The Horror Genre Of Horror Essay - 2741 Words

Introduction The horror genre is one of the oldest genres used in storytelling. It was used in old folklore stories and was commonly used during the ancient Greek plays. Horror genre became one of the first genres to be adopted into filmmaking in the 1920’s. Though the word horror to describe in the film genre would not be used until after Universal Pictures released Dracula and Frankenstein both in 1931. J. A. Cuddon (1984) defined horror in The Penguin Book of Horror Stories as â€Å"a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing† (p. 11). Like most genres the favoritism towards one depends on what is happening in society. Today horror genre continues its popularity in films and television because the economy is not doing well. There are many different subgenres to horror but they all have themes that are repeated. This paper will focus on the science fiction hor ror subgenre. Science fiction is best defined by writer Robert A. Heinlein (1959) stated, â€Å"realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method† (n.p.). Science fiction horror films are fictional science-based depictions of phenomena with a horror twist added to it. Often these type of films revolves around subjects that include killerShow MoreRelatedThe Horror Genre Of Horror Films Essay1461 Words   |  6 PagesThe horror genre has become a popular genre among the movie industry. It has become a popular genre since it has been evolving throughout the years it has been around, but one of its major climax points was when the subgenre of zombies came into the mix. The zombie genre became very popular in the year 1968 when it was first introduced in George Romero’s film Night of the Living Dead. Night of t he Living Dead is one of the most prominent zombie films till this date especially since it has introducedRead MoreHorror Movies : The Horror Movie Genre859 Words   |  4 Pagessomething. Horror movies specifically slasher movies do more than just entertain us in their way, they also warn us to be aware of what we’re doing or our surroundings. In most slasher films, there are certain scenarios that have been repeated and copied from the beginning of the genre. Because of the numerous imitations by other films in the past and the present the themes put forth in ground breaking slasher movies are continually reinventing the genre and have added significantly to horror movieRead MoreThe Genre Of Horror Films1563 Words   |  7 PagesFirst of all, genre is the method categorized a film based on similarities in the narrative elements. There are a wide range of different types of film genres: detective, action, adventure, gangster or crime, science fiction, drama, horror, ro mance, comedy, musical and so on. It is quite difficult to identify a particular film because a film might have a few of different genres. That is the reason why sub-genres exist. Sub-genres can help us to more clarity in identify the genre of a film. For exampleRead MoreThe Horror Genre Essay608 Words   |  3 PagesThe Horror Genre The Horror Genre has been very popular ever since Etienne Robertson, the pioneer of film horror, made the first film. The film Phantasmagoria was more of a theatre shadow play. It was made during the French revolution. Since then, thousands of Horror films have been made. Many developments have been used in newer films such as special effects and 3-D animation. A genre is formed when a type of film has certain elements that become essential toRead More The Horror Genre Essay1310 Words   |  6 Pages The Horror Genre The horror genre is a topic that can be written or filmed about. In this essay, I will be concentrating on films, and how the horror genre is included in them. The main ingredients in a horror film are music, sound effects, lighting, camera trickery special effects and most importantly a clever, catchy, scary script. But to make horror what it is, a director will include many other things that create suspense and the eerie atmosphere of the sceneRead MoreThe Mutation Of The Horror Genre1916 Words   |  8 PagesMutation of the Horror Genre Horror can be defined as a genre meant to psychologically trigger individual fear with the presence of certain supernatural or abstract characteristics. The genre is dependent on people’s fascination with unrealism and the sensation that comes from experiencing fear personified into tangible elements on a screen. Horror films have thrilled audiences for decades, revealing stories of the more sinister parts of life. The popular allure that stems from the genre comes from theRead MoreHorror Genre Dissertation6741 Words   |  27 PagesIntroduction PG. 4 Discussion - 4. History of the Horror Genre PG. 5 - 9 - 5. Slasher Films and the Gender roles PG. 9 - 13 - 6. Comedy Horror PG. 13 - 16 - 7. Postmodernism and the Horror Film PG. 16 - 18 - 8. Case Study: Scream Vs. Scary Movie PG. 18 - 22 9. Conclusion PG. 23 Bibliography PG. 25 - 27 1. Abstract Page I have researched on the Horror genre, looking at when it begun, the decline in popularity it hasRead MoreThe Horror Of The Gothic Genre940 Words   |  4 PagesThe Gothic genre often reproduces a conservative paranoid structure when it comes to homophobia and other moral panics over sex (Hanson, Pg. 176). Eve Sedgwick depicts this in her work, ‘Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosexual Desire’ as she discusses how these ideas (paranoia) are represented within the Gothic, in what she describes as the ‘homosocial’ in reference to male bonds (Sedgwick, Pg. 86). She also discusses how bonds between men exist as the backbone of social form and formsRead MoreHorror Genre Films586 Words   |  2 PagesHorror Genre Essay Horror Genre Films are unsettling films that are created to frighten and panic the audience. They are there to invoke our hidden worst fears yet entertaining the audience. They deal with our most undiscovered fears, our nightmares, and our vulnerability, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death or our loss of identity. Watching a horror film gives an opening into the scary world, into a passage for the essence of fear itself, but not really being in danger. Common story linesRead MoreThe Horror Film Genre522 Words   |  2 PagesHorror films have been around for over 100 years, petrifying people and bringing their worst fears to life but still they can’t get enough of this sick and gory genre that is unbelievably entertaining and captivating to the audience. Horror comes with many sub-genres from your bloody slashers like Friday the 13th to your Supernatural-Horrors like The Exorcist, but in the end they all seem to do their job by scaring you and leaving you with nightmares for weeks on end. Usually Horror’s films have