Spectatorship, Popular Film and Emotional Response: The Horror

Genre

Horror Films and Emotional Response

• Learning Objectives:– To introduce the concept of spectatorship

– To begin to consider macro aspects (narrative and genre) in relation to horror films

Spectatorship is the “state or act of being an observer of

film”

What is Spectacle?

• Why do you tend to go to the cinema?

• Think of 1 or 2 films you have recently seen:– Did they live up to your expectations? – How and why (not)?

I Know What You Did Last Summer

• Sub genre not clear from opening (horror genre is)• Music – dark/complex• Blond pretty “perfect” girl• Jock• Hidden id of victim (killer?)• Tattoo – a clue later in film to his id• Killer coming back to life – is he human?• Far-fetched but has to be believable• Middle class wealthy kids• Rejected outcast kid – he has a motive• What would you do in the same situation? Morally ambiguous situation. Whose side

is the spectator on?• Low key lighting• Isolated, small town, beach, school prom – tragedy juxtaposed with a supposedly

joyous moment• We can be scared of something we are expecting but we all reacted differently to the

film

28 Days Later

• Zombie, dystopian sci-fi, horror

• Only towards the end of the clip that the genre is clear• Isolation (common theme in horror films) – of main

character, of setting, of music (moments of silence)• See from his perspective• Music building to crescendo

• Sense of imminent danger/threat

• Lighting – contrast of low and high key, use of red

Brainstorm• Why do you watch horror movies?

– E.g. For a “masochistic” pleasure, like a rollercoaster ride or eating a vindaloo curry!

– Any other reasons?– A sense of escape/fantasy– Because they are often simple in narrative and

characterisation

– Because they are often formulaic and we as audiences don’t always want to be challenged

– Because they remind us of our childhood in a psychoanalytical way!

“The horror film has consistently been one of the most popular and, at the same time, the most disreputable of genres”

“The chief route to cultural legitimation [of horror films]…has been through popular anthropological or Freudian reference, which assumes inside us a constant, ever-present yearning for the fantastic, for the darkly mysterious, for the choked terror of the dark”

Horror sub-genres

• Brainstorm horror sub-genres and films you would associate with them:– Slasher/stalker– Zombie– Psychological thriller– Demonic possession/supernatural– Monster

Psycho

• Directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960

• What does the title bring to mind?

• What emotions does it create in you?

• Do you expect the film to be “old fashioned”?

Psycho

• What the following extract and answer these questions:

1. What is your emotional reaction to it?a) Were you shocked by the scene or not?

2. What horror sub-genre do you think it falls into?

3. How does it compare to modern-day horror that you have seen?

Lesson 2

• LOs:– To develop understanding of horror sub-

genres

The Shower Scene

• There were 78 separate camera set-ups needed for this 45 second scene and it took 7 days to film!

• There were censorship reasons which made the quick-fire cutting of the scene necessary, but Hitchcock’s main concern was to disturb the audience and to suggest terrible violence and bloodshed without actually showing very much.

Narrative expectations in Horror

• Read the Horror Movie Survival Guide

• Are any of the situations described familiar (even if you cannot associate them with a film or other type of story)?

• “Predictable pleasures”

• Expectations have changed over the years

Horror Movie Conventions• Blood• Death• Murder• Victim (female?)• Villain (male?)• Haunted house• Isolated setting• Darkness• Evil• Storm• Gore• Weapons• Violence• Screams• Ghosts• Chase Sequence

Horror sub-genres

• Slasher/stalker

• Zombie

• Psychological thriller

• Demonic possession/supernatural

• Monster

• Gothic

• Hybrid (e.g. Sci-Fi)

Sub-genres

• We will watch short extracts from different sub-genres

• Complete the worksheet

Slasher/stalker

• Halloween (1978) directed by John Carpenter

Zombie

• Shaun of the Dead (2004) directed by Edgar Wright

• Closely associated with the comedy genre

Demonic Possession/Supernatural

• The Ring (2006)

Monster

• An American Werewolf in London (1981) directed by John Landis

Hybrid genres

• 28 Days Later (2002) directed by Danny Boyle

Plenary

• Feedback on completed sheets

Homework

• Read “The Monster with a Thousand Faces” and “Feminist Horror Film Theory”

• Watch a horror film and consider its representation of males and females in relation to this article – take notes (approx. 200-300 words) so you can discuss them in class

Freud and Psychoanalysis

• Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for treating psychopathology

Psychoanalytic film theory – focus on subconscious fears and

desires