HORROR FILMS
(sample topic for Illustration Essay)
This is just an example
A topic that I am passionate about
WHAT DO I MEAN BY HORROR FILMS?
"Horror . . .
takes nothing for granted. It's not safe . . . [It] can be a guide through a nightmare world, entered freely and by the [viewer]'s own will." --
Robert McCammon
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” -- Edgar Allan Poe
"There are two different stories in horror: internal and
external. In external horror films, the evil comes from
the outside, the other tribe, this thing in the darkness
that we don't understand. Internal is the human heart."
John Carpenter
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." --
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
"Just as our fears and terrors change with time, so too will the definition of horror, not just from age to age but from person to person."
Horror Writers Association
WHAT DO I MEAN BY HORROR FILMS?
Definitions change all the time. Many horror writers reject the marginalization that comes from being labeled a "horror writer." Many film directors also try to break out of the confines of genre.
WHY ARE HORROR FILMS IMPORTANT?
THREE REASONS
Psychology
Social Commentary
Entertainment
Psychology
Exploring Fears
Coping With Death and the Unknown
Testing Limits
Exploring Fears
Civilization often limits access to true fear
Films and books are safe environments
Coping With Death And the Unknown
What comes after death?
What made that noise out there in the dark?
Is it safe to let my child walk to school?
What happens if I get lost?
Testing Limits
Masculinity/Machismo/"Courage"
Safe
Dating/Mating rituals
Social Commentary
Politics
Social Status
Ethics and Morals
Politics
Laws and Freedoms
Individual Rights vs. Collective Rights
Personal Freedom vs. Safety
Liberty vs.
Government Control
Economic Policies
Capitalism vs. Socialism
Welfare state vs. Social Darwinism
Social Status
Men's/Women's Rights
Motherhood
Minority Rights
Minority Rights
Sexuality
Gender
Religious Freedoms
Ethics and Morals
Justice vs. Vengeance
Limits of police / vigilantism
Violence as a response to fear
Exploitation
Entertainment
Message
Audience
Transcendance
Message
Fiction subtly invades conscious thoughts
Sometimes not so subtly.
Audience
Fiction has a large base
Transcendence
Fiction tends to last longer than nonfiction
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WHY ARE HORROR FILMS IMPORTANT?
HISTORY OF HORROR FILMS
Early Films - 1890– 1929
La Manoir du Diable
Frankenstein
Nosferatu
The Phantom of the Opera
La Manoir du Diable
Phantom of the Opera
Universal Pictures
1930–1950
Frankenstein
The Wolf Man
Dracula
The Mummy
The Invisible Man
Frankenstein
Universal Monsters
Hotel Transylvania 2 (yes, it's from 2015, but the character designs are all definitely based on the 1930s movies)
Golden Age of Horror
1950–1960
Godzilla
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Thing from Another World
The Blob
Psycho
Godzilla
Psycho
Gore and Body Horror
1960s
Rosemary's Baby
Black Sunday
2000 Maniacs
Night of the Living Dead
Black Sunday
Night of the Living Dead
Exploitation takes off
Early 1970s
Last House on the Left
Baron Blood
Black Christmas
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Silent Night, Bloody Night
Last House on the Left
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Blockbusters, the Shockers, and the Jokes
1973–1980
*Jaws *The Exorcist *Carrie *The Omen
*I Spit on Your Grave *The Hills Have Eyes
*Cannibal Holocaust *Salo - Or the 120 Days of Sodom
*Young Frankenstein
*Rocky Horror Picture Show
Jaws
The Exorcist
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Slasher Movies
Late 1970s –Early 1980s
*Halloween *The Burning
*Friday the 13th *A Nightmare on Elm Street
*My Bloody Valentine *Sleepaway Camp
*Phantasm *Hellraiser
Friday the 13th
Hellraiser
Supernatural Horror
1980s
*The Evil Dead *The Shining *Poltergeist
*Gremlins *House *Children of the Corn
*The Hitcher *The Fog
*The Serpent and the Rainbow
*The Amityville Horror
The Evil Dead
Gremlins
Slashers Reborn - 1990s
*Scream *Candyman
*Wes Craven's New Nightmare *Wishmaster
*Urban Legend *The Dentist
*I Know What You Did Last Summer
Scream
Wishmaster
Found Footage and Torture Porn - 2000s
*The Blair Witch Project *28 Days Later
*The Ring *House of 1000 Corpses
*Cabin Fever *The Grudge *Hostel *Saw
*Three . . . Extremes
The Blair Witch Project
Hostel
Deconstruction, Camp, and Revision - 00s-10s
*Behind the Mask *The Cabin in the Woods
*Sharknado (1-5!) *Tokyo Gore Police
*Paranormal Activity *Halloween (remake)
*The Purge *The VVitch
*Annabelle *It
The Purge
The VVitch
it
HISTORY OF HORROR FILMS
How to Write the Paper
Topic and Purpose
My essay will focus
horror films, and how they're actually
deeper and more complex than
many people give them credit for.
I believe everyone should understand
what it is about horror films that engages
viewers, and why they shouldn't look down
upon horror films just for being "too scary."
Hook
A long, serrated blade slashes across
a woman's throat while violins scream
in surround sound. The audience around
me gasps, but the theater is packed.
Thesis
We fixate on horror because it helps us cope with pain, uncertainty, and fear, while at the same time it subconsciously infects us with morals, ethics, and politics.
Putting it all together
A long, serrated blade slashes across a woman's throat while violins scream in surround sound. The audience around me gasps, but the theater is packed.
Horror films clearly have a legitimate place in the pantheon of respected movie genres, but why?
We fixate on horror because it helps us cope with pain, uncertainty, and fear, while at the same time it subconsciously infects us with morals, ethics, and politics.
From the cautionary fairy tales of the Grimm brothers to the fantasy movies about immortal serial murderers, humans have long been obsessed with tales of terror. Children's fables often include witches, violent dismemberment, and consumption by wolves, and more adult stories only ramp up the terror.
The End
Horror Films
By Cameron Mount
