This scene from PSYCHO is the scene where we see Norman’s
mother for the first time and realise that Norman is a psychopath. The first
time you see her is in the basement of Bates House which is a creepy location and backed up with the low-key lighting represents evil in
Norman through her mother.
The music in this scene is very tense as don’t know what
Norman’s mother looks like which is Parallel
music as matches the emotion in the scene.
The psycho killer
in the film is Norman as he keeps his dead mother in his house which is an
example of Necrophilia and also oedipal complex. He has poisoned his mother’s
lover, and how he loves his mum so much he dresses up as her when he does his
murdering. This reflects the historical context of the time as Ed Gein as he
did similar things by keeping his victims as trophies after he killed them,
this only happened a few years before the film came out so this shows Janet Staiger’sInterpreting Films (1992) is right as you need to understand a film’s
context and who the audience is at the time. This scene backs up Thomas
Schatz Genre Theory as shows that the film is a Psychological horror as the
main killer in the film is a psychopath. This is shown in his book (Hollywood Genres 1981)
This scene from PSYCHO is the scene where Norman is peeping
at Marion through a hole in the wall. He is looking at Marion undressing in her
room which is an auteur style of
Hitchcock as he enjoyed voyeuristically blonde women in his films, which was
the Auteur Theory by Andrew Sarris (Film
Theory and Criticism 1979).
The film uses cinematography
with the Point of View shot when
Norman looks through the hole in the wall; you see what he is seeing. Montage is also used in this scene as
it keeps switching between shots of Norman and Marion to emphasise the emotion
of Norman falling in love with Marion.
This scene also has the ideologyof sexism towards women/misogyny as
Norman is only seeing Marion as an object and not as an equal human being.
The low key lighting
in the scene draws the audience to focus on Norman looking through the hole in
the wall, this combined with the close
up shot of Norman shows that he is alone and that he falls in love with the
first women he sees due to his sexual frustration
This scene from PSYCHO is the first scene where we see the
first death in the film. The low key
lighting in the room emphasises the danger and suspense of what is
happening in the scene. The suspense is
the auteur style of Alfred Hitchcock
which shows the importance of the “Auteur
theory" by Andrew Sarris formulated in his book (Film Theory and Criticism 1979).
Restricted
narration is used in this scene as you don’t see the knife go into
Marion because of Hayes Code, this shows the
institutional context of the horror industry as Hayes code was still
enforced up until the late 60’s.
There was a lot of slow
and quick editing in this scene as when the killer approaches the shower it
uses a slow montaging to create
tension and then when the killer strikes it uses quick montaging to emphasise panic of the actual attack and used
together this contrast also creates collision
cutting between these two moments in the scene.
Marion is the female
victim in the film and is shown in this scene because she has a blonde hair
another one of Hitchcock’s auteur influences, as he was renowned for becoming obsessed
with female stars like Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren. She isn’t wearing any clothes which all
emphasises a female victim in most horror films.
There is also a theme of loneliness
and isolation in this scene as Marion is all alone in her room where the
attacks about to happen which is a very common generic convention of
Psychological horrors which shows Thomas
Schatz interest in the Genre Theory
(Hollywood Genres 1981) is accurate because Hitchcock is clearly aware of
important genre features.
The film I did a review for was Zombieland a comedy
horror film which was produced in 2009 and directed by Ruben Fleischer.
The plot of the film is a shy student trying to reach his
family in Ohio, a gun toting tough guy trying to find the last “Twinkie”, and a
pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across
a zombie filled America.
The first scene that impressed me the most was the scene in
the store where they unleash their anger by smashing up the store, it uses
slow-motion to make the scene more dramatic it also used contrapuntal music of
classical music to make the scene more memorable and potentially funny for
viewers. The other scene that impressed me the most was the final action
sequence in the amusement park because it combined well with the fast montage
aspects of action films with loads of long shots and slow-motion, it also used
conventional aspects of horror films with Collision cutting, which was used
when the two girls are on the drop down tower and the guys are trying to kill
the zombie, and creepy locations to appeal to a wider audience.
Watching this film has helped me understand the genre of
making horror films by using my horror genre checklist I have seen which
aspects are in most horror films.
The characters and representation in the film was the Male
Hero in the film which was Columbus because he saved the 2 sisters at the end
of the film. Quick smart monsters are the zombies which are shown by them
running around the Theme Park but not stereotypically smart as get easily
distracted when Tallahassee shoots his gun to get all of the zombies to chase
him while Columbus saves the 2 sisters. The final girl in the film was Wichita
as she is able to use a gun and doesn’t have sex with Columbus whilst they are
in Bill Murray’s house.
The Mise-en-Scene and sound in the film included Body Horror
which was used when Tallahassee and Columbus find a new car after the 2 sisters
steal there’s and they find a pair of decapitated hands on the steering wheel.
Creepy locations are also used in the film in the abandoned amusement park as
the zombies could be hiding anywhere in the park waiting to jump out and
attack. Low key lighting is also used when Wichita goes into the electric room
at the theme park to turn the power on for all the rides, the room when she
enters is dimly lit. Parallel music is also used when Columbus and Tallahassee
first meet as when they point guns at each other tense music is being played to
make the audience feel tense as well as they don’t know what could happen next.
Contrapuntal music is also used in the store scene as classical music is being
played when smashing up the store but when you think of destruction rock or
heavy metal music would be playing.
The editing used in Zombieland often includes a clever
use of montage which is used when Tallahassee remembers his son as lots of
different moments where they spent time with each other in the past are put
together. This slow montage makes the audience feel emotional towards
Tallahassee. Collision cutting is also used in the film when the zombies are
running towards the 2 sisters as they are riding on the pirate ship as they are
happy and enjoying themselves on the ride as meanwhile the zombies are running
towards them. Montage (quick-slow) is also used when the zombies are attacking
the girls it cuts back to Columbus and Tallahassee saying goodbye to each
other. Close ups are also used when the Columbus escapes the bathroom with the
zombie in it and shuts the door thinking he’s trapped it in there but then you
get a close up of the zombies’ hand opening the door of the bathroom. Expressionist
angles are also used in the toilet scene as when the man is on the toilet a
zombie sneaks under the door and attacks him. This uses a high angle showing
the fear of the man when being attacked when he is most vulnerable. Handheld
camera is also used at the start of the film as someone is recording some
zombies then the monster attacks him. A Point of view shot is also used when
Tallahassee gets a pair of shears and walks up to the zombie and you see what he sees as he chops the
head of one of the zombies.
The themes and narrative in the film are sex of taboo as when
driving in the car Columbus and Tallahassee talk about sex. Threats to yourself
and family is also used when the 2 sisters are on the drop tower and the bottom
is completely surrounded by zombies and is slowly moving down towards to them.
There is also an open ending to the film as Columbus says “until the next time”
which suggests there may be a sequel to the film. Institutional context is
evident in the film as the zombies look gorier than films in the past for
example compared to the zombies in Dawn of the Dead. They have more
blood on them showing the changes in the horror industry over the last 30-40
years.
Some of the aspects of the film that I would like to include
in my trailer is the cutaway scenes as these parts of the film I enjoyed as
they added a certain edge to the film as made it less horror like and more
action/comedy films I prefer to watch. I also liked the slow-motion sequences
in the film for example in the store scene and when Tallahassee is shooting the
zombies in the theme park as these create more dramatic sequences to keep the
audience on the edge.
The aspects I would avoid when creating my horror trailer is
the extra-diegetic narration as this tells the audience only exactly what the
main character is thinking and I don’t think this works well in a horror film
and mainly works in comedy films.
The best moment in the film in my opinion was the scene with
Bill Murray hanging out with Wichita and Tallahassee as it shows some
historical context of Ghostbusters and shows that he likes to get high on drugs.
In horror films this means you are likely to die in the film which he does when
he creeps on Columbus and he shoots him thinking he is a zombie as Murray is
dressed like one to protect himself from the zombies.
The auteur style of Ruben Fleischer is action films as most
of his other films have the action film aspect involved. Some of Fleischer’s
other films are Gangster Squad and 30 Minutes Or Less these films
are both involve a lot of action which is Fleischer’s auteur style. Many action
aspects are used in Zombieland, for example the action sequence in the
Theme Park is just like a scene from an action film as uses a lot of long shots
and other aspects used in action films. He also uses slow-motion sequences
which are also used in action films as in the Theme park scene when Tallahassee
is shooting the zombies. Guns are used a lot as well in all of his films, these
are phallic symbols used throughout the film to defend themselves from the
zombies.
The plot of the film is a boy inadvertently breaks 3
important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently
mischievous monsters on a small town.
The scenes that impressed me the most were Mrs Deagle’s death
as throughout the film she is threatening to kill Billy’s dog and the gremlins
kill her because of this showing that deep down they’re still nice. A lot of
close up shots are used in this scene to show the petrified face of Mrs Deagle
which emphasises what’s going on in the scene.
The other scene was the pub scene where a load of gremlins
were hanging out; this impressed me because it balanced humour with horror
happened throughout the film. A lot of montage was used in this scene to show a
variety of gremlins doing different things to show how bad they are.
