NW ED Task 1 - Research into Horror and Thriller

Source 1-

Girl Power: the Politics of the Slasher Movie

• Women were traditionally repositioned within the horror genre as the weak character, whose purpose is to be menaced by the monstrous threat only to be saved by the masculine hero. However there was a change in the late 1970's with directors responding to the politics of the time and instead women were repositioned no longer weak and unable to defend themselves but the 'new women' would not only protect themselves but actively seek out the threat and destroy it.
• The conventions of the 'stalk and slash' sub-genre of horror include the same basic plot: a mixed-sex group of teenagers travel to a remote location, indulge in drink, drugs and sex, those involved are then murdered, one by one, by an unknown, masked killer, often one person is left who must confront the murderer, who is then also killed before the murderer is finally revealed.
• Those who originally watched these films were teenage boys and men, this is because two key visual elements of the films included- sustained scenes of female nudity and the graphic depiction of assault and murder. For this reason more gore was added to the films to keep the audiences happy.
• The author argues that the films were significant because the Slasher sub-genre created two of contemporary horror cinema's most enduring icons- the seemingly indestructible Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th series and Freddy Krueger from The Nightmare on Elm Street series- and, as a consequence created the notion of a sustained narrative through popular horror film franchises, these qualities have financial properties as well as deeply moral tales, despite their graphic content.

 

Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th series

Freddy Krueger from The Nightmare on Elm Street series

 

• The concept of 'the final girl' is used to describe the sole female survivor of Slasher movies. 'The final girl' is smarter and more conscientious than her friends, intelligent, watchful and level headed, she is morally pure and does not participate in drinking, drug taking or sexual activities, she's the first to recognise the lack of morals in her peer group and the inherent threat of danger. 
• She is often visualised as being distanced from her peers because of her qualities, she is subtly pictured as a repressed teenager, potentially weak and is frightened by her friends 'adult' behaviour, in effect she is presented as powerless while her friends 'empower' themselves.
• However she emerges as the one who is able to overcome the threat whilst her friends are murdered and uses her intellect to outwit the killer and then trap or challenge him, she comes out on top because she kills him and is the sole survivor.
• Examples of 'The Final Girl' include Valerie in Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Holden Jones, 1982) who arms herself with a machete and attacks the killer. Alice, in Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980), also uses a machete to decapitate her killer. The Final Girl not only kills the killer but 'removes' their masculinity before doing so by either disarming them or cutting off their limbs or heads, therefore she can be challenging stereotypes.

  

  Alice, Friday the 13th

   

 Source 2-
 

Horror Monsters

• Stories that aim to scare their audience' are so popular because they create and ascribe meaning to monsters, endowing them with characteristics derived from their most deep-seated fears.
• The study of horror monsters gives an insight into the anxieties and concerns of the contemporary culture, it is possible to identify general cultural and contextual trends through the monsters created for horror texts.
• Nosferatu (1922), one of the earliest horror films used the vampire as a metaphor for death or infection, however it also holds a sexual metaphor as his method of attack involves penetration and the exchange of bodily fluids. The vampire is an invader, he comes from elsewhere and brings pestilence to the local community.

Nosferatu (1922)

• Different readings of horror based on socio/cultural contexts of the decade: between the wars horror texts reflected the social changes in terms of power, authority and class, the films featured a corrupt and abusive aristocratic class who are the sources of horror. Frankenstein was released which links to the time, one example would be the sympathetic representation of the monster which could be read as a critical perspective on the racial tensions present in America at the time.
• The 1960s was mirrored in its horror monsters, Peeping Tom (Powell, 1960) created a human monster which on the surface shows a normal person but then they bring horror to the home which creates an unsettling realism.
• With the Vietnam War at the end of the 60s, audiences where used to seeing horrific real life violence, so horror dictators could only hope to scare these audiences if they created horrors as violent as the content shown on the news.
• The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1972) identified post war changes in the structure of the family, depicting a single parent family.
• The 1980's saw horror as a staple of the home video market, more outlandish and extreme spectacles were needed to maintain interest.
• Recently there have been remakes of old horror films using CGI to add visceral effect, however because of this some cultural context is lost. A notable development in horror is torture porn, which focuses on extreme visceral violence, nudity and sadistic torture, Saw (Wan,2004) being an example.

  

  Saw (Wan,2004)

• Horror is still relevant to audiences according to Hendry because it has the ability to adapt to allow it to tap into each generation's preoccupations and concerns which can appeal to a range of audience groups.