History of Horror

History of Horror

1920’s & 1930’s- This was the start of horror, this was the first time people were making films with the purpose to scare the audience. This era saw mainly remakes of classic films such as Dracula but other films where made such as the well-known Frankenstein.

1940’s- In this period of time was world war 2 which obviously meant that horror films saw a deep decline because of the fact most men were out at war. However it was not all doom and gloom as the 1940’s did see some horror films come out such as Wolf Man & House of Dracula.

1950’s- The war had finished and people had returned home which saw horror films flourish once again, the 1950’s created the ‘Mutants Era’. Most films around this time had gross oversized mutants which would wreak havoc over the cities and towns. An example of a film made in the 1950’s is ‘It came from beneath the sea’.

1960’s- The 1960’s brought the thriller factor to horror films with horror films such as Psycho which was made from Alfred Hitchcock. 

1970’s- The 1970’s saw a surge in horror films because they reflected the time where it was a depressing decade because of the hype of the 1960’s. Many horror films were created in this time such as Jaws & the Exorcist.

1980’s- As the new filming technology increased dramatically it brought new aspects to horror films. It was able to bring new costumes and better graphics to horror films. Some horror films which were created in this period were Nightmare on Elm Street and Hellraiser. 

1990’s- In the 1990’s the new craze was psychopaths being in horror films as people could relate and were scared of this. Horror films would have brutal murders in them which included ordinary people which allowed people to relate that this could happen to them, which scared them. Examples of films made in this time are Se7en & Candyman.

2000’s- This was the era of ‘Teen Horror’ which is where a group of adolescents would be killed one by one by a monster in a horror film. Some examples are the films, Final destination saga & The ring.

Prop List

Prop List

• Vodka Bottle
• Sweets
• Plastic Toy Gun
• Cover for Sleeping scene
• Mirror
• Sofa
• Phone
• Plastic Knife
• Fake Blood
• Latex

Choice of Trailer & Synopsis

Choice of Trailer & Synopsis

We decided to create a highlights trailer as compared to scene trailer as it excites horror fans more seeing some of the gory scenes which are included in the horror trailer as we want it to scary people. A trailer we liked was the Evil Dead trailer as they used a slow pace at the start of the trailer and then fast scenes showing off gory moments in the film. I think by showing highlights it makes the trailer more powerful and gets people talking about the trailer wanting to see the film.

Another trailer which we liked was the Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) trailer because it had slow narrative to get the plot across to the audience but also it had a quick montage of shots to keep the audience interested and I also liked the mini jump scene which was slowed down into slow motion that worked really effectively. The trailer also had a nice quick ending with titles and a jump scare in the trailer which we want to include in our trailer.

The idea for our horror Trailer ‘Broken Mind’ is based around our main character ‘Leo’. Leo is an ex-policeman and has turned to drugs and alcohol to try block out something he’s previously done in his past. He is struggling in life and is becoming suicidal. He starts to experience paranormal activity in his home which you see whilst watching the trailer. Initially you would think he is hallucinating due to the drugs and alcohol he has conceived but it is proven that he is being attacked by a demon when the spirit starts to become violent smashing doors making banging noises etc.

Leo in fear for his life calls his best friend to try and help him escape the evil spirit which is haunting his house. It is later revealed that Leo turned to drugs and alcohol because he had previously had to shoot an innocent child to save her from a painful and torturous experience whilst he was in the police which he has never been able to forget about. As the spirit becomes more violent throughout the trailer physically abusing Leo, he has to confront his personal issues because the spirit was created from the darkness and pain inside Leo’s ‘Broken Mind’. 

Stereotypical Fan

Stereotypical Horror Fan

Name: Joe & Matt

Likes: Horror Films, Comic Books, Video Games, Heavy Music.

Dislikes: Sports, People, Going Outside.

Life Story: Joe (On the left) was brought up in a nuclear family, enjoyed playing video games with his friend Matt (On the right) having gone to school together. They then decided to start a business together selling comic related things. When they get home from work they both go back to their flat which they rent together, get a takeaway and watch horror films.

