Edgar Allan Poe's Impact On Modern Day Horror Films

The movie industry has been developing fast recent years. Due to the improvement of technology, movies are becoming much more widespread nowadays, and especially for the horror movies. Movie directors are able to pursue as many special effects as they can to create a horror atmosphere, which makes those movie plots more eye-catching for the audiences. Honestly, I am not a fan of horror movies. I am not scared of it, I just feel a little bored about it, and I am also confused why people still want to see those movies if they feel paranoid after watching it. However, after reading two articles in Monsters, I come to realize the meaning of creation of horror movies, which is not only for fun, but also a review of our real life. Those ideas indicated by Chuck Klosterman and Stephen King are kind of similar, yet differently inherent.

What is horror? Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as "a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay." It stands to reason then that "horror fiction" is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. An example of a horror film is "The Shining", directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick was a well-known director, producer, writer and cinematographer. His films comprised of unique, qualitative scenes that are still memorable but one iconic film in his collection of work is The Shining. Many would disagree and say that The Shining was not his best work and he could have done better yet, there are still those who would say otherwise. This film was not meant to be a “scary pop-up” terror film but

Since it’s infancy at the beginning of the eighteenth century, horror has followed certain conventions that results in an awakening of the senses, evoking intense emotions of fear and terror in the audience. Horror feeds off triggering the primal fears embedded within all of humankind, creating a sense of menace that is the very substance of this genre. Furthermore, the central menace of a piece tends to enlighten the human mind to the world of the paranormal and the enigmatic, dark side of the unknown. The movie “Psycho” directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a perfect example. Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre, “Psycho” was filmed with great tact, grace and art in regards to horror conventions.

He used the typical bats, trolls, ghosts and demons in the film. These monsters are known today as the typical cliché horror film

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.

Horror is the most personal media genre because of how it can uniquely connect an audience to the traumatic aspects of human struggle. As a result, I like to define horror like this: horror is any instance when an audience is given an uncomfortable look at something that disturbs them. This definition is intended to give room for a cultural interpretation to horror; if something would have scared someone in the past because of something unique about their culture, it can still be considered horror. This is the primary vehicle with which I’ll argue that horror has existed as long as the English language has. Looking back at the medieval horror excerpts and Beowulf, there are many elements that would scare the audiences of their times that wouldn’t immediately affect a modern audience without thorough analysis. Because audiences in the Middle Ages were terrified of God, descriptions of hell and punishment were works of horror centered around fear of the divine. Likewise in Beowulf, in addition to containing an explicit, modern-esque monster in Grendel, Grendel’s Dam would have been seen as a horrifying figure because women were mostly used as negotiable objects for marriage in the 700s. In these ways, these works are evidence that horror has been around since before Frankenstein.

At the beginning of the film, it is 1963 and two amorous teenagers are making out on the couch. They go up to her bedroom to fool around and, afterward, the guy leaves. The young woman, sitting naked at her vanity and combing her hair, is startled when her little brother bursts into her room wearing a clown costume. While she screams in confusion and terror, he stabs her repeatedly until her lifeless body falls to the floor.

The woman who takes her top off first always dies first. This trope of horror films, started around the time of the Friday the 13th series, has become ingrained in our conscious so much that it has become almost a ritual for movie-goers to expect it. Before that, a popular trope was the mad scientist, playing God. Horror has always been built on tropes and archetypes, a storytelling ritual performed both by creators and their audience. The origins of the horror film genre can be traced back to the early 19th century, to literary pieces such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (Belton 280). The Bride of Frankenstein and The Cabin in the Woods serve as an interesting contrast between classic and contemporary horror, highlighting not only how the genre has changed, but also how much of their deeper meanings have remained the same.

For century human are fascinated with the concept of death and the creepy crawlers that wonder through the night. As years progress the art of scary storytelling has stayed the same but, in modern day, film producers makes it more enjoyable for all people. The concept of horror movies and scary thing intrigues people for some reason, making it strange that people can actually enjoy these type of things. In 1981 Stephen King wrote an article called Why we crave horror movies. He described the people who enjoy horror movie are the mentally insane, the deep dark void in the back of your head secretly wants to come out.

It has always intrigued me how many people are very fond of horror movies. Heart racing, and terror acts, make the minds of many excited. I have always wanted to find out the cause to why many think like this, Stephen King, the leading role in the field of modern horror fiction, wrote an article “why we crave horror movies?”  He may have answered many of the unknow questions we have all wondered. He analyzed with an optimistic artful kind of writing skills from a more psychological perspective. He points at the possible reasons why people to want to watch horror movies. Although many think he may over analyze people, he may be onto a psychosocial phenomenon.

Alfred Hitchcock was known as a true filmmaker who produced and created successful horror films. Producing five decades of filmmaking, Hitchcock became a horror guru. From the shocking, blood-curdling film Psycho to his greatest black and white horror prequel Bates Motel, Hitchcock was able to pave the way for other horror filmmakers. As a little girl growing up, I watch every horror film I could think of. When you’re that fragile young age you never know what, how and when your mind will be shaped at any moment. Just like Hitchcock, I was immersed with many things different. Horror Movies helped by at the same time hurt me. Although I was not allowed to watch most of the

A girl runs frantically through the woods trying to escape an axe wielding villain. The defenseless victim suddenly trips and collapses to the ground. The villain laughs wickedly as he lifts the axe above his head. The girl releases a final scream as the weapon quickly ends her life, causing the audience to go silent as they watch the villain drag away the lifeless body. Death, blood, guts, suspense, screaming, and terror are all just a few things to expect when watching a modern day horror film. What is horror? Horror can be defined as an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. (Wilson) The description of horror is not very pleasant, but for some reason horror films are extremely popular. Why is this so? People are addicted to the

Horror is designed to scare, cause alarm and dread, while also entertaining the audience at the same time in a cathartic experience (Dirk, 2016). Horror films are meant for a specific type of audience that enjoy scary films. Dirks (Tim, 2016) approach to genre horror, is that films went back as 100 years ago, from the earliest days our vivid imagination in seeing ghosts in the shadows to be connected emotionally of the unknown, and fear things that are improbable. You watch a horror film, it makes you aware of the scary surroundings, the essence of fear itself, without actually being in any sorts of danger. Dirks argues that there is a fun and thrill factor in being frightened, or watching something disturbing. It gives you that feeling of an adrenaline rush, as well as having that feeling someone is actually next to you lurking in the dark (Dirk, 2016).

Horror film is designed to scare the viewer, and what is scarier than seeing the real world for how it truly is? Films have always replicated reality but there is something quite different about the horror genre. Horror films have always mirrored reality but, unlike other genres, have heightened our fears and manifested them into atomic monsters (post World War II), or mummies and skeletons (early 1900s). But as the world around us got scarier and reality was twisted with war, horror films began to add aspects of political and social climates. With political campaigns happening every four years and the rapid development occurring, it was not hard for film directors in the late twentieth century to latch on to something.

Swamp Thing (1982): Not technically a horror film, more sci-fi; still, it provided its own form of late night entertainment.