.
• The physical, not ghosts, appearances of the monsters are made to make the audience want to look away. Zombies are a classic example as the "uncanny valley" comes into play. Night Of the Living Dead (1968) A BBC article by Sean Coughlan called 'Zombie Faces: Why Are We Afraid Of Them?' highlights this.
• However, there are sometimes, not too frequent, humorous takes on this sub-genre such as Shaun Of The Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009) which purposefully use the stereotypical characteristics to create the humour.
• There is normally a realistic environment (location); this makes the audience relate to the film more and the scare factor is therefore increased.

IH: Horror In History

Why are stories that "aim to scare their audience" so popular?

Audiences watch horror films because it gives them a kind of visceral pleasure. There is a part of most people that enjoy the adrenalin rush of being terrified witless, of being brought back to the days when adrenalin could be the difference between running & living, or being eaten by predators. The sheer terror one feels when watching a good horror film is pleasurable and exciting, it can provide an interesting change to the audience's potentially dull life, and this is why the horror is consistently a popular genre in cinemas. 

What insight can the study of horror monsters give?

Horror movies can provide interesting insight into the popular culture and current affairs at the time of the films release. For example, “Frankenstein” (Whale,1932) alludes to the aristocratic class as a failure that only when fixed can save the country. This is a metaphor created to suggest that the establishment of Germany had to try and fix their wrongdoings in order to save the country, after turning their backs on their duty to protect the country in the war which many people felt could be avoided. In fact the monster himself is said to be “Not as monstrous as the abuse of scientific knowledge that created him” which is another metaphor for the aristocrat’s abuse of power.

What did Nosferatu (1922) one of the earliest horror films use the vampire as a metaphor for?

The iconic antagonist of the Post-WW1 German vampire film, Count Orlick, was designed to be a multi-faceted metaphor for the troubles of Germany at the time. As the country had been left financially destitute as a result of the devastating loss of World War One, there was little money for the government to use in order to repair the many problems the country faced. One such large problem was infection and disease, something often symbolized by a rat due to it's urban habitat. As a result of the pressing health problems of the time, the filmmakers made the Vampire Orlick resemble a rat, knowing that it would spark genuine fear in the audiences and produce a much more visceral, chilling reaction
 

Notes on the article

Major global events such as WW1 made dramatic changes in how films of many kinds, including horror, were constructed. For example “Nosferatu” (Murnau. 1922) was a vampire film that starred the famous vampire Count Orlok, a rodent-like monster whose appearance reflected that of a rat’s, as they are a common symbol for disease and infection which was a particularly large problem now that the country had been left financially destitute after losing WW1. In fact both Nosferatu and “Dracula” (Browning,1931) featured corrupt aristocrats who were the sources of power that led Germany to war, and therefore to failure during WW1.

 

 

The rat-like Count Orlok

 

The monstrous capabilities of mankind revealed in WW2 are reflected in horror films through the focus on “monsters that invaded or infected” and the “science gone wrong” motif, something which is suggested as being related to the horrors of advanced military technology that was in use, for example the nuclear bombs used in Japan in 1945. This ties in with another potential reading of Frankenstein as an allegory for racism in America, as the not-so-villainous “monster” which in reality had no choice in it’s creation (much like most countries had no real choice as to whether they partook in the war), which is eventually killed by a mob who misunderstand the innocent creation because they take it at hideous face value.
 

According to the article why are horror movies still relevant?

Hendry writes that "preoccupations and concerns and its metaphorical approach can be used to deal with ideas and issues that appeal to a range of audience groups", which is why horror movies are still relevant to contemporary audiences and theoretically always will be.

Isaac H

GP: Zombies

  

BBC Article: Why are we afraid of Zombies?

In this article, Sean Coughlan highlights why humans are terrified of zombies. One of the points that he highlighted was that humans are scared of faces that are "near-human" and a psychologist supported this by doing a study on over 3000 people and finding that there was repulsion because of the "uncanny valley". 
This "uncanny valley" effect was founded in the 1970s where research was done to see if humans would feel more reassured working with a robot with human features or without. This research found that people were more receptive to human-looking robots but completely repelled when the robots imitated humans too closely. Too close a resemblance to a human was seen as sinister. 
Mrs Lay found that the "uncanny effect" had taken place. "It is the sudden plunge in reaction at a point just before a face is fully humanised." .e.g. the empty eyes of a zombie face in an otherwise human face is frightening to audiences (as are clowns, dummies and dolls).
She found that eyes was a massive part of it, such as lifeless eyes or eerily human eyes. This was mostly the case with psychological horror movies rather than bloodthirsty shockers. This reaction could be because there is a sudden disruption in how the human brain processes faces. When people want to interpret a human face (including reading people's eyes), if something does not match expectations, there is discomfort. 

Pop Mythology Article: Why do we love the Zombie Apocalypse?

Jonathon Edward Brown first points out that we don't actually love the thought of a zombie apocalypse, we just think we do because of how the idea is presented to us.

The Survivable Storm

A reason why we think that we love the idea of a zombie apocalypse is because of the Zombie Apocalypse Scenario of having to survive it which arouses the question, can I survive it? People love this scenario because they think they can. It has been presented to us that we can survive if we use our heads and weapons. (The photo below is from The Walking Dead).
 Other end-of-world scenarios don’t provide the opportunity for anyone, old or young, of any race or creed, gender or hairstyle to survive the way slouching, moaning zombies allow us to.For example, there is the plague scenario where 0025 of the population can survive it. Another example would be the Post Oil Depression/Ecological Wasteland Scenario where there is a lack of luxury resources; disgusting foods will have to be eaten. And finally, the rapture scenario. 
There is an important aspect of survival that needs to be addressed which is whether the zombies are fast or slow. Some of these popular franchises with slow zombies include The Walking Dead and World War Z. Of course, people would rather face this scenario rather than a fast zombie because they would have more of a chance of survival due to the zombie having bad coordination and terrible reflexes. The opposite end of the spectrum would include I Am Legend where the zombies are overwhelmingly fast and agile; this is less attractive as an apocalyptic fantasy. The Zombie Scenario also makes room for everyone to play as everyone is equally delicious in a zombies eyes no matter what gender, religion or class. The other side of this states the same, that anyone and everyone can survive no matter what gender, religion or class. 

Showing off skills

This links in with the attraction of survival to the audience as the idea of being a survivor and a hero is appealing. Plotting booby traps, prepping Go-Bags and generally being clever is appealing, just as Home Alone is.The part of us that gets excited is not the clever part, but the not-so-clever part which does not see the long-term picture. The fantasy takes over the reality. Our inner ninja ignores the fact that a zombie apocalypse means long-term Dark Ages-style living for the foreseeable future (such as the plumbing failing and general luxury). (The photo below is from Night Of The Living Dead).

Free Stuff

As they are often presented, Zombie Apocalypse Scenarios often leave the survivors with a fairly pristine environment. Even though there is no electricity and head, look at all this free stuff! 

These include cars, mansions, boats and guns! Everything is mostly abandoned so why not take advantage of it! This, of course, is very appealing.

Yay, Violence

When thinking about the Zombie Apocalypse Scenario, you cannot ignore the fact that a lot of people would love to be bloodthirsty and get away with bashing someone on the head. The guilt is freed because of the fact that they are zombies. It's not nice to think about, but true. Human nature does indicate this idea. An example would be Call Of Duty: Black Ops which is a game which includes the shooting of zombies and this seems to be the most popular part of this. 

Sadly, his conclusion states that this Zombie Apocalypse scenario appeals to the lesser parts of human nature (our greedy, violent sides are excited). However, it also makes our heroic and valiant sides shine forth. Overall, they are a bit of fun to watch and the fantasy overtakes the reality. 

Youtube Clip: Why do we love zombies?

This nostlagia critic suggests that the first love of zombies came about from Gilgamesh; Ishtar promised that she 'will let the dead go up and eat the living and the dead will outnumber the living'. He also states that initial love of zombies comes from the scare factor. Other monsters such as vampires are not as scary and intense. What draws people to them is also not the zombies themselves, but the humans who are facing them. The appeal of survival and mystery (guessing who is trustworthy) comes into play as well. The story lines also focus on the battle between the humans as well. We ask ourselves what we would do in hard situations. 