This film helped me understand the horror genre as most of
the things usually in the horror genre featured in the film.
The characters and representation in the film were the male
hero Billy, quick smart monsters the gremlins, the female victim Mrs Deagle and
the final girl Kate.
The mise-en-scene in the film utilised restricted narration
in the opening scene where it sets the plot or diegesis of the film, creepy
locations were used throughout the film for example the shop where he buys
Mogui. Low key lighting was used also in the shop when we first see the
gremlins.
The sound in the film was parallel music which was in the
Christmas scene as Christmas music was playing throughout. There was also
contrapuntal music when Billy’s Mum is looking for the gremlins in the house.
An upbeat song is playing on the stereo, which contrasts the horror of the
scene.
The editing in the film included montage this was used when
the gremlins were hatching as continuously changing locations where eggs were
hatching. Collision cutting was also used in the quite empty school then
suddenly the alarm goes off. There was also quick to slow montage to build
tension when Billy’s mum was looking for gremlins as she slowly looked for them
then suddenly something would happen like a plate hitting her.
The cinematography in the film included a close up of Billy’s
Dad’s face when he first see’s Gizmo for the first time. A canted angle was
also used when more gremlins spawn from Gizmo to show confusion to what’s
happening. There was also a Point of view shot when Gizmo drives the toy car to
save Billy’s life, the shot was used just before the jump.
The themes in the film were loneliness when the professor is
alone with the gremlin he is studying. There is also a threat of death whilst
the gremlins attack billy’s home.
The narrative at the end of the film is an open one as the
shopkeeper who sells Gizmo takes him away and says to Billy “You can have him
back when you are ready” this may lead to a sequel of him getting Gizmo back.
A key horror ideology in the film was sadism as the gremlins
enjoyed inflicting pain on the town’s people even though they don’t always kill
them.
The aspects of the film I enjoyed of the film were the
unusual deaths like killing from microwaves and stannar stair lifts. This would
be good in my trailer because these scenes would be memorable and make people
watch the film. Also the use of dark creepy locations would also be good in my
trailer because they would emphasise any horror moments in these particular
scenes.
Aspects of the film that I would avoid would be minimal jumpy
scenes as these scenes I think are better moments in horror films, for example
in this film when the gremlins suddenly throw a plate at Billy’s mum which is a
jumpy scene but not that jumpy. Also the setting of the film is at Christmas which
isn’t a particularly scary time and would be much better at Halloween.
The most enjoyable moment was the gremlins as the monsters
are always the most memorable characters in horror films. The monsters in my
trailer need to be memorable and also ideally like them to have bizarre
features to stand out.
Drag me to
hell is a US movie released in 2009, it is a thriller horror film, from around
the same time period as A Haunted House.
The main
image on the poster is of the victim in the film; you can only see the outline
of the female victim so gives hardly anything away so the viewers are more on
edge when they watch the full movie. The victim looks in danger as she is in a
grave which shows than during the film she may die.
The colours
in the poster are dominantly green which shows that the film has a sci-fi
aspect to it but it doesn’t as the film is about An old women putting a curse
on the victim which will send her to hell in a few days’ time so the main
colours should be blue to suggest that it’s a super natural film instead of a
green sci-fi film.
The fonts of
the text on the poster are big and bold so stand out on the poster they are
also crooked to make them look like they have been written by a mad person
(usually the killer in horror films) the text of the 2 main actors in the film
are written on the floor of the grave which may suggest that these 2 characters
die as their names are portrayed like they are written on a coffin in the
grave.
The target
audience of this film would be for an older generation as there are no notable
killers in the film and hardly any blood or gore so is more for a Sunday
afternoon viewing rather than a late night Friday viewing.
Halloween is
a horror film made in the USA and was released in 1978 much older than the
previous 2 films so will have lots of differences between them.
The main
image on the poster is of the hand of the killer, as you can see there is a
part of a pumpkin on his hand which fits well within the film as pumpkins are
usually seen at Halloween. You are only able to see the killers hand on the
poster which may suggest that the killer is a masked villain and may even be
mutated.
The colour
of the poster is mainly black which makes the image of the killer more dominate
as the killer is the main part of the film and tells the viewers this. It also
has white font so this too stands out on the black background so the readers
can immediately read the title and tag line of the film.
The fonts on
the poster are very bold and basic so they stand out well on the poster to try
and catch their target audience’s attention. It also has a thin orange outline
which shows a relation on this colour as is the same colour as the bad guy in
the film.
The tag line
on the poster is the night he came home this suggests that the main villain in
the film has risen from the dead and come back to his home where the haunts the
people who currently reside at his old home.
