The horror genre

The purpose of horror films is to incite panic, fear and dread in their audience. Horror is an incredibly diverse genre which caters for most tastes, be it a zombie comedy such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) or a psychological horror such as The Shining (1980). Some of the other sub genres of horror are: supernatural, slasher, science fiction, monster and splatter. Many cult films are horrors such as Re-Animator (1985) and Friday the 13th (1980); which resulted in which twelve slasher films, a television show, novels, comics books and merchandise. One reason for such a dedicated following is the connection the audience feels to the concept and the characters. An obsession can easily develop with the disturbing plot and addictive adrenalin rush of pure terror. A lot of horror films have sequels as there is always something to build on, another supernatural twist or new methods of torture. The attraction of horror films can vary from the fun rush of fear to a sick fascination in suffering. While many people are content with just watching giant spiders eat people alive, there is something captivating about experiencing the boundaries of human pain and terror while safe in knowledge that it is pure fiction. However often terror is intensified by making the film “based on a true story”. Of course artistic license has a heavy impact on the true accuracy of a film as it’s primary purpose is to entertain not to document. Often supernatural horrors are said to be based on a true story, for example The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005). The reliability of this is especially debatable due to the questionable nature of demonic possession. However it can give the film a sense of realism and allow the audience to be taken in and feel truly terrified. Watching a horror film and thinking this really happened can be quite disturbing as you may imagine it in the context of your life and think about it happening to you. When an audience watches a paranormal film they could easily be skeptical, but “based on a true story” opens their minds to a new level of fear, which is the purpose of the experience. Films based on true events such as tortures and murders are less easily accepted as entertainment. Often an audience may find that the factual element of the story makes it too distressing to watch. These films may be regarded as exploitive of the victims; for example The Girl Next Door (2007) which tells the story of a teenage girl horrifically tortured by her psychopathic aunt and is loosely based on the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens. To some this makes it more interesting and deepens the dark fascination. To others the knowledge that it really happened is too much to bear. Dark horror must maintain an even ground of being watchable while still potentially unbearable. It pushes the audience to their limits and exposes them to the darkest depths of the human mind, the sickening, the terrifying and the mind-scarring. A scene I found particularly disturbing was the nurse scene from Silent Hill (2006). There is no music used in the background which actually builds suspense due to the ominous silence. It begins with Rose running up some stairs into a corridor where she sees the nurses. You can hear her fast footsteps which suddenly stop and fade out with echo which coincides which Rose gasping. This is chilling and made me gasp too as it exaggerates the shock of seeing the nurses positioned grotesquely together. An eerie silence follows then the only sounds are Rose breathing deeply in terror and the nurses begin making odd creaking and breathing noises. Two sudden seconds of loud stamping from the nurses follow featuring a close up of their feet and it once again goes silent. The constant on/off terror made me constantly question what was going to happen and what threat the nurses posed. The greatest feature of this scene is the movement of the nurses; they are animalistic and move as if controlled by one dysfunctional mind. They give the impression of spare body parts which are somehow erratic yet in sync. Individually they are very broken but as a unit they have strength. The noises they make add to this; sharp breaths and gasps and as if they are waking up in pain yet a loud marching which is intimidating and strong. The sudden movement of one when rose walked past made me jump as they are so odd and supernatural that they are totally unpredictable. The final minute contains close ups of their hands holding blades as they move slowly towards each other, again creating suspense. The last 30 seconds was a perfectly choreographed collision of deformed bodies and blades causing shocking bright red sprays of blood against the dark background and figures. It was very strange and disturbing yet utterly captivating.