The Black Hooking Essay

The horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible

Firstly, relating to one of Sigmund Freud’s “Key elements of horror fiction” this film creates an atmosphere that arouses a strong emotional response in the viewer. It does this by causing us to wonder if all of the characters are simply crazy in their own ways, or if this creepy old house contains more than meets the eye. We begin to feel horribly uncomfortable at how angry Grace becomes with her daughter, and slightly creeped out by what’s going through Anne’s head when it comes to her ghost stories. Secondly, this story features the theory that the mind finds pleasure in any kind of stimulation including fear, and we like to feel outside of our element. This film gave us the creeps and made us feel threatened and slightly uncomfortable. It also had a few jump scare moments causing our minds to become stimulated with fear. These theories relate to the article “Scared Witless-The Psychology of Fear”. This movie gives the viewer a lot of anticipation, giving us an odd sense of cerebral pleasure. Sigmund Freud defined horror as “a fascinated dread in the presence of immortal material”. Fascinated is to be irresistibly drawn to something. Dread is to anticipate something with great fear. Immaterial is something that does not consist of matter. We the viewers, were irresistibly drawn to find out if Anne’s stories were true. We were constantly filled with fearful anticipation waiting for the

“Psychological thrillers are more a style, rather than a subgenre of the thriller and horror genre; they engage in the psychology of their antagonists and build suspense slowly through ambiguity. While focusing on story, character development, choice, and moral conflict. Psychological thrillers are suspenseful by exploiting uncertainty over characters' motives, honesty, and how they see the world within narratives with domesticated settings in which action is suppressed and where thrills are provided via investigations of the psychologies of the principal characters.”

The abolition of slavery in the United States presented southern African Americans with many new opportunities, including the option of relocation in search of better living conditions. The mass movement of black people from the rural areas of the South to the cities of the North, known as the Black Migration, came in the 1890s when black men and women left the south to settle in cities such as Philadelphia and New York, fleeing from the rise of Jim Crowe Laws and searching for work. This migration of blacks from the South has been an important factor in the formation of the Harlem Renaissance. The period referred to as the Harlem Renaissance, was a flourishing period of artistic and literary creation in African-American culture and

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.

I must admit before I dive into this paper that I have never been a huge fan of horror movies. I really don’t like to be scared, but when a horror movie doesn’t scare me (most don’t) I am oddly disappointed. Even though I don’t like being scared my expectations for horror movies is to be freaked out or at least to be disturbed and in need of some self-reflection time. The only exception to this is when the horror movie is a parody or when the movie has a cheesy and funny overtone with a darker undercurrent as with Young Frankenstein and Van Helsing respectively. The way that these movies pull apart the horror genre and dissect it with love and admiration actually makes me want to watch more horror films, which is no small feat.

As a horror film, it is lacking a few key elements, such as a build up in suspense, a mystery to keep you guessing what will happen next, surprises throughout the movie that come from out of nowhere and fear. The film should have a dramatic build up leading to a big surprise at the end, but instead it just ends. It hardly creates fear, besides a few small jump scares throughout the film. There aren’t any moments that make you want to hide under the blankets because you're afraid of what will happen next, which is kind of what you would expect going to watch a horror film. Edgar Wright has used comedy to make the movie more relatable and realistic. This is achieved by having a

John Carpenter’s Halloween is an example of what a great film composer can achieve with any budget. When it comes to film genres, Halloween has to be one of the greatest examples of what a horror movie is. Throughout the film, many of the story elements can easily be seen contributing to the idea of what makes a film fit in the horror genre. There are many horror films that stray quite far from the basic idea of what a horror film usually is; however, Halloween is a great example of classic horror. Typically, horror films have a set of basic guidelines or expectations that can be seen portrayed; such examples of what is to be expected in a horror film would be the presentation of a ‘monster’ or something that violates the natural world in a perverse way, something that is unknown, or that a monster is unintentionally unleashed, and the film takes place in creepy setting or suburban neighborhood/summer camp (slasher sub-genre). In Halloween, Carpenter brilliantly matched his film to the genre guidelines of horror. The variety of ways he did this can be seen in the presence of an unknown being which extends human knowledge, introduce the killer into the story by an accidental release from a facility, and depict the sub-genre horror being a slasher film.

In It Follows, director David Robert Mitchell combines the tale of ordinary adolescents coming to age with a shapeshifting antagonist, as he masterfully blends the paradoxical topics of youthful, romantic realism and paranormal horror. While more subtle than the stereotypical “slasher” horror film, exploring loftier themes such as existentialism, sexual socialization, mortality, and sexual morality, it never strays from its main purpose: bringing fear and terror to the audience. Mitchell uses a number of ambitious and creative techniques to navigate this movie of contrast, none more prevalent or important than his use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The natural sound, sound effects, and music set the tone and mood of It Follows from beginning

He tells of the “shadows of memory” (“Pit and the Pendulum” 1), and they come to life as a figurative embodiment of madness and the descent into an acceptance of death. They tell of the “ghastly train” of madness (“Pit and the Pendulum” 5). Throughout the story, his mind and soul take up various personifications and metaphors in order to tell distinctly about the horror taking place. The author speculates terror as a lost mind. Figurative language plays the largest part in delineating the psychological aspect of the events taking place by adding physical imagery of the mind’s behaviors.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Pit and the Pendulum,” Poe, uses the horror elements of suspense, flight or fight, and plot twist to add suspense to the story. What horror elements are found in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum”. How does Poe use those horror elements to add suspense to the story? Some background information that have got from this story is to know, and pay attention really closely to what is going on throughout the story. The he is going to be tied the whole time until the end. What are the horror element that I found is what he says, “with the particles of the oily and spicy viand which now remained, I thoroughly rubbed the bandage wherever I could reach it; then, raising my hand from the floor, I lay breathlessly

The script uses some of the fundamentals that make for a successful thriller, such an isolated setting in a gothic Victorian house, strange noises, horrifying visuals, the sense of being watched, tease attacks, and the threat of

These days scary movies have many things in common, including events, settings, and characters. Of course, there are just as many differences used to keep the audience interested. Two horror movies “Let the right one in” and “twilight” are taken for comparison and tried to prove that “Let the right one in” has more depth and meaning of human spirit, invokes feelings and thoughts that stay with you, long after the movie is over. These two movies have many similarities, but they also have characteristics to make them unique. Both movies are based on superficial acts, but “Let the right one in” has much better effects as compared to Twilight. “Let the right one in” is life changing in composition to “Twilight” because it shows remarkable acting

The film follows a very dark and ominous path with lighting cues and camera angles that are almost too close for comfort making the audience feel very involved in the scene, which adds to the ominous nature and feeling the antagonist gives off. The antagonist, Kevin, is characterized as very dangerous, scary, and malicious. He literally kidnaps three innocent young girls and holds them hostage while going through his different personalities which shows how the film is aiming to portray this villainous nature as a result of his mental issues rather than as something unrelated. The film makes it very clear that Kevin is a villain because of his mental disorder not in spite of it. It becomes very evident that this holds true when Kevin transforms from man to monster taking his already considered dangerous behavior to another level.

(Martin, 2011). I cannot seem to ever have an authentic relationship with my mother in law. She can be very sweet when she wants something, usually money, but she has a very mean side to her. About two weeks ago, my mother in law, Kathy, came over for a barbeque we were having at our home. Everyone was getting along, and having good conversation, when my mother in law starts up a conversation regarding race. She goes on to say that it is wrong for schools to teach black history, and black people are ghetto. I physically felt hot, because I was getting so angry. I go on to tell her that she is extremely ignorant because black history, is also American history, and it should be taught in schools, Mind you, Kathy is white, and her husband is black. I told her, her kids are half black and