The target
audience of the movie will be an older audience as the film came out in the
late 70’s so would be more popular with people in their 30’s/40’s.
The film a
haunted house is a comedy horror film made in the USA in 2013, so is a newer
horror film.
The main
image on the poster is of the killer as he has a sinister look about him which
suggests that he is the killer. We see the shoulders up of the killer and he is
looking directly out to the viewer which shows that he has the same power as
the victims in the movie. The image of the killer definitely dominates the
picture as is the only image on the poster. The killer is wearing a nun’s
outfit to hide the fact that he is a killer because nun’s worship god and don’t
tend to go around and kill people. There are some aspects of the killer which
show iconic aspects of any killer in a horror film, for example he has eyes
that don’t look human like which is portrayed in most horror films as they tend
to make the villains as un human like as possible.
The colours
on the poster are dominantly red which shows that this movie is a gory horror
film because the red is there to represent blood of the killers victims
throughout the course of the film. This will appear to the target audience
which will be people who usually play gory video games.
The font on
the poster is big and bold font usually used for comedy films this tells the
audience that this film has some comedic points in it so will combine the 2
genres to make a funny scary film.
The tag
lines on the poster also portray that this film is a comedy horror because the
tag line on the top of the poster says based on un-true events, which on most
modern horror films are based on true events, this makes the poster still have
the same layout as a horror poster but added comedic effect to show the viewers
that is also a comedy film.
The target
audience of this movie will be people who enjoy comedies and horror films
usually young adults as the comedy in these sorts of movies target this target
audience.
The magazine
horror hound is a UK horror magazine that is sold bi-monthly. It contains
information on everything horror such as new films and DVD’s, games and comic
books also coming out and also interviews with some of horror’s famous stars.
The masthead
of the magazine is in red and bold with a white footprint to the left of it
which is an ideology of the horror genre as looks like a supernatural
footprint.
The main
cover line on the magazine is also in a horror font and stands out in the
middle of the page to grab the audience’s attention to this particular story.
The main image of this magazine goes together with the main cover line; the
picture is a shot from the film so people who enjoy the film will read the
magazine to find out more about it.
The price of
the magazine is £3.89 and for a bi-monthly magazine this is a good price as if
it came out fortnightly would be less than a pound which is much cheaper than most
fortnightly magazines on the market. Also it says that the price of the
magazine in dollars which suggests that this magazine is a global magazine as
is sold in the US and the UK, gaining a wider audience.
The website
at the bottom of the magazine shows that the magazine has cross media
divergence as is available in print form and in online form, which allows fans
of the horror genre to access this particular magazine from a more variety of
platforms.
The magazine
shock horror is a UK horror magazine that is sold bi-monthly. It contains
information on everything horror such as new films and DVD’s, games and comic
books also coming out and also interviews with some of horror’s famous stars.
The masthead
of the magazine is green and bold which is an ideology of the horror genre as
green is usually associated in films as aliens.
The main
cover line on the magazine is also in a horror font and stands out on the right
of the page to grab the audience’s attention to this particular story. The main
image of this magazine goes together with the main cover line; the picture is a
shot of a famous horror star which will make the audience buy it because they
like that particular star.
The price of
the magazine is £3.00 and for a bi-monthly magazine this is a good price as if
it came out fortnightly would be less than a pound which is much cheaper than
most fortnightly magazines on the market. The price of the magazine is just in
pounds which show it’s a small magazine as hasn’t gone global yet.
The other
cover lines on the magazine portray other aspects of horror, for example
haunted tattoos which aren’t usually featured in other horror magazines so it
will stand out from the other magazines on the market.
The magazine
scream is a UK horror magazine that is sold bi-monthly. It contains information
on everything horror such as new films and DVD’s coming out and also interviews
with some of horror’s famous stars.
The masthead
of the magazine is in red and streaked in some areas to portray the aspect of
blood which is an ideology of the horror genre.
The main
cover line on the magazine is also in a horror font and stands out in the
middle of the page to grab the audience’s attention to this particular story.
The main image of this magazine goes together with the main cover line; the
picture is of the actor the cover line in his latest movie so fans of the film
or the actor will buy this magazine to find out more about it.
The price of
the magazine is £4.50 and for a bi-monthly magazine this is a good price as if
it came out fortnightly would be around £1.15 which is much cheaper than most
fortnightly magazines on the market. Also it says that the price of the
magazine in dollars which suggests that this magazine is a global magazine as
is sold in the US and the UK, gaining a wider audience.
The website
at the top of the magazine shows that the magazine has cross media divergence
as is available in print form and in online form, which allows fans of the
horror genre to access this particular magazine from a more variety of
platforms.
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