Terms of Reference
The instant paper relates to the horror movie genre and its path into becoming one of the most successful movie genres in the modern times. Over and above the history of the genre, the article will also venture into what has made different subgenres of horror movies popular at different times through to the modern times. The paper will combine a review of the available literature as well as logical analysis of the subject.
Method of Procedure
The paper will open with an intensive introduction to the subject that evaluates the perspective of the paper and a comprehensive overview of the subject. The body of the paper will contain a literature review on the overall subject of horror movies. This will be followed by a discussion that includes the summary of the paper leading to a conclusion on the subject.
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Introduction
The world has always been flirting with scary themes with some of the scariest books, songs, pictures and even movies becoming some of the most successful. It was an honored tradition to tell ghost stories with the most successful storyteller being the one who will elicit some screams from the audience. Some of the most famous authors are also the ones who succeeded in scaring their audience, Edgar Allan Poe is a good case in point (Williams, 2014). It is also a fact that the most popular song in the history of the USA, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is also among the scariest (Vogel, 2015). This is reflective of the fact that the success of the horror movie genre in the world is merely a reflection of a society that enjoys a little scare. Technology is among the principal bearing factors for horror movies. It is through technological advancements that movie makers have been able to make the scariest imagination of the audience come true before their eyes. It is also through technology that horror movies have even bypassed the imagination of viewers leading to greater success for the industry. Horror movies by now have almost lost definition due to how wide the genre is. It can be generally defined as the group of movies whose intent is to tap into the fears of the audience so as to psychologically generate fear or fright in them (Williams, 2014). These movies fall into several subgenres including actions, comedy, body, drama, science fiction and many others. Among the latest inventions are horror movies based on a romantic storyline. Gradually, the line between horror movies and other movies continue to be blurred.
Body of the Report
Summary of Secondary Research
Horror movies have existed for as long as there have been movies but what passes for horror movies today is different from what they used to be at their advent. Traditionally, the concept of benignancy and benevolence amongst all mankind was universally accepted (Nemeth et al, 2015). Horror was, therefore, based on non-human characters such as vampires, evil spirits, and demons. As time moved on, human perceptions on evil began to change. By the mid-20 th century, it was common for some individuals to consider themselves as evil. By the 1960s brought the rebellious movement against popular culture that this had a major impact on horror movies as a genre. What was previously considered as the right was frowned upon and what was considered wrong embraced and t he notion that evil is good got popular acceptance more so amongst the younger generation (Nemeth et al, 2015).
People no longer feared being associated with evil, the devil or the dark spiritual world. It is this transformation that set the stage for Michael Jackson’s thriller is one of the most famous songs in history. In the song, Michael transforms from a handsome young man into a werewolf who leads a group of undead corpses into doing dancing moves. From then one, the world has not looked back. Horror movies have gradually changed from being based on unworldly creatures into being based on normal human beings (Williams, 2014). To enable this transformation , there would always be a logical explanation to the same. For example, a group of normal villagers would be infested by demons of infected with a pathogen that transforms them into villains who attack other humans in horrendous ways. Finally, the explanations were gradually eliminated with the most modern horror movies seeking to portray humans as the epitome of evil (Williams, 2014).
Just as with romance and violence, horror is now an integral part of the mainstream movie scene. Activities and representations that would have erstwhile been relegated to horror movies have been included in normal mainstream movies. The lines are gradually getting blurred as a romantic scene in a drama based movie will sometime metamorphose into a horror scene. This is an indication that the horror movie genre is getting universal acceptance and is no longer treated as a weird and wild segment preserved for only those who have the taste (Nemeth et al, 2015).
Primary Research Analysis
1925 the Phantom of the Opera is a clear depiction of what horror movies used to be ab initio. It is a silent motion feature whose main character is a spirit or ghost that causes murder and chaos in a bid to enable a woman it loves become a star. This reflects a connection between this world and another evil world where evil comes from and tries to interfere with this good world . The movie does not even dare give a voice to the ghosts and spirits so as not to make them seem human. The short musical film Thriller by Michel Jackson coming in the early 1980s shows evil on both sides. Michael, a human is depicted as a werewolf but to elicit real fear, the undead is brought from the grave since humans are still considered as good. In the movie, Michael is seen trying to save her girlfriend even as he tries to struggle against turning into the werewolf (Vogel, 2015).
The Crazies is a 1973 movie that also has a 2010 version. The variances between the two versions can be an excellent reflection on the path of horror movies between the 1970s and modern times. In the 1973 version, human characters would undergo a transformation, lose their minds then attack people. Any rational person can see that something is wrong with the attackers. The 2010 version had the eerie clarion call of “fear thy neighbor”. In the movie, behavioral changes would happen before the physical changes (IMBD, 2010). A neighbor would walk up to another neighbor looking all normal then drawn a gun and shoot them dead or pierce them with a gardening tool. Humans being weird, wild, and horrendous was continually being accepted. Finally, Berlin Syndrome, a 2017 horror movie features a man who is a real monster, capable of eliciting fear in anyone due to his cruelty (Kenny, 2017). Yet, the horror movies successfully manage to make this instrument of horror seem likable even to the victims and the audience.
Conclusion
A careful analysis of the subject will show a clear correlation between the primary sources and the secondary one. Horror movies have always existed to meet a demand for them amongst the populace. Their nature and mutation have been closely associated with the nature and mutation of the society. Traditionally, society considered itself good and horror had to be invented from the world of nightmares. With time, evil began to be accepted in society and a collaboration was developed in the horror movies between local evil and evil imported from the afterlife. This has continually changed with evil being an acceptable part of society so much so that today’s horror movie is based on normal human characters who do extremely evil things out of choice.
References
IMBD. (2010). The Crazies (2010). Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/
Kenny, G. (2017, May 25). Review: In ‘Berlin Syndrome,’ passion leads to horrific regret. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/movies/berlin-syndrome-review.html
Nemeth, B., Scheres, L. J., Lijfering, W. M., & Rosendaal, F. R. (2015). Bloodcurdling movies and measures of coagulation: Fear Factor crossover trial. BMJ , 351 , h6367
Vogel, J. (2015). “I ain't scared of no sheets”: Re ‐ Screening black masculinity in Michael Jackson's Black or White. Journal of Popular Music Studies , 27 (1), 90-123
Williams, T. (2014). Hearths of darkness: The family in the American horror film . Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi
