Comedy And Comedy Throughout The History Of Horror Films

Watching a scary movie tends to heighten our emotions, allowing fear, excitement, and anticipation to course through our veins. Many experience an adrenaline rush, due to their intensified emotions, causing a pull towards watching horror movies. This thrill is an unexplainable sensation, that has the ability to captivate the viewer. Furthermore, the suspense posses us to continue to watch the movie, keeping us at edge of our seats. We become driven to know what will happen next. Moreover, the dramatic irony in horror movies has a tendency to keep the viewer engaged. For example, the viewer knows who the murderer is, however the characters on screen perceive him to be a trusted confidant. Although, many people are scared to face their fears,

In Human Harvest: China’s Organ Trafficking we see an example of the audience having to witness the horrific removal of organs from a live human being, one of our own species. We are forced as an audience to watch the pain and terror in the prisoner’s eyes while they are bleeding out. Ethical issues similar to this are found in many more horror documentaries.

Having Halloween just around the corner the horror genre has been on demand. What is a horror genre? Horror is defined as being “an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust” and genre is defined as being “a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter” according to Oxford Dictionary. Therefore a horror genre is a horror film in one of the many categories in a genre that makes the audience feel fear, shock or disgust. Many of the films that everyone watches today are now called movies. Since scary movies have been requested, Netflix has even added a “Halloween favorites” on its search bar.

the existence of feeling for the character. Dramatic irony is now alive. The audience is aware of this impending danger lurking around the corner, yet, the character is not as aware of the struggles to come.

Out of the 326.1 million people in the United States, not everyone is going to enjoy the same things (United States Census Bureau). When it comes to movies, not everyone is going to enjoy the same genres; it has been statistically proven. Although it does not rank the highest on the charts, comedy movies are much more enjoyable than horror movies for many reasons.

Since the imagery creates an ominous atmosphere it would then lead to the second dramatic purpose, to arouse the emotions of the audience.

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 the tension moviegoers experience when aroused by specific stimuli uniquely present in these cinematic features (Walters). Over time, as the genre progressed, the standardized elements found in a typical horror movie began to shift in different directions primarily due to changing societal circumstances and increasing consumer demand for cinematic innovation. The expansive nature of the different codes and conventions within the horror genre, coupled with the evolution of society’s fascination with these characteristics, has led to the mutation of the genre itself in order to allow for unique approaches to a familiar style in response to both economic developments and taste shifts within the consumer industry.

In 1928 ground-breaking technology made it possible for movies to have sound. This revolutionized horror films because sound gave an extra dimension to terror. Noise built suspense and signaled the presence of a threat. (Wilson) Instead of a monster suddenly making an appearance without warning, music would signal that they were near. Growls, Snarls, footsteps, and screams allowed the audience members to feel like the victims of the movie.

The decades that stick out in horror movie history are the 70s and the 80s. Most critics would agree with me when I say that the horror movies in the 70s and 80s changed the horror genre forever. The horror movies during those decades are viewed as being the foundation for the horror movies today. But why did those two decades have a significant impact on the horror genre? What made the horror movies better than the horror movies today?

In the second section of Neale’s essay, he identifies two modes of looking: voyeuristic and fetishistic looking. Taking his cues from Mulvey, Neale explains the necessity of distance between spectator and spectacle in terms of voyeurism. Neale states that this distance “allows the spectator a degree of power over what is seen” (16). While, according to Ellis, fetishistic looking “implies the direct acknowledgement and participation of the object viewed” and “has much to do with display and the spectacle” (17). Neale states that “physical beauty is interpreted in terms of the female body,” and the female body is the “recipient of the spectators looks” (17). Meanwhile, Neale states that “the spectacle of male bodies [are] unmarked as objects

I personally tend not to be a big fan of horror movies, although in the past I have watched some suspense films as occasional entertainment. Having witnessed difficult situations in real life does not bring me closer toward those movie genres which aim to terrorize audiences. Because of this, I cannot really handpick a particular scene or film which has caused the biggest fright. I will rather explain my point of view regarding this genre and our interactions with it.

A movie without some humorous scenes can be unattractive to many eyes. Hitchcock films, irrespective of the early times that they were produced, remain some of the most creative and humorous movies that ever existed. The originality in the Hitchcock and Humor film makes the movie more real than a fictitious narration (Naremore 15). Hitchcock creates more suspense within his setting that not only creates the urge to watch more but also makes the whole story interesting. At some point, romance feature in Hitchcock films but in a comical manner, which drives the audience emotional. Moreover, Hitchcock’s works are notable irrespective of the time of production and the quality of the images but for the content and humor that comes along with them.

You’re sitting in a dark room with your eyes glues to the television screen, bowl of popcorn sitting loosely in your lap. On the screen is a dark shadowy figure chasing a woman throughout a house and watching this scene is making your heart pound out of your chest. This is the feeling you get when you typically watch a horror movie, you feel like you’re about to explode due to the tension on screen. There are many subgenres of horror movies and it seems like most people lump them all in to one category, but today we won’t be doing that. We will be touching on various subgenres of the horror universe: slasher films, body horror, giallo, and zombie films.

These are still very popular in films today, not because we need the audio clues, but because they are such familiar shorthand for this clichéd but still exciting situation" (Kelleghan, F, 1996)

The term Gothic is significant for the understanding of the origins and development of the horror genre. Both of these genres differ, whilst Gothic literature is the text that explores the frightening extremes in mankind, horror focuses more on the unknown. The Gothic horror genre has changed over time and retains importance because it is the antecedent of the horror genre. Factors such as the definition of the word Gothic, the archetypes of the genre, and its social and historical contexts, have altered considerably as time progressed. The value and popularity given to the gothic horror genre has also varied during the past few centuries. As a result, in order to understand the horror genre’s foundations, it is important to observe the