In The Walking Dead, the critic notices how the characters are so used to the zombies that they sometimes don't even acknowledge them. This means they are used to this idea of a Zombie Apocalypse Scenario. He also notes that the zombies mentally ruin people by taking away loved ones; there is a harsh side to the stories other than the gore. The amount of zombie films and series open all the possibilities (which is something that is appealing to audiences) and creativity that can be done with zombies. He concludes that there is something so entertaining and creepy about zombies that draws the audiences attention. 

By Georgia P

AD: "Girl Power: the Politics of the Slasher Movie"

Alexander, Group 3

When, and in what way were women repositioned within the horror genre? 

Women have often been represented as weak characters, who rely on the strong, primarily male hero. However, in the late 1970's, American horror cinema began incorporating political themes into their movies, such as the Vietnam War, the race riots and the growing Feminist movement. George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead from 1968 and John Carpenter's Halloween from 1978 to mention a few examples were incorporating the 'horrors at home' into their films and began to portray the female characters as stronger and able to defend themselves against the horrors that they faced.

What are the conventions of the 'stalk and slash' sub-genre of horror?
Stalk and slash movies are:

• The American studio productions are usually behind the film.
• They follow the same basic plot: "a mixed-sex group of teenagers travel to remote location and indulge in sex, alcohol and drugs. As they have done these things they are steadily murdered, one after the other, by an unknown or masked killer. As the movie comes to an end, there is usually only one member of the original group left, who manages to survive the ordeal and confront the murderer, killing the murderer in the process. The identity - although not always - of the killer and his reasons for the murdering is then explained."
• Nudity in certain scenes - most likely before the victims are murdered.
• "The Final Girl" - out of the entire group of teenagers, only one female character manages to defeat the horror.
• Violent endings - the murderer is killed in a extremely violent manner, ending the film on a high note.

Who originally watched these films and why?
Audience research indicated that the core audience of the Slasher film genre were teenage boys and young men. The reasons for this were very simple, visual elements: long scenes of female nudity and graphic violence and gore doled out by the killer - often pushing the visual artists into finding more ways of killing off their characters other than stabbing and slashing. This also meant that the audience was kept sustained and made celebrities out of the murders, for example Freddy Kruger or the Ghost mask from Scream (Williamson, 1996)



Why does the author argue that the films were 'significant'?

Because the Slasher sub-genre created icons of horror cinema, which consequently led to a sustained narrative and income revenue through popular horror film franchises, e.g. Saw and Scream. Additionally, the author argues that the films contain deep moral tales, playing on "the ideas of America's puritan past, which is associated with 'the sanctity of home and family and the taming of the wilderness'". The murderers are, therefore, the visual representation of the punishing transgressing social norms, as the teenagers' actions are immoral and violate the moral beliefs of their parents. They are murdered for their desire to be free from the norm and their protective and moral adult community.

What is the concept of ' the final girl'? Summarise and give examples
The Final Girl concept was constructed by Carol J. Clover, which was presented in her seminal essay "Her Body, Himself" from 1987. In her essay, she describes the sole female survivor of several Slasher films, establishing the idea of 'The Final Girl'. The Final Girl is characterised by a set of characteristics that marks her as being different than her teenage peers. These characteristics are:

• Intelligence and level headed.
• Morally pure - does not involve herself in the drinking, sex and drug-use as her "friends" do.
• She is the first to notice the lack of morals of her peers and the threat of danger

Thus, she is most often visualised as a character who is not as socially capable, more than often because of these qualities. By not joining in on the drinking, drug use and sexual activities, the Final Girl is depicted as a potentially weak, virginal and repressed teenage girl. As the killer begins to emerge and kills off the people around The Final Girl, she is the one who overcomes the threat through her intelligence and cunning. It is also herein that The Final Girl shifts from being powerless to powerful, from a weak or perhaps passive female to a strong and aggressive 'male'. She becomes increasingly masculine towards the climatic confrontation, and this is often visualised by a phallic object, such as a shotgun, an axe, a machete and the like. With either of these weapons, the killer often meets a dramatic end to their killing spree. For example, in Slumber Party Massacre (Jones, 1982)* the Final Girl Valerie arms herself with a machete and cuts off the killer's hand and then impales him, or in Friday the 13th (Cunningham, 1980), where the Final Girl Alice, equally picks up a machete and decapitates the killer. In both examples, The Final Girl uses her weapon to cut off the killer's masculinity, which frees them from their repression and can emerge as a strong, independent and adult woman.

*note: trailer not included due to nudity