Progression_of_Horror

Progression of horror Has modern horror gone overkill with special effects and gore, this essay will discuss how the horror genre has evolved over time. Many contemporary horror movies involve heavy use of gore and disturbing imagery but was this the natural evolution of the genre or have improvements in technology forced this change'. Horror films are designed to scare and disgust viewers with evil characters, plots and events that can range from realistic to completely supernatural. Firstly let’s look at the history of horror media. The take-off of the genre can be attributed to the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in the early summer of 1817. Her creation of a monster attracted the interest of many people due to its original scary, almost believable concept. This spurred the release of many other monster and beast related novels with perhaps the most famous being the werewolf. The next major point in the history of horror was 1897 with Bram Stoker and his creation of ‘Count Dracula’ the first vampire. Dracula is perhaps the best known of all fictional characters. The appeal of this character could be attributed to the idea of a handsome wealthy man with a terrifying dark side. The language used in Bram Stokers novel made the reader feel as though they were witnessing the tale first hand due to the diary style in which it was written. The slow build up made the scary moments more intense for the reader. The development of the movie industry in the early 20th century brought the next stage of horror media: the first horror movie Nosferatu directed by F.W Murnau this film took the idea of the vampire to the big screen. For the first time horror was visually available for the mass public. Because this was a silent movie, eerie music and shock sound effects created a sense of gradual, creeping unease. Heavy use of shadows in dimly lit rooms and shots of scenery at dusk ensure the viewer feels the suspense of the moment and presence of apprehension respectively. No blood or violence is seen throughout the movie as camera cuts at crucial moments leave the audience to imagine what happens. The following years saw many more gothic styled movies using suspense techniques and viewer imagination. The next significant period for horror came in the 1960’s. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was considered a great work in this period. Hitchcock knew that the suspense is generated when the audience can see danger his characters cannot see, or can only suspect. He once said, "There's no terror in the bang of the gun, only the anticipation of it." (classicfilm.about.com, 2011) this opened up a whole new lease of opportunity within the horror genre leading to new scare tactics, images of a more graphic and disturbing nature and no longer leaving as much to the viewer’s imagination. This caused the horror genre to progress in a different direction resulting in more shock scare tactics accompanied with more disturbing imagery. Shortly after the release of George Romero’s ‘night of the living dead’ the amount of gore had increased considerably compared to other films of its generation and was considered to be one of the driving forces behind zombie horrors on the big screens. A number of codes and conventions started to appear. The horror genres codes and conventions strives to educe fear and apprehension from their viewers by connecting the supernatural into reality situations. Everything a normal society values is systematically destroyed throughout the film. It often can be completely paranormal without any reality whatsoever and are based on fictional novels of the gothic/horror genre. They can also incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction (sci-fi), fantasy or thriller. Modernized horrors usually contain graphic violence or bloody gore. Horror films differentiate due to the years and so it is much harder to compare or group them largely and so contrasts between them become very clear. So by this point horror was well recognised, and with its very distinctive genre attributes such as suspenseful silences followed shortly by a loud bang or high pitched shriek, it was offering the same old scare tactics. It was time for something new to happen and with cultures evolving and becoming more accustomed to horror it would have to be a leap into the ‘unknown’ and more supernatural ideas of what if’s. Some of these were alleged to have been based on fact which added a whole new level of fear, one of most ground breaking horrors to date is the exorcist (1973) this film was said to have caused people to faint while watching and When originally released in the UK a number of town councils imposed a complete ban on the showing of the film. This led to the bizarre spectacle of “Exorcist Bus Trips” where enterprising travel companies organized buses to take groups to the nearest town where the film was showing (listverse.com, 2011). This film was the pivoting point for the horror genre and gave people a whole new lease of adrenalin whilst watching film. The film advertisement poster for the exorcist consisted of nothing graphical or scary but was simply a shot from the opening scene before any possession had taken place; only after seeing the film do you understand the significance of this characters presence and what horrors within the house. One of the reasons this poster is so effective is that it gives no indication of anything threatening or frightening but it merely a ploy for people to investigate. Throughout this decade (1970’s) the platform for horror had risen substantially, since audiences had become accustomed to the now ineffective shock tactics and were looking for something even more horrifying. After the release of the exorcist a chain of twisted movies such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Omen, The Hills have Eyes and Halloween. By the 1980’s special effects had hit new boundary’s, along with the development of equipment and technologies film makers were able to be even more creative than ever. People were seeing a whole new range of cinematography and with this bigger and better productions started being made. Throughout the golden era of horror (1970/80’s) critics deemed the 1973 film ‘texas chainsaw massacre’ as being so repulsive, brutal, and terrifying that watching it can be exhausting. It is, however, thanks to the presence of these very qualities, one of the most effective horror movies I have ever encountered. It laid the foundation of the a new form of horror that could only get bigger since people either loved it, or were out right disgusted by it. Audience profiles, Psychological research finds a strong correlation between the desires to watch suspenseful or scary entertainment and the viewer’s high need for physical arousal or excitement. Some of us watch scary films for the thrill of it. It's safe, so to speak, because we are watching it, not living it. The great master of horror, Alfred Hitchcock said, "People like to be scared when they feel safe." And there are those who might watch to release their own aggressive or violent wishes in a more socially approachable way, by just watching it. Research at King's College in London said that the key to a great scary movie is the balance between suspense and gore. If little is shown on screen it allows one's mind to invent the fright. According to the researchers, jaws was the perfect scary movie because, "Steven Spielberg reached the optimum level perfectly allowing the viewer to see just enough blood to be scared of the Great White Shark, but not so much that it repulsed us.” Yet this is no longer the case with the majority of recent horror films such as the saw, severance etc.. The genre of horror has been related to real crimes on many occasions