History of Horror (individual)

History of horror from tyler_beever

History of Horror

Horror powerpoint from L0ui5P1P

Individual Analysis of 15 Minutes of Similar Film - (Supernatural)

15 minute analysis of the Ring from Kiera Tolhurst

Fifteen Minute Analysis - The Others

The film starts with a voice before even coming up with a picture. As the voice is quiet and eerie it causes the audience to jump as they aren't expecting it which immediately starts the film off with the idea of the horror genre. The voice is low and strained causing the audience to feel suspense and anticipation to what's going to happen next.

As the first thing to happen in the film is a religious story with strange drawings such as the children hidden behind the chairs it gives the impression of horror through the iconography as often horror films involve crucifix's and religious meaning which makes the audience feel as though something bad is going to happen. The lighting is also dark and dismal which gives a sense of mystery to the film.

Several images during the opening sequence are creepy such as the puppet who is all tangled with his head coming off which is a macabre as it uses death imagery which may be foreshadowing the rest of the film. It's also emotionless which is makes the audience feel the tension build especially because of the music as it builds up to a crescendo allowing the audiences tension to build.

As a big house appears this uses the classic iconography of a large almost abandoned looking house and it especially has the connotations of horror because of the fog surrounding it. The fog allows the house to be hidden giving a sense of mystery to the film and as the music comes to a sudden stop it makes the audience stop and wait.

As the scream breaks the silence it makes the audience jump by using a jump scare to break them out of the false sense of security that the music finishing had given the audience. It also uses the typical stereotype of the woman being the scared one as it shows her crying and continuously screaming. This could be foreshadowing the rest of the film as it starts of with her screaming which shows that something horrifying has already happened but it doesn't tell you what.

As the strange laughter comes in during the darkness it makes the audience foreshadow something is wrong with the character that appears. As the figures are in the fog it gives a feeling of suspense and mystery surrounding these nameless figures it adds a sense of foreboding. Because there is three figures it reminds the audience of religious representations which is iconography of a horror film. Because they are all dressed in black it's also representative of darkness and may be foreshadowing death later on in the film.

By shutting all the doors in the house the woman gives the impression of isolation as she is trapping them all inside. Because of the bangs the audience immediately begin to jump because of the loud noises in the silence. It also gives the impression that she is hiding something as it allows the audience to being to suspect something.

Grace is often jumpy which leads to the audience being jumpy especially when she shouts during this moment of the film as it is out of character because throughout the film so far her voice has been soft and relaxing. It also portrays a gender stereotype because whilst the one man is expected to do the manual work whilst the women are expected to do the typical jobs women were expected to do such as cook and clean. Grace is very intimidating because of her listing in a harsh voice but also because of her stature.

As the curtains close it submerges the whole room into darkness which leaves only Grace submerged in light which was foreshadowing the rest of the film especially as the servants were plunged into darkness which usually represents horror and tells that something is going to happen to the servants or even Grace. Because the candle only lights up half of Grace's face it allows the audience to associate it with light and dark which is often seen as good and bad in people. This also means that the audience can see that their is two sides to Grace and that everything isn't as it seems. Because of the dark it allows the scene to become more mysterious as no one including the servants know what's happening which leaves the audience in suspense.

As they travel up the stairs and the music begins to play it adds to the suspense as the music builds up as they get closer however it begins to get a little more eerie. Because of the association with big houses and horror films it adds to the iconography of the film due to the fact big houses are associated with the supernatural horror genre.

When the twins are first heard speaking it immediately uses religious connotations which an audience would think of a horror film. Also the use of small children's voices is often used in horror to cause suspense in the audience and to also create fear as children are often associated with innocence and youth however in horror they are often the opposite such as in the film the Shinning. Because the music is still building up the audience is still tense however are brought to a false sense of security when nothing happens and the music dies out.

During the kitchen scene the group of children are seen raising their voices which results in the audience beginning to get tense. The clothing and lighting are both dull and dark which gives the connotations of horror because of the darkness that is included during the horror genre. As the young girls face consorts into an angry and scary face it brings a sense of foreboding towards the children and what's going to happen to them.

Because of the line 'it did happen' coming straight before it fades to black the audience begin to anticipate what she is talking about. Because they don't finish the conversation it leaves the audience wanting more from the rest of the film and to get the answers that they need which leads them to continue watching. Because the music crescendos with it the tension builds to its peak before fading to darkness.

15 minute Analysis

The image is of a young girl in a white dress which appears to be stained with blood, her black hair also appears to be wet and droops down her head, her skin is pale and the room she is in is dingy, broken and stained with blood and has damp floorboards. These elements of the image give a spooky and ghostly atmosphere and convey the film's, Sinister 2, genre; horror. Furthermore, during the sequence the ghostly girl wanders around and has creepy child laughter playing over the top which also conveys the sub-genre of a Supernatural horror. The opening title sequence alone presents the film to have a theme of ghosts and creates an unsettling and scary feel to the following film. 

The second image from the opening title sequence is of the logo for the film's distributor. Blumhouse Productions is an American film production company famous for production low-budget horror films and incorporate their logo into the film in the style of the ghostly horror genre. BH Productions appears under a swinging, flickering light printed on the stained, murky walls where only the logo can be seen and the rest of the image is hidden in the shadows lurking like a ghost. The use of colours used in the sequence cleverly matches the sub-genre as the logo shows up in a light blue/white whilst the walls behind it are hidden by a dark green/black colour scheme and hide in the shadows.

This image is from the opening clip of the movie and implies violence to the film's plot as well as a Christian-religious link to the film as well as Pagan/Satanic link through the use of 3 crucifixes and the burning of them. This immediately introduces the audience to the plot of the film and creates a scary atmosphere making the audience feel fear and unease. The bright light from the fire captures the attention and focus of the audience whilst the setting of the shot is hidden in the dark from the night sky.

The image is of "Bughuul", the Pagan demon who is haunting the family in the film. Due to Sinister 2 being the sequel of the previous film the audience are informed that this film will follow the storyline of the original film and the powers of Bughuul will be present. Bughuul's entrance matches the horror sub-genre and plays off the stereotype of the monster in the closet/under the bed, Bughuul's spirit-white face breaks through the dark shadows in the wardrobe and is centred in the middle of the shot gaining the attention and being the focus. Bughuul's movements are ghost like and he slowly creeps and fades into the show creating a spooky atmosphere and conveying his scare factor. Bughuul early on in the film begins to haunt the characters and equally the audience.   

This image further evidences the film's sub-genre and the sense of ghosts and hauntings. The image shows Dylan and the ghost of Dylan haunting him in his room, this image could imply that the hauntings are surrounding Dylan and he is the plot revolves around Dylan. This image is used as a jump scare in the film which is a primary element of a good horror film, in addition to this, the use of a ghost Dylan and the dead, rotting, ghostly makeup used further presents the sub-genre and creates a spooky edge. This is a great opening scene as it matches the genre of the film as well as introducing the haunted character and grips the audience as well as frightening them.    

This unusual screenshot is used to introduce one of the characters and at the same time creates a character profile of him. Paying attention to little detail, Deputy enters the film from his car and then begins to tie his lace all being filmed from a close-up rising from his feet up to his head. The action of him tying his lace on his shoe could imply that Deputy is quite a muddled character and isn't assertive as his character name and position would convey him to. Instead of striding out of the car with determination he instead cautiously steps out, ties his lace then looks around with a confused and concerned expression conveying his muddled character.  

To further evidence the Christian-religious link to the film, this image is based in a confessional booth holding a Sacrament of Penance and conveys the horror film is based around the supernatural world and religious; i.e. Ghosts and Pagan demons. Most modern horror films include priests who deliver the famous "Condemn you to hell" line and by Deputy seeking the help of a priest the audience are informed that he is linked to Bughuul's hauntings and is in need of help. This scene also makes Sinister 2 follow and include the basic elements of a modern supernatural horror film.

This basic image simply introduces the characters in the film and plays off the stereotype of the family being haunted where a family is incomplete or constantly arguing. In this case the family is a single mum with her two boys, of similar ages, whose dad has left through a heavy divorce and the 3 of them are gradually trying to restart their life. Obviously they are open for haunting from Bughuul and their introduction is used to inform the audience of a stereotypical plot and to introduce the characters.

 Following on from the description of the last image, this image suggests that the family of 3 are being tracked by someone and are trying to escape from something/someone or just their past. This is also used to introduce the plot to the audience and convey that the single mothered family have other problems as well as the haunting from Bughuul.

This image is used to introduce the location of the film and create the setting. Once again the film plays of the stereotypes of a modern horror film and this struggling family live in a remote location in a large and glamorous country house. This links to the family trying to re-start their lives and have isolated themselves as well as linking to the implement that the family are trying to escape something. Furthermore, this isolated and remote location is a perfect area for Bughuul to unleash his haunting powers.    

Following on from the previous image, the house that the family of 3 are living in is linked to a police investigation and the investigation over Bughuul. This boosts the plot and the house that the family live in holds links to Bughuul and is guaranteed to contain paranormal events and holds the haunting. The photo of the house itself appears to be an older photo than the ones around it suggesting that the events that happened are from a long time ago which additionally conveys the plot and grips the audience.      

To further convey the plot and the link between the house and Bughuul, on the same police investigation board, pictures of Bughuul and his pagan sign are pinned around. This grips the audience and creates suspense as Bughuul's next appearance and apparitions and hauntings could come at any time. In addition, cleverly, the photos on the investigation board are from the photos from the first Sinister film conveying that the sequel directly follows on from the previous film. 

This image links back to the Christian-religious link to the film and the Church alter and crucifix symbolises a church and a religious element to the film. This shot creates the setting of the film and conveys the religious and supernatural genre of the film. Most modern horror films base their storylines around religion and Bughuul is a pagan demon therefore the film has a religious link to it. Courtney is alone in the abandoned church when hauntings and paranormal events begin happening gripping the audience and creating a tense and frightening atmosphere and pull on the film. The church is also used as a plot device as well as setting and for the religious link and this is just an introduction of its apparitions. 

 

This eerie and final image depicts the hauntings that surround Dylan and that the church has a frightening past where ghostly blood stains the floor. To emphasise the fright factor the oozing blood isn't actually flooding the church and is in fact a ghostly apparition that only Dylan can see this creepy scare grips the audience and builds the suspense in the film and conveys Dylan's role in the film and his vulnerability from Bughuul's hauntings. This can be used as a plot device and equally represent the genre of the film as blood is common for horror films and the fact that this blood is hidden to all but Dylan conveys a ghostly form to the blood portraying the supernatural element of the film.