Age: They are both 27

Race: White

Gender: Male

Favourite Films: The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead & A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Final 2nd Year Trailer

Favourite Image Analysis

This scene from Psycho is right near the end of the film when Marion’s sister (Lila) has got into the Bates Motel whilst tries to distract Norman. By the time Norman realised what they were up to, Marion had just discovered that Norman’s mother is actually just a skeleton dressed up. As you can see in the picture it is Norman dressed up with a wig and one of his mother’s dresses on. The grin on his face is to actually make the audience feel quite freaked out but to also make the audience laugh. This conveys sadism, and also links to the context of Ed Gein, who also used to be a transvestite. This would have very powerful to audiences at the time of the films release in 1960, just three years after Ed Gein was arrested. The lighting in the room is low key which makes shadows very clear. In this image the shadow makes Norman look a lot more powerful, Hitchcock was a famous auteur director who cleverly used camera angles and montage to create emotional effects.

This image is my favourite image analysis because it’s the moment in the film (Psycho) where we realise that Norman Bates has been pretending to be his mother aswell and this psychological horror messes with the audience’s heads and is impossible to guess what happens which is why this image is my favourite. When I first saw this in the film I found it slightly funny in the sense that Norman is dressed up as his mother but also creped out because it’s scary and Norman’s stood there with a butch knife.

Evaluation Screening

6 Panel Practice Storyboards

Solo Trailer Review 3

Name of film: Insidious 3    

Year Released: 2015

Genre of trailer: Horror

Mark after reviewing: 8/10

What happened in the trailer? A girl who broke her leg thinks the boy next door who has a crush on her is knocking on her wall so she knocks back, she then realises after texting him that he’s at his Grandma’s house. So who was knocking on the wall? When she turns the lights out to try get to sleep she feels grabbed by a person when she wakes no one is there. She is being possessed by someone or something.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well? The music in the trailer is really creepy and there is a really good jump scare at the end of the trailer, this is a common way in which horror trailers are finished and this is what I want to have included in my horror film. Slow start built up into a faster sequence of scenes.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing? Some of the scenes were really quickly flashed which made me feel a bit lost from the plot.

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark? 8/10. This was the average score for this trailer because the trailer was creepy and made the audience feel scared but want to watch it to see what happens in the film.

Solo Trailer Review 2

Name of film: The Conjuring      

Year Released: 2013

Genre of trailer: Horror

Mark after reviewing: 8/10

What happened in the trailer? A family which lived in a farmhouse were being terrorised by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well? The trailer had positive aspects such as it was creepy and made me feel uneasy watching it because I couldn’t predict what was going to happen to the woman when the demon was tormenting her. I would like to include the feeling of making the audience feel uneasy and scared into my trailer because to me that is what horror trailers should make you feel like.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing? The only concern I had about that trailer was the fact that not much was given away from it & throughout the trailer it was mainly set in the same location.

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark? 7.5/10. This score was the average because most people enjoyed the trailer and would want to see it but not enough of the film was shown in the trailer for it to be a 10/10 must see horror film.

Solo Trailer Review 1

Name of film: Alien

 

Year Released: 1979

Genre of trailer: Horror

Mark after reviewing: 8/10

 

What happened in the trailer? The planet from Alien has been colonized by people but contact has been lost and the people have been lost

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well? The music was effective as it was scary & it lasted the duration of the trailer. The music had a fast pace which made me feel panic & kept my eyes on the screen to see what happens next.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing? The storyline wasn’t that clear and I had to think about what was actually going on until I understood the plot. They probably could have made it a bit more obvious that the people on the planet had lost communication.

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark? 8.5/10. The trailer received this score because it kept the audience glued to the screen and also nervous with the music and sound effects used throughout whilst giving the storyline.

Shooting Schedule

Magazine Cover Analysis 3

• The tagline used on this magazine cover is very clever and catchy as its what people want in a horror magazine. 'Blood, guts, gore and more!'
• The name of the magazine 'scream' is in a red font to represent blood and has blood dripping off from the font.
• On the top right of the magazine cover is the website for the magazine company, that has been added to try to increase viewership online.
• The magazine cover uses the stereotypical horror colours such as red, white and black.
• On the left hand side of the magazine cover are the selling points and at the bottom the magazine cover there is even more stuff which is included in the magazine so they are looking to sell the magazine to a relatively large audience.
• The images on the magazine cover mainly have blood on people's faces which relates to the fact that the magazine is targeted to an audience which favours the horror genre.

Magazine Cover Analysis 2

• The main selling point on the magazine cover is 'meet the joker', this tagline is reaching out to a large audience of Batman fans who will want to buy the magazine because the joker is the ultimate villain.
• The colour scheme used is green, white and purple this represents these colours represent the joker.
• On the bottom right of the magazine cover is what's included in the magazine & this is added to try and tempt people to buy the magazine.
• The main image takes up most of the page in order to attract peoples attention to the magazine.