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Introduction to Horror Films/Stories Prof. Myrna Monllor

Introduction to Horror Films/Stories Prof. Myrna Monllor. “Where there is no imagination there is no horror.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Why We Watch Horror Films. You can deal with existential universal fears through someone else’s experience You participate emotionally, but not physically

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Introduction to Horror Films/Stories Prof. Myrna Monllor

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  1. Introduction to Horror Films/StoriesProf. Myrna Monllor

  2. “Where there is no imagination there is no horror.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  3. Why We Watch Horror Films • You can deal with existential universal fears through someone else’s experience • You participate emotionally, but not physically • They provide a revealing mirror image of the anxieties of their time

  4. Anxieties of the Times Mutations/space travel or invasion Consequences of scientific advancements 1940’s/1950’s Plagues/World Wars 1920’s 1930’s Disintegration of the Family, sexual revolution 1960’s/1970’s 1990’s diversity

  5. Punishment for misbehavior/ Faithlessness 1990’s /2000’s salvation

  6. Definition Stories of terror that • involve the fantastic • Play on our deepest fears and concerns • Provide a challenge to the viewer about whether he/she is going to be able to withstand the horror portrayed within the film • Attack or make you question your moral/ethical values

  7. Beginnings • Mythology • Fairy Tales • Mary Shelly’s Frankestein • Bram Stoker’s Dracula • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde • Edgar Allan Poe

  8. Mythology The Minotaur Medusa Sirens The Hydra

  9. Folk and Fairy Tales Scheherezade Arabian Nights Little Red Riding Hood Beauty and the Beast/Bluebeard

  10. Film Classics:Hollywood 1931 1931 1931 1941

  11. Film Classics: German Expressionism The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 Nosferatu 1922 German expressionism greatly influenced the films of the 1920’s through the way it used symbols and set up scenes and frames to suggest a mood.

  12. Characteristics • Tell fantastic stories which are unbelievable or have no probability of happening in the real world • Protagonists are different from others, they are “aliens” or misfits • Protagonists can be predators or victims

  13. Victims or Predators? The Sixth Sense The Exorcist Bram Stoker’s Dracula Sweeney Todd Freddy Kruger Nightmare on Elm Street

  14. Victims or Predators? Interview with the Vampire Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula Rosemary’s Baby The Omen Chucky The Ring

  15. Characteristics • They present a surreal world, full of dreams and symbols • Stories are often told through a first-person narrator • Many contemporary films are set in small towns or in places where everyday situations are happening • They attack people’s religious and moral values

  16. Characteristics • Many are misogynistic Saw Nightmare on Elm Street Hostel

  17. Characteristics • The victims are usually unprepared for what is going to happen to them • The best horror films suggest terror, instead of presenting it on the screen

  18. Gothic horror films • The protagonists are vampires, were-wolves, zombies, invisible men • Common settings are dungeons, castles, laboratories, insane asylums, underworlds • Diaries, letters are used to tell the story (first person narration)

  19. Common images are darkness, paleness (livid colors), the use of white to contrast with the red of blood, the kiss of the vampire, the creation of a humanoid, the physical change of one being into another • In classic films/stories the monster/creature is destroyed at the end

  20. Slashers • A misfit has become a killer • And in the process seems to have limitless ability to be everywhere threatening his/her victims • Victims’ deaths are usually related to sexual activity • The killer will live on for a sequel

  21. Common themes • Sexuality • Eternal rest after death/salvation • Punishment for sins • Nightmares • Perceiving someone as different • Fear of the unknown • Loss of identity/mutation into something different • Scientific advances creating problems

  22. The Final Girl • The Final Girl: A Few Thoughts on Feminism and Horror http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/final_girl.html Halloween 1978

  23. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. And what I've done is going to be puzzled over, and studied, and followed... forever. John Doe in Seven

  24. Vincent PC MAC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQcBKUPm8o

  25. Bibliography • Horror Film History http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=1920s • Frankenstein Films.com http://www.frankensteinfilms.com • Scream and Scream Again http://www.offscreen.com/biblio/phile/essays/return_of_the_repressed/ • Why Horror Movies Are Back with a Vengeance http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3663 • Horrors! From Bug Movies to Bioterrorism http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/popcult/moviestuff/horrormv.html

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