Horror films!
- Thread starter TarinMaria
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I think that a horror film is actually pretty obvious. If the film is designed to make you recoil in, well, horror then it's a horror.
It's also got to be the over-riding theme of the film. So Alien, for instance, is a sci-fi suspense movie with some horror elements. The horror element was actually secondary to the sci-fi story line and several of the deaths are hidden, making it more suspense than horror. It can be shoe-horned into horror as it contains horrific elements but it's not what the actual film is.
Saw is one that is less clear, but the premise of the film is to constantly make you feel under pressure of the building horror of whether he will use the saw or not. It's a thriller too, but it's designed overall to horrify you.
It's certainly not cut and dry. Event Horizon is a horror in a sci-fi setting (it's almost a mirror of Alien), is Scream a thriller or a horror? Psycho? Boris Karloff's Frankenstein? Some times a film can change over a period of time, some times it can happily stride two or three (sub)genres. Scream is a thriller disguised as a horror film. It's actually a sub-genre "slasher flick" (I'm sure Jordan can correct me
) which are all that cross between horror, suspense and thriller. The horror is diluted to favour the suspense, but it's ever present.
In other words, most of the time it's a tough call, but "pure" horror is unmistakable (hence why the list is sadly lacking in films like In the Mouth of Madness, Maniac Cop, Bad Taste, Phantasm II, Class of Nuke'em High, etc).
It's also got to be the over-riding theme of the film. So Alien, for instance, is a sci-fi suspense movie with some horror elements. The horror element was actually secondary to the sci-fi story line and several of the deaths are hidden, making it more suspense than horror. It can be shoe-horned into horror as it contains horrific elements but it's not what the actual film is.
Saw is one that is less clear, but the premise of the film is to constantly make you feel under pressure of the building horror of whether he will use the saw or not. It's a thriller too, but it's designed overall to horrify you.
It's certainly not cut and dry. Event Horizon is a horror in a sci-fi setting (it's almost a mirror of Alien), is Scream a thriller or a horror? Psycho? Boris Karloff's Frankenstein? Some times a film can change over a period of time, some times it can happily stride two or three (sub)genres. Scream is a thriller disguised as a horror film. It's actually a sub-genre "slasher flick" (I'm sure Jordan can correct me
) which are all that cross between horror, suspense and thriller. The horror is diluted to favour the suspense, but it's ever present.In other words, most of the time it's a tough call, but "pure" horror is unmistakable (hence why the list is sadly lacking in films like In the Mouth of Madness, Maniac Cop, Bad Taste, Phantasm II, Class of Nuke'em High, etc).
nadroJ
CF Legend
The horror genre is so VAST that many things can be classified as such. Where theorists come into play, things like Alien are almost always categorised into the horror basket, with sci-fi as a sub genre. This is because it has the codes and conventions of sci-fi, but the over-riding story is one of suspense, terror, paranoia and body horror (if you're interested in reading anything on it, Barbara Creed writes tonnes on this stuff). A lot of the time horror is categorised as male fear of the feminine, whether that be through body horror (like, the man giving 'birth' to the alien in Alien), a 'phallic' weapon as a penis substitute or extension (see: Slasher genre) or 'the horrific mother' figure (see things like Psycho, Friday 13th, etc) just to name a few. Anything that plays with fear ultimately can be called horror. If something is scary throughout, it can be labelled horror. And 'scary' covers a LOT of ground, including disgust, feelings of suspense, paranoia, flinching in pain (like when we see someone stabbed, cut, etc), etc.
Freud (yay) writes about something called the 'uncanny'. This is basically the main breakdown of why we find things scary (again, if you're into horror films, read it, it really gives you a clear view of fear and the horrific). He basically, like Barbara Creed, says that horror is a genre which MEN are afraid of because it demonstrates the horrific nature of woman. Sex is seen as horrific (and punishable) in these films because it represents castration (the penis disappears when it goes inside someone, no?) and that is ultimately man's worst fear: loss of manhood. And all instances of 'horror' can be traced back to this primal fear, even if it is not explicitly demonstrated in a sexual way (like the 'phallic' weapons, etc).
It really is quite remarkable =]
Freud (yay) writes about something called the 'uncanny'. This is basically the main breakdown of why we find things scary (again, if you're into horror films, read it, it really gives you a clear view of fear and the horrific). He basically, like Barbara Creed, says that horror is a genre which MEN are afraid of because it demonstrates the horrific nature of woman. Sex is seen as horrific (and punishable) in these films because it represents castration (the penis disappears when it goes inside someone, no?) and that is ultimately man's worst fear: loss of manhood. And all instances of 'horror' can be traced back to this primal fear, even if it is not explicitly demonstrated in a sexual way (like the 'phallic' weapons, etc).
It really is quite remarkable =]
Sorry, but, the whole "male horror" