Broken Mind: Directors' Featurette

Evaluation Screening and Feedback for Broken Mind Trailer (Final Cut)

Scores: 5, 6, 6, 6, 6.5, 6.5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8.5

Average Score: 7

Positive Feedback:
Music x 15
Good Intertitles x 14
Good, clear narrative x 14
Good use of cinematography x 5
Effects x 4
Editing x 3
Body horror x 1

Suggested Improvements:
More variety of location x 10
More body horror x 9
Improve lighting x 5
Narrative x 2
More death x 1

Side-By-Side Poster Analysis

My poster compares to this poster for The Possession (2012) in many ways, and the style in which it has been designed is very similar to mine. I chose to use black as it is a bold colour and also connotes darkness and death, which leads on to the tagline ‘the darkness comes to life’. I chose this as the tagline because it shows the general narrative of what actually happens in the film without giving too much away, because the dark parts of Leo’s (Oliver Butler) mind come to life in the form of demons. The actual shot of Leo is over-the-shoulder with half of his face showing. I chose to do this because it connotes schizophrenia and the idea of having two personalities. Also, it allowed the interesting effect of having a low opacity reflection. I was in two minds about this idea because I thought it could come across a bit cliché and obvious, but I now like the symbolism of it and I think it adds a different mood to the image. For the image, I wanted the colours to be quite faint and monochrome as the film isn’t bright and happy, and so I think this helps to promote the horror genre of the film. The brick wall as the background also brings interesting textures to the image rather than a plain wall. It also connotes a grittier, urban setting which is in keeping with the fact that Leo (Oliver Butler) is a police officer who has killed a suspect. I added a subtle gore effect (blood coming from his ear) to the image just to show the different horror sub-genres within the film, and I think it works quite well in that it doesn’t draw too much attention away from the psychological aspect but still adds a dash of realistic power. All of these conventions can be seen in this poster for The Possession (2012) which acted as my inspiration when creating this ancillary product.

Side-By-Side Magazine Cover Analysis

My magazine cover compares stylistically with this edition of Entertainment Weekly in many ways. The image I used for the cover is a mid-shot of the main character Leo looking serious and ‘broken’ in a sense because he has sadness in his eyes, which gives clues as to the film’s narrative. It is a typical image that would be seen on real-life magazines and it is similar to the horror magazine covers because of the low key lighting and plain black background. For the masthead, I used a simplistic sans serif font called ‘Verdana’ as it makes it stand out from the rest of the text even though it isn’t the largest text on the page. I also used white text consistently throughout the magazine cover as I felt it contrasted nicely with the black background and stands out well. The headline for the film ‘Broken Mind’ is the same font I used for the poster. This helps combine my promotional campaign together and I like that the text is also ‘broken’ as it isn’t in a straight line. I chose to use grey because both black and white didn’t work as the other colours on the page are black and white and I didn’t want there to be too much of a contrast. Beside the headline, I added a little description of the content relating to the film which says ‘Oliver Butler talks playing mental ex-cop in the new anticipated horror film ‘Broken Mind’.’ This was influenced by the front cover of an edition of ‘Entertainment Weekly’, and this is something they do consistently on most of their magazine covers. The style of the magazine cover is similar to that of popular film magazine ‘Empire’ which was my inspiration for this ancillary product.

Class Poster Idea

6 Panel Practice Storyboard

Prop List

Vodka Bottle
Mints
Plastic Gun
Duvet cover
Mirror
Sofa
Phone
Plastic Knife
Fake Blood
Latex

Stereotypical Horror Fan

Name: Liam

Gender: Male
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Likes: Indie Music, Horror films, tumblr, concerts and gigs, black, dark clothes
Dislikes: Children, sports, other people, romance, comedy
Background: Liam was brought up by his alcoholic mother after his father left them when Liam was just 4 years old. Liam has always struggled with making friends and prefers spending time alone in the dark watching scary horror films. He loves the horror genre because it goes against everything he hates- the mainstream. He has never had a girlfriend because he is too socially awkward and doesn’t believe in romance. He is currently in his final year at University in London studying music and hopes to become an indie singer/songwriter, but doesn’t want to become too famous. He also would love to experience the acting career but will only act in horror films. He also has a blog on which he posts film reviews and rants to his fans about the mainstream. His favourite horror films are Insidious, Psycho and Sinister.

Original Images (Magazine Cover)

Evaluation Question 4

Broken Mind Trailer (Final Cut)

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

3rd Poster Analysis- The Conjuring

This horror film poster is very creepy and gets your mind thinking about what is happening in the scene and what will happen in the movie itself. The word ‘Conjuring’ means the performance of tricks which are seemingly magical. For those with knowledge of what the word means, they will know to expect trickery in this film and will expect to see the typical horror film stunts such as doors mysteriously shutting by themselves, they will expect jump scares and ghost-like events. You are led to the assumption that the paranormal world will play a part in this film and there will be spirits or souls haunting the characters.

At the top of the poster is the text ‘From the director of Saw and Insidious’ which tells the viewer that this film will have similarities to the others by the same director. This proves the importance of “Auteur Theory” based on the concepts that ‘Andre Bazin’ came up with. For horror aficionados who have seen both highly successful horror films from the same director, they will know roughly how this director works and what to expect in their films.

Underneath this is the logo for the film itself, and it uses an ancient looking font which suggests that the storyline of this movie will refer back to past situations, which is then backed up by the sentence ‘based on the true case files of the Warrens’. This implies that the story is in fact true, which makes the experience of watching the movie much more powerful because these events genuinely happened to a family in the past. It also tells us that the film will be set in the past, and so this also adds to the overall terrifying experience of watching the film. ‘Based on a true story’ is one of the most iconic sentences used for advertising horror films because it forces the audience to accept seemingly unreal events as real, changing our perceptions of “normality”.

In the foreground of the actual image we can see a spooky looking tree with no leaves which is typically used in horror films to make the nature seem dead. The tree leans over the house in the background which clearly tells us that the tree is more important than the house in terms of what happened to the family and why it happened, but we are also given a preview of something that could be a main factor in the film. Tied to the tree is a noose which implies a suicide has taken place or is about to take place. Even though the noose is empty, on the ground is a shadow that looks like a dress with bare legs hanging out. This implies that the noose was used, and this cements the earlier implication that the paranormal world will play a big part in the film.

The house in the background informs us of the setting used in this film. It is a typical country house which obviously means this house is far away from civilisation which is massively typical for a horror film, and means that the family who occupy this house will be secluded from reality and will have to deal with the paranormal problems alone. The overall mood of the poster is quite chilling and we can quite clearly see that pathetic fallacy is being used a lot to show that a storm is coming and that the lives of this family are about to take a dramatic turn for the worse.

2nd Poster Analysis- Mama

This horror movie poster for Mama is very dark and spooky due to the low key lighting, and has quite a strong impact in my opinion. Also, the fact that half of the child’s face is hidden suggests that she has a darker and more mysterious side to her which is revealed to be true in the film. Another interpretation of the child is hiding half of her face behind the mother's arm implies that she feels safe and protected when with the mother, but she also has a sad look on her face which could suggest a turn of events in the film.

The overall mood of the image is strange and has a few different interpretations. At the top of the poster is the typical link to other creators of other horror films so the audience know roughly what to expect from the movie. Towards the bottom of the poster, in line with the text at the top of the poster, is the name of the movie ‘Mama’ and underneath this is the tagline ‘A mother’s love is forever’ which indicates to the audience that this film will involve a mother who will likely be participating in something dangerous to save her child, exaggerating on the theme of maternal love. Standing in the middle of the poster is the “mother” of the movie. Her skin is rough and off-colour and looks damaged and old. This could imply that the mother is not an ordinary person and has some sort of deadly backstory. The clothes that the mother is wearing are also damaged which matches with the body that she has. At the top of the image you can see that the mother's head is not in the image which could suggest that her face gives away her past and would tell us too much about her, which draws us in and makes us want to watch the film.

The shadowy figure of Mama in this poster resembles an old wooden shack. The textures merged together gives the illusion that the girl is peering around a wooden doorway which links to the location at the beginning of this film and also connotes the paranormal state of Mama. This fits the convention of mise-en-scene in horror films and how they are often set in enclosed and creepy locations.

1st Poster Analysis- Insidious

This horror movie poster is very chilling and really illuminates the meaning behind the film. This movie is called ‘Insidious’ and the title is shown quite clearly in the centre of the poster. The title has been rotated and is positioned vertically. This could suggest that the events in the film will not be as expected, and there will be numerous twists and turns. The word ‘Insidious’ means proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects which could be suggested to be a description of the child on the poster as he is growing slowly, but his growth in the film leads to have disastrous and terrifying consequences.

On the first look at this poster, you are drawn to the eyes of the young child standing and dominating the poster. His eyes are bright white compared to the general dull tones used on the rest of the poster. This connotes to horror fans that this child is possessed by some kind of demon in the film's narrative. If you look closely at his eyes, you will see that in his left eye it says ‘INSIDIOUS’ and in his right eye it says ‘IS’ which suggests that this boy is insidious, creating a chilling mood because it leaves the audience wondering what has happened to this seemingly innocent child who turns out to be a dangerous demon.

The child is standing upright with his arms positioned downwards beside his body.   His expressionless face also foreshadows the events of the film itself in that it shows you that he is not a human and doesn’t really have emotions. The fact that this young boy is in pyjamas enhances his apparent innocence and makes him seem like an ordinary boy when in fact, he is possessed by a demon.

The colour red is used quite a bit on this poster as this colour has connotations of danger and death, which are some of the main conventions expected in a horror film. The red is used on his pyjamas, which links the boy to danger and death. It is also used in the title which again is a link back to the main character, the child. In the background of this poster is a house with all the blinds and curtains closed. The mise-en-scene suggests that whoever occupies this house is trying to keep something out... perhaps the boy himself.  

Focus Group Screening and Feedback for Broken Mind Trailer (Rough Cut)

Scores:  3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7

Average score: 5.2

Positive Feedback:
Good intertitles x 13
Good varied use of cinematography x 9
Jump scare was effective x 8
Good gore effects x 7
Loudness emphasises drama x 3
Intense x 3
Good use of fast paced montage x 2
Sound effects work well x 2
Good narrative x 2
Good editing x 2

Suggested Improvements:
Needs Music x 15
More backstory  x 12
Tidy some scenes up (editing) x 9
Less intertitles x 7
More variety in setting x 5
Too many screams x 2
Repetitive shots x 2
More dialogue

Broken Mind Trailer (Rough Cut)

Health and Safety List

Final Magazine Cover

Final Poster

3rd Personal Trailer Review- The Babadook (2014)

NAME OF FILM: The Babadook
YEAR RELEASED: 2014
GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror
MARKS AFTER VIEWING: 7/10

What happened in the trailer?
The trailer begins with a mother reading a spooky bedtime story to her son. The child begins to have nightmares about the monster in the book and the paranoia of this soon reaches the mother. As the trailer goes on, indescribable events begin to occur and we discover that the monster is real and is haunting the family. There are a few scenes in which the mother is standing her ground and demanding that the monster leaves and then the trailer ends with the monster repeating a terrifying line from the book to the frightened mother.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?
I really like the tension and suspense that builds over the duration of the trailer and I think this is a very important aspect of a horror trailer. I also really liked the conventional use of restricted narration where we would hear the story being told but not seeing the scenes that match up with it. It came across as intriguing and effective. The location of the actual film was enclosed and creepy which again is a convention of horror, as well as the low key lighting used throughout the whole trailer. This created the spooky mood and chilling atmosphere that was intended. The music for the trailer is mostly parallel all the way through and fits well with the general chilling vibe, and actually helps a lot with causing tension and suspense in the trailer because the music keeps building as it goes on. The cinematography in the trailer I also noticed was well varied and effective, and each shot worked well and effectively. Particularly when the mother shows anger towards the monster and the low angle makes her seem superior in that one moment. The intertitles for the trailer were also very effective and visually pleasing, and they fit well with the theme of children’s books that the film centres around. These are all aspects I would like to try and represent in my own trailer as I feel they result in an effective and successful trailer.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?
The main aspect of this trailer that I was personally disappointed with was the lack of a jump scare. There were certainly moments scarier than others but there was a minimal use of collision cutting which decreased the pace of the trailer and ruined it for me. The pacing started off well but it then continued to increase too slowly and never reached the point where collision cutting could have been used or a quick sequence could have been added. The suspense builds all the way through only to end on another tense scene. Collision cutting is definitely something I intend to include in my own trailer.

Why did this trailer get the mark you gave it?
I only gave this trailer a 7/10 because I felt that it lacked the important horror trailer convention that is a jump scare. I thought the tension building worked very well to begin with but there is no climax at the end of the trailer and so you finish feeling disappointed that collision cutting was not used. For me, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to add a jump scare but it was not included which made the trailer seem a much slower pace, and I therefore didn’t think it was as successful as it could easily have been.

2nd Personal Trailer Review- Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

NAME OF FILM: Insidious: Chapter 2
YEAR RELEASED: 2013
GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror
MARKS AFTER VIEWING: 9/10

What happened in the trailer?
The trailer begins with a montage showing the new equilibrium set after the events of the first film. This is then followed by a scene of a strange woman appearing and then disappearing in the house with the mother in the room, still traumatized from the previous occurrences. The pace then changes as similar events to before begin to unfold and the family realise they haven’t escaped the paranormal world. As they try and uncover what the spirit wants, they learn that the target this time is the father instead of the son. The rest of the trailer is a fast paced montage of the terrifying events that unfold.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?
One of my favourite aspects of this trailer is the editing and pacing. It starts off slowly and calming and the montage is slow, but then as events take a turn for the worse the editing becomes more fast paced and there is then a quick sequence at the end of the trailer. This is a very important aspect of a horror trailer and I will try and include this in my own trailer. The characters presented in the trailer also fit the conventions, as the mother Renai is the female victim but also is the final girl, and the father has now become the villain possessed by evil spirits. The mise-en-scene in the trailer works very well and shows conventions of a horror film. The lighting was good because it wasn’t too light or too dark so we could see what was going on but at the same time it was low key and spooky. The music used for the trailer was contrapuntal but worked extremely well and I felt it was very effective. It was creepy, chilling and adds a dark twist to the idea of happy families by making children’s nursery rhymes disturbing. The cinematography used in the trailer is effective as there were a good amount of close ups and expressionist angles to show characters emotions and express their feelings. For example when the baby walker moves by itself, we see Renai looking very disturbed. I also really like the use of intertitles and how they change from being simple to being more chilling when the pacing increases and the content is more frightening.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?
I didn’t think this trailer was unsuccessful, but an aspect which could be seen as unsuccessful is the use of contrapuntal music. I personally loved the use, but others may see it as boring and not as effective because it may not create tension and suspense the same way parallel music might. Also, the narrative wasn’t too clear to someone who may not have seen the first film because it doesn’t explain what the spirits are actually doing, just that they are there causing problems for the family.

Why did this trailer get the mark you gave it?
I gave this trailer a 9/10 because it successfully made me more interested in the film the first time I saw it when it was released, and it fits many of the conventions most important for a horror trailer. The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because it could maybe have been a bit better by making the narrative more clear but I definitely think it’s a great trailer and inspires me for my own trailer.

Favourite Image Analysis- Insidious (2010)

This image is from 2010 horror film Insidious. The scene occurs when the paranormal investigator Elise is trying to uncover the truth about the deadly spirit haunting the house, and she is the only person that can see it and is therefore having her colleague draw everything she describes. I really like this scene for many reasons, the first being the angle and composition of the shot. The high angle clearly asserts the power of the demonic spirit positioned on the ceiling of the boy’s room, and shows that it has more knowledge of the situation than Elise does. This simple aspect of the shot has so much symbolism behind it and shows many ways in which the spirit has the power. The director of this film James Wan does this again in the sequel to this film Insidious: Chapter 2 when the mother Renai is looking up the stairs after hearing a strange noise. Another reason I enjoy this scene is the eye contact we assume Elise has with the demon, because it shows her connection to the other world and how she is thoroughly determined to save the family and discover the secrets. I also really like the lighting in this scene and how only the two characters are lit with everything around them blacked out so that the focus is on them.

1st Personal Trailer Review- Oculus (2014)

NAME OF FILM: Oculus
YEAR RELEASED: 2014
GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror
MARKS AFTER VIEWING: 10/10

What happened in the trailer?
The trailer begins with a scene of the main character, Kaylie Russell, greeting a mysterious and creepy mirror whilst small figures covered in sheets emerge behind her. We are then introduced to the narrative and we learn a little about the family and their past trauma. 30 seconds into the trailer, Kaylie tells her brother Tim that she plans to destroy the mirror and so the primary narrative is establishes very quickly. We are then shown highlights of the film’s mysterious and confusing events without giving away too much of the narrative.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?
My favourite aspect of this trailer is the mystery that it creates. The trailer is confusing in terms of the story’s narrative and creates tension and suspense as a result of this. I think the filmmakers were extremely clever with this film and trailer because the mirror shows you what it wants you to see, and so the characters are unsure of what is reality, what is the past and what isn’t real.
I also really like the cinematography in this trailer. There are numerous close ups that are all relevant and fit with the flow of the trailer, and they help the audience to connect with the characters and really see their facial expressions up close and personal. Another part of the cinematography I like are the shots of the mirror because the way the shot is filmed makes the mirror seem very important and superior to anything else in the room, and we feel the chills and mystery that surrounds it.
One other aspect I like about this trailer that I think I could use for my own trailer is the editing. The perfect amount of collision cutting has been used and the trailer flows perfectly from beginning to end with quicker montage sequences in exactly the right place and it plays with your mood perfectly. The trailer begins with a minor jump scare to make sure that the audience are paying attention but then calms down to establish the narrative, though still doesn’t become boring which is a problem many horror films encounter. The pace then picks up once we are aware of the basic narrative. As more events start to unfold, the pace increases and by the last part of the trailer the audience is most likely on the edge of their seats with suspense. The trailer ends with a very chilling scene in which Kaylie and Tim are standing very close to the mirror, the lights flicker off and a terrifying figure emerges from the mirror. This scene lasts about 1 second which makes it much more tense and shocking to the audience.
This trailer also fits many other horror conventions including the mise-en-scene of low key lighting and an enclosed creepy location, as well as the seemingly strong female character Kaylie.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?
Though this trailer has many good aspects, there are a few aspects which could be seen unsuccessful by other viewers. For example, some people may think that a 2 and a half minute long trailer is too long and bores the audience but I think that the 2 and a half minutes was filled with exciting and tense events that you don’t even notice how long it is. Something else that could be seen as unsuccessful is the overuse of sound effects. Towards the end, the events become more chilling and mysterious and so sound effects that are also chilling have been added to these scenes to add to the tension and suspense. I think this works fantastically and is very unsettling to watch in a positive way but some people may think this is too much.

Why did this trailer receive the mark you gave it?
I gave this trailer a 10/10 because there is nothing about this trailer that I can personally call an unsuccessful aspect and I think that this is in no way disappointing, it really lives up to the expectations of a horror film trailer in my opinion as it is distressing to watch and you connect with the characters as a result of this.

Class Research- Favourite Type of Horror

My personal favourite sub-genre in Psychological. I find that the storylines are much more intriguing and you learn more about the characters and their past etc. I also find that the editing and cinematography is much more varied and the use of collision cutting makes it more exciting and tense. I do like gory and action horror’s but I find them less interesting to watch.

Choice of Trailer and Synopsis

We have decided to produce a highlights trailer as opposed to a scene trailer because for the horror genre, it excites the audience and creates more anticipation if you show them all the best bits of the film in the trailer. This effectively proves that it will be worth watching because the audience for this genre nowadays is much harder to scare and so horror films have to be worth watching. It also allows for us to explore the full narrative more and create a story and idea for an entire film rather than just one scene. Also, with highlights trailers it is much easier to create suspense and jump scares using collision cutting which would be harder to do in just one scene trailer. This is done well in the trailer for the horror film entitled 30 Days of Night (2007).

Our horror film will fit the three main sub-genres of horror (Psychological, Action and Gory) because the members in our group each prefer a different sub-genre. The foundation of the film will be based on the theme of paranormal, and so psychological will be the most noticeable sub-genre but there will be elements of action and body horror. This has been previously achieved with great success with the psychological/action/gory horror entitled The Thing (1981).

The idea for our film is based around our main protagonist ‘Leo’. He is an ex-policeman and has turned to drugs and alcohol for comfort. He is very unstable in the way he is choosing to live, and so when he begins to experience paranormal activity in his home. In watching the trailer you would initially think he was simply hallucinating due to his use of substances, but it is proven to be true when the spirit gets violent and starts attacking the protagonist Leo. 

Leo calls his best friend for help and they try to escape the evil spirit that haunts his house. It is then revealed that the reason Leo left the police (and turned to drugs and alcohol) was because he had to shoot an innocent child to save her from a painful and torturous experience. As the spirit's violence grows, Leo has to confront his personal issues because the spirit was created from the darkness inside Leo’s “broken mind.”

Shooting Schedule

Shotlist

Moodboard

1) Element and fear on the protagonists face. (Still taken from Disturbia) Use of phallic weapon- garden trimmers.

2) Prosthetic makeup / fake blood on the character. Connotes madness and the fact he's losing his mind slowly, almost insanity portrayed.

3) Evil/ Darkly shown Police officer. - Our main protagonist is a police officer and we can use the dark shades/ silhouettes (chiaroscuro) to effect on our character.

4) Red eye/ evil through the character's eye. Desperation portrayed on his face, we want our character to look and 'feel' the same, almost as if he's lost all hope.

5)   Suspended character - ghost/paranormal/abnormal goings on. We want our own character to have been 'possessed' by whatever is controlling him, so we could element some of these in our own trailer.

6) Flashback / what we think is going on and what's not. For example, the screenshot- she thinks she is biting into an apple, but we see a light-bulb, which then changes back to an apple. Playing with the audience's mind and creating a restricted narrative style.

7) Red devil / evil haunting type character, that keeps in both our minds and that of the mind of our protagonist. We could take clear motivational ideas from this 'type' of villain.

8) Paranormal / haunting ghost that follows and creeps on our protagonist.​

History of Horror

The term ‘Horror’ means an intense feeling of fear, shock or disgust. It is based on the Latin word “horrere” which means “to shudder,” but that concept can have different meanings to each individual person. Horror can be a variety of different things ranging from objects to people or even events. Horror has been interpreted differently over the many years it has been present and film is one of the main ways in which horror is presented to us.

The horror genre started as literature, and the term was first used in Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel ‘The Castle of Otranto’ and this was full of mystery and supernatural beings. This novel became somewhat of a craze and has been imitated and interpreted many times since then and has now evolved into what we know as the gothic mode of writing.  Other writers such as Mary Shelley ('Frankenstein') used this novel and introduction of horror, and expanded on it to create thrills and suspense. Horror novels were the supreme of the industry for about half a century. As the century went on gothic literature started to wear out, and new writers began to further expand the horror genre and write about ghost stories and the supernatural. The majority of horror writers turned to short stories or novella to terrify their readers, with the most famous of these being Edgar Allen Poe.

The first horror films to be created have been described as surreal and disturbing such as Nosferatu and The Golem. The storylines themselves draw upon the folklore and the legends of Europe and bring monsters to life. Many of the monsters in early horror films were ghosts made from spiritual photography, which is the use of double exposures or superimpositions to create ghosts within a frame of film. This method became popular from 1860 onwards and was extremely effective and successful for its time.

Audiences of the 19^th century seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing ghosts captured in still photography, so it made sense to transfer the techniques of superimposition onto new technology in order to tell different bizarre stories. Many of the first ‘moving pictures’ were typically action or comedy, however early filmmakers used photographic trickery to explore darker tales with supernatural and psychological themes which are known as the first ever horror films. 

Many of these earliest horror films have been lost forever due to the fragility of early film stock, however some have survived. ‘Nosferatu’, released in 1922, is the very first Dracula movie and has been described as the vampire movie that actually believes in vampires.  The vampire featured in this movie shows no evidence of being even remotely human; instead he has a rat-like appearance. This contrasts with modern day vampires such as those in ‘Twilight’ blend in with humans and are nowhere near as frightening as those in ‘Nosferatu’.

Horror movies continued to develop in the mid-1930s, and the arrival of sound in movies had a huge impact on this particular genre of film. The dreamlike imagery used in the 1920s and early 1930s in films like 'Vampyr' made a visual representation of horror using ghosts flowing silently through the terror of mortals and their outrageous deaths, which were replaced in the 1930s by monsters that grunted, groaned and howled such as Dracula and Frankenstein. Sound helps to add another dimension to terror, whether it is music used to build suspense or magnified footsteps echoing down a corridor. Even now, modern horror films use large amounts of sound for extra effect.

The horror films of the 1930s are described as exotic fairy tales, set in far off lands such as Dracula, with characters speaking in strange accents. Horror was all about looking backwards and referring to the literary classics of the 19^th century for their source material. This has continued throughout the years and even now, filmmakers are looking back on past events for inspiration. Horror in the 1930s became so popular that in 1930, 80 million people attended the cinema on a weekly basis.

‘Dracula’ was a very popular horror film and by 1931, was a well-worn story and had been told many different times. But this movie was the first time Dracula had ever been shown with sound, and this added a new sense of terror to the character. This film was highly theatrical and successful, and has inspired many films and novels since its release.

Over the next few decades, horror movies evolved and expanded, varying from more modernised versions of the old school vampires and ghosts, to aliens, to mutants, and psychopath scientists and serial killers wanting to torture their victims.

Films like ‘Final Destination’ really highlights how horror has changed over the years, because there is no visual evil shown in the films as the evil in these films is death itself. This is more of a gory horror and the horror of this film is the gruesome ways in which they die, instead of the traditional horror of who does the killing.

In the modern day, horror is one of the most wide ranging genres. So much can be done with horror films now because everybody’s fears are unique and so pretty much anything will create fear if the right setting, storyline and sound are used. It has reached the point now when people find nursery rhymes frightening such as in Woman in Black. This has been used in many horror films to show how innocence can be deceiving. Many of the older techniques have been used in modern day horrors and have evolved into something terrifying. Modern evil is frequently more human-like, making it more realistic for some viewers. With most movie genres, people feel like modern technology has helped to improve films and make them more appealing to watch as a whole, but even the more modern horrors such as 'The Walking Dead' still often rely on practical effects to continue the traditional of realistic yet fantastical films that still make us shudder today.

3rd Dawn of the Dead (2004) Image Analysis

This scene is towards the end of the film and shows Monica being killed by Glen’s chainsaw as he loses control of it. Monica’s death fits very well to the conventions of a horror as she is the typical female victim who has sexual intercourse in the film and eventually is killed off. It is a common convention of horror for the blonde victim to have sexual relations and then die which is also seen in House of Wax. It is also quite ironic how she has the most gruesome death in the film after she has been portrayed as a typical feminine girl. A close up has been used so that we can clearly see the body horror as it is the most shocking and impressive throughout the film.

This scene also fits very well to the sub-genre which is action horror as the scene occurs when the vehicle is crashing and the zombies are chasing them. There are many elements of body horror in the film in addition to the action, but as the zombies are much faster and scarier than those in the original Dawn of the Dead it is seen primarily as an action horror. In the original film, the female victim (Francine) turns into the final girl and it goes against the conventions but in this film, we are left to assume that the final girl (Ana) is brutally killed.

Also in comparison to the first Dawn of the Dead, the gore is much more extreme and shocking as there were no major censorship restrictions in the industry and on the “Extended Cut” DVD release. The director of the film, Zack Snyder, clearly knew that the modern horror audience are much tougher and it is much more difficult to shock them, which is why he wanted to make the body horror as unique as possible. This illustrates Janet Staiger’s audience theory from her book ‘Interpreting Films’ that the institutional context makes people watch horror films differently nowadays to when films like the first Dawn of the Dead were pushing the limits of censorship. 

2nd Dawn of the Dead (2004) Image Analysis

This scene is in the opening credits and in these opening credits; there are lots of references to Muslims and terrorism. This is one of the shots that show us this, as the mise-en-scene seems to have Mosques and other Islamic symbols which leads the audience to believe that the news reporter is in the Middle East. This implies that the zombie virus has spread from the Middle East and the zombies themselves are being compared to the terrorists.

This credit sequence clearly links into the American context as 3 years prior to the film’s release, the events of 9/11 occurred and so it was a cultural dominant ideology to be paranoid about Muslims being terrorists, which is implied by these scenes in Dawn of the Dead. The music that plays with the opening credits is contrapuntal to the horror genre and is upbeat and sounds like it would be heard in a happier genre, however the song ‘The Man Comes Around’ by ‘Johnny Cash’ is about Judgement Day; something included in the Old Testament which links to the idea presented in the film that there is ‘no more room in hell’.  This was a way to scare people in 2004 and Americans would still be terrified and even traumatised by the events of 9/11 and so the link between the zombies and Al Queda was powerfully upsetting.

1st Dawn of the Dead (2004) Image Analysis

This scene is at the end of the film when the remaining survivors (Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry and Chips) are leaving for the island on a yacht. This is quite forward thinking- much like the original Dawn of the Dead, and is quite an important scene as we see the new equilibrium which demonstrates Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theory. The characters aren’t happy with recent events as Michael has just killed himself to prevent turning to a zombie in addition to other members of the group dying, but the remaining survivors have a new goal and plan to make the most out of the disastrous situation. It comes as a surprise that Michael doesn’t survive the film as he is the archetypal male hero as he is strong, brave, and courageous and seems to lead the group through most of the obstacles they face. 

The close up used in this shot shows us that Snyder wanted the audience to focus on Ana and connect with her in this moment. She doesn’t have a happy or sad expression, but she looks strong and ready to face what’s to come. We see her as the strong final girl which goes against the generic conventions of horror as the blonde women usually are killed halfway through the film. This shows the development of the film industry and how it has adapted to modern society and how women are becoming more strong and independent. This is also shown in other films by Snyder including Sucker Punch, where the main and strongest character ‘Babydoll’ is a young blonde dancer. The lighting in this scene makes Ana look angelic and represents how Ana is a ray of hope for the group and will lead them to survive. She is also shown in this shot with an American flag which is a symbol of patriotism and reminds the audience that these characters are American, enforcing the view that America are independent and strong.

3rd Magazine Cover Analysis

This magazine cover contains all the key generic features that are expected in horror. Everything about it screams horror codes and conventions.
For starters, the masthead of the magazine ‘Empire’ is bright, bold red and has flames surrounding it. This is, however, overpowered by the large image of ‘Hellboy’ which is a terrifying horror character with an extremely similar appearance and relation to the devil. This image makes it clear to the audience that this character is from a horror film and also shows that this magazine includes a preview of the horror that this character is in.
The dark, black background contrasts against the red used on the cover and makes it stand out much more and become the dominating colour on the cover.  This use of pathetic fallacy connotes death, which is enforced by the devilish image.
The mention of Guillermo Del Toro at the bottom of the magazine is used in an attempt to sell him as the auteur of this movie, in order to ensure that people know this film will be good as he has had other successes that they will be familiar with.
The use of other film titles on the left hand side underneath the masthead makes it clear to the audience that this magazine isn’t just about this horror, and is informative in that they know they are not being limited to one genre. However, this does take away from the fright that the image brings to the magazine and isn’t quite as effective as the large amount of text used on this cover distracts attention away from the image. As a magazine cover, this fits well to what is expected for a magazine but as a horror magazine cover, to me it seems to be lacking in how much it affects the audience and how distracting the range of fonts are. I would prefer to create a more minimalist cover for my own coursework, as I believe this would stand out on the bookshelf.