The Survival Horror Genre

Horror is the genre that keeps the reader on their toes for nights upon end. It keeps them thinking. Thinking about how cruel and disturbing someone, or something, could possibly be. Thinking about what in the world happens to a character after the story drops off in a cliffhanger. Thinking about the probability that the events in the narrative could transpire in real life. Thinking about how likely it is for those things to happen to the reader. Refusing to look out their window in fear of seeing the glimpse of a murderous face, and listening to every sound with acute accuracy, praying that the noise is not one of a stranger creeping up the stairs. Scary accounts make the reader live in fear whenever the

The foundation of horror genre was set by monsters that not only haunted your dreams but also conveyed rich themes found deep beneath the surface. Vampires are considered a symbol of seduction and sophistication while Frankenstein monsters represent misunderstanding, oppression, and rebellion. Some of the strongest symbolism is found in standard films of the horror genre does not come from the frequently updated relics. Utilizing fear and horror as mechanisms for subtext, social commentary, and symbolism, George Romero created a new horror genre, one that scares and shines just as much as great horror classics. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead revolutionized the once stagnant zombie film and made into something unstoppable, still to this day zombie movies rake in millions of ticket sales at the box office while remaining culturally relevant.

him or her involved in the film - how often have you been watching a

The horror genre has held a prominent position in culture for most of history. Beginning in folklore, used as a device to scare children into good behaviors (e.g. The Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales), horror has integrated its way into the 21st century through film, and in recent years even video games. Yearly, primarily during the fall when the leaves start to brown and the natural eerie sense of fear fills the air around Halloween, the film industry likes to fill in the holes between its major grossing seasons by filling the audience with fear. However, it was Christmas of 1973 that defined the new age of Horror, when William Friedkin released The Exorcist. According to Julia Heimerdinger of Academia’s online journal, Horror, as a whole, can

As a public discourse, popular narrative engages with social issues expressing a collective critique encouraging or discouraging social conformity. As Drezner states, “pop culture can have an “informing effect” of calling attention to and framing a particular problem. Popular culture can also have an “enabling effect” of providing shorthand references that trigger awareness of a problem” (Drezner 831). Beneath the horror and thematic thrill of the zombie film franchise, the zombie as a figure in popular culture has an enabling effect in providing awareness to society on a mass level. On the figure of the zombie, Kirk states that, “in my own case this creature talks a lot about consciousness, which it apparently regards as a deep

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.

Within these two texts, the topic discussed is ‘how do these separate types of text forms explore horror and suspense within their plot?’ Because one is a 92 minute film and the other a book over 1000 pages, they would have their own ways of adding suspense to the plot and keeping the audience entertained at the same time. Movies contain lighting, music and camera shots to show the grittiness to the scene. A book would have other forms of horror and suspense, and would house paragraphs describing the scene in unnecessary detail, painting a clean image of the scene within the reader’s mind.

We all need an excitement in our lives and experience the adrenaline rush. Horror genre fills up that empty spot. In today's society us teens go to amusement parks to pay to get scared by the serious tense the rides give us. Roller coasters keep us guessing what will happen next and scream at various parts of the ride. Stephen King states it himself “we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster” (King, “Why We Crave”1). King says that on that surface level, we watch horror movies for that level of fun. Even knowing horror movies can give us this frightening feeling King says “we are daring the nightmare” (King, “Why We Crave”1). Horror movies are innately conservative, even reactionary. If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences the adrenaline rush as enjoyable. This is the obvious option. Wondering what is going to jump out as us at a haunted house. As in who will get slashed next or who is this mystery killer in the horror movie. When you put yourselfs in the victim's shoes, your reaction can be true fear, but once you leave the theater, you are in no real

Nicole author of Terror in Horror Genres: The Global Media and the Millennial Zombie, sets out to prove our political and cultural objectives, are inherently violent, reflective of our culture and manifested thru the media. In fact, she states the media is responsible for this shift reflected in zombie films as the crisis culture. I have issue with the amount of influence Nicole has given the media. Nicole jammed packed her article with evidence that we will go over, compare and then arrive at a conclusion.

and it refused to play by the rules. Craven made his films that were about the here-and-now, it wasn't about fantasy. He believed the scariest idea was what is close to home, what we know best and what we think we trust. The horror genre shows what we are not comfortable in and honestly shows what we are like as a society or as families.

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).

When we think about horror, we think about death and bad things happening to good people. Horror gives a face to material that generally does not have a face. It gets our blood flowing and you cannot stop thinking about it. When is the next bad thing going to happen? Who is it going to happen to? It allows our minds to be creative and picture what we want. It kind of follows the idea that we are not at the top of the food chain like we always are and most people find that scary. Matthew Lewis does a wonderful job of depicting horror in The Monk.

Horror Stories are a very popular genre of books. Some can be exceptionally malicious and gruesome in nature while others are tamer and rely on suspense. People tend to read these stories for the adrenaline rush, to explore the unknown, and to conquer their own adversities. Studies show that us as humans like to experience fear. We read and view scary stories so we can experience artificial situations of “fight or flight.” These scenarios, whether real or imagined, get your body ready for action by giving you an extra dose of adrenaline. The thrill and suspense that hangs over us while reading, is a welcomed feeling. Scary stories also allow us to explore the unknown. In books there are boundless supernatural realms, where wonder and horror walk side by side- realms were people rise from the dead, and fight their own

The good thing about films is that we not only have the opportunity to choose from a wide selection of different genres, but also compare them and understand their purpose in the world. The Horror genre has used the basic principles throughout time, and as a result, films of this type have not proven to be as timeless as another genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. At first, these two genres might at times seem similar as they have at several occasions been blended together, but their basic, common theme serves different meanings about humans. I shall compare and contrast these two genres and focus on both classic films and modern films. From the Horror genre perspective I shall discuss Psycho (1960) and The Mist (2007), while in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre I will examine 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and Serenity (2005). Although the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre and the Horror Genre share some similarities, the differences lie in their focus on human progress.