Edward Gein: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

As if molded directly from the depths of nightmares, both fascinating and terrifying. Serial killers hide behind bland and normal existences. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes an eternity. These are America’s Serial Killers (America’s Serial Killers). “Even when some of them do get caught, we may not recognize what they are because they don’t [sic] match the distorted image we have of serial killers” (Brown). What is that distorted image? That killers live among everyday life, they are the ones who creep into someone’s life unknowingly to torture and kill them. The serial killers that are in the movies, Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and the evil master mind of SAW, these characters are just that

The camera focuses on Edward’s face; it shows how pale and sad he is. The gothic horror feature used here is the physical appearance of the “monster”. Edward is a large, dark figure with objects (his scissor hands) that can cause harm. This is very stereotypical of the gothic monster as this has been used in Frankenstein (1931) and Nosferatu (1922), and is imprinted in viewers’ minds. But what makes us question how monstrous Edward truly is, is his facial expression and the way he talks. Unlike most gothic horror monsters, he does not have a scary personality. He is shy and is not the antagonist. As the story continues, all the bad deeds he does, are actually the result of someone else taking advantage of him. As viewers, we see this, and we are led to believe that it is not Edward who is the monster, but rather the community Peg has brought him into. By manipulating common features of gothic horror films, Edward Scissorhands is able to influence the audience into believing the “monster” of the film is Edward, but when the tradition is changed, it makes us think that not everything is black and white, and that to get the correct judgement, we must wait until all evidence is presented.

Tim Burton created Edward Scissor hands out of his own experiences in Collage. It is Modern Fantasy which uses narrative and Film conventions to create the mixture of Horror and Fantasy. Fantasy films have their own charatestics and those are how we can determine what genre the movie belongs to. A fantasy Film will normally be in an enclosed space, the setting oF Edward scisoor hand is way that Tim Burton makes the film aFantesy film. Like most movies there is a clsh between a villan and the main Charater changes during the film aswel. Many other things make a film what it is like the Charaters the plot and even the sound.

In ‘Edward Scissorhands’, Edward goes through new experiences that show his individuality and how he is different to all the community. In the film, characters such as Joyce and Jim firstly rejected Edward as he was different, they then adored him as he did unique art such as hairdressing, gardening, grooming dogs, cutting meat and ice sculpting. Once Edward discovered his talents, he became very popular amongst the community. They used him so that they would have an easier life, but then when he did something wrong he was then rejected again. Being the individual Edward was in the community, he experienced so many new things such as his growing relationship with Kim. His new experiences with Kim made him learn what true feelings for a girl really was. As great as being and individual is with all this said however, being an individual can also be dangerous in a way, as you would get judged by others around you for being yourself. Edward in the beginning of the film had that exact problem, everyone would be judging him for having scissors as hands and would think of him as a scary monster. The reason Edward went to the community in the first place was because of Peg. Peg

The film Edward Scissorhands is a contemporary archetype of the gothic genre exploring themes such as unrequited love, social rejection and human creation as defined by Tim Burton. Feature films explore different ideals that can be categorized into different genres that create expectations among audiences about characters, settings, plots and themes. Edward Scisscorhands directed by Tim Burton in the year 1990 is described as both a dark romantic fantasy and a gothic horror film. The film tells a story about Edward Scissorhands, the creation of an elderly inventor who dies before he can give Edward his normal hands in place of his scissor hands. Edward is taken from the mansion he lives in by a suburban family in an attempt to live a

Edward’s differences are viewed negatively by society as he is encouraged to conform. By having scars visible on his face, Peg makes an effort to mask Edwards imperfections. She is unfamiliar with his fair complexion as everyone in the neighborhood has glowing smooth skin and therefore she urges to “help with the scars”. While Peg applies a concealing cream on Edwards face, she insinuates that “blending is the secret” which symbolizes how blending into society will help Edward conform. This suggests that Edwards flaws are not accepted and how society pressures to cover up your differences because uniformity is acknowledged. As the family warms up to Edward in their home, Bill suggests that Edward gets a job to earn money like everyone else in the community. He says that having a job is the “greatest satisfaction” a man can have. This insinuates that men are conformed to have a job and earn money for their family. Edward decides to make an effort and get a loan to start up his own business at the local bank which is painted white and black symbolizing the dull and homogenous life the society lives in. Edward is rejected by the bank authorities when he finds that Edward has no previous bank records and therefore “may as well not even exists.” This implies that by Edward not having a job, he is not welcome to exist in society as they are not willing to give others who are different a chance. As humanity negatively views Edwards differences, Burton displays how humans encourage outcast to conform to society.

Tim Burton, a masterful Director who effectively uses his techniques to really enhance a story’s capabilities to tell a tale. In Vincent Malloy he used cinematic techniques to show the gloominess and loneliness that Vincent Malloy felt when he thought he was Vincent Price. Tim Burton uses close ups and low key lighting in order to depict loneliness and to communicate that being lonely and isolated may be how you start, but when you really come out is when your true colors really shine.

John Carpenter’s Halloween was released in the fall of 1978; little did he know, his independent film would change the face of slasher films as we know it. This film was responsible for ushering in what we recognize today as modern horror. With a budget of just over $300,000, Halloween was shot in 20 days. It went on to become the highest grossing independent film of all time bringing in over $60 million until 1990; however, this film was not an instant success (Halloween UnMasked, 1999). Halloween also brandished a newer type of hero - a heroine. Jamie Lee Curtis has become known as the Scream Queen as a result of this film where she paved the way for other heroines in the slasher genre.

Richard Ramirez This American cereal killer also went by the name the night stalker. Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas on February 29, 1960. His parents were Mercedes and Julian Ramirez and he was the youngest of seven kids. As a teenager he spent a lot of time with his cousin who had recently came back from the Vietnam war. Together they smoked pot and discussed satanic worshiping and Mike told Richard of the Vietnamese he tortured while over seas. The influence from his cousin along with teenage rebellion had led to Richards drug addiction and that led to petty crimes to support his habits. I believe the breaking point for Ramirez was when he witnessed his cousin Mike murder his wife. Hearing all the torturous story's and seeing his cousin

The serial killer I chose to do my report on was Dennis Rader. Rader was born on March 9, 1945 in Pittsburg, Kansas and as of today he is still alive. Rader was the oldest of four sons. When Dennis was a child he hung stray cats. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Rader served our country by joining the U.S Air Force which he served from the mid to late 1960’s. He got married to Paula in 1971 and he work for a company that sold camping gear but he only worked there for a few years. He worked for ADT services in 1974.

While rereading the story, I was searching for additional clues that would give me more insight on the death of the man on the bed. First time around I had my suspicions about the outcome more or so, but after knowing how the story ended I was more attentive the second time I read it. One detail of the narrative that stood out to me was Miss Emily’s mental state. I believe she had some type of mental disease. It sounds like her father was a very harsh man and did not want any man close to her; that most have been very difficult. Another detail that stood out the first time and was definitely on my mind the second time, was the smell that emanated from the house. I thought that the overpowering smell was a red flag and that something was not

There are many myths that describe, or stereotype a serial killer. You may have heard that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners or that all serial killers are white males. One might also hear that

Without doubt, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most unique styles when it comes to directing a movie. Burton’s use of tone, mood, diction, imagery, flashbacks, and -most of all- his point of view within his films easily allows him to be a director like no other. Effective techniques such as these contribute to conveying an underlying message to his audiences. Two impacting techniques are the use of makeup/effects and his choice of actors. Although the two may not seem important, they can be terrifically illustrated by Burton’s award winning film: Edward Scissorhands.

In my essay I am going to reference two films, Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Vincent (1982), directed by Tim Burton. Edward Scissorhands, is Tim Burton’s take on the Frankenstein story. We can clearly see the influences that have appealed to Tim Burton in the classic Frankenstein (1931) was not the character’s monstrousness appeal but the sense of sad sorrow that audiences sympathized to in Boris Karloff’s performance. Whereas in Tim Burton’s vision, we see a “Special” character as the Frankenstein Monster, in the similar way that we call people with disabilities Special. And then we have Vincent, a short stop-motion animation. The short film itself is an entertaining aspect of a suburban boy named Vincent who recites Edgar Ellen Poe and categorizes with Horror film star, Vincent Price. With similarities to Edward Scissorhands, the main character is a chance for Tim Burton to represent himself on the screen as a tortured boy, outsider and artist. I am going to discuss how cultural and psychological concerns are represented through characterization, art direction, cinematography, and sound. I will support my discussion by analyzing a reflection on both the similarities and differences between the two films, and whether a distinctive “Burton” signature (aesthetics, cultural and psychological concerns) is evident.

and causes them to act. This may be the result of a stressful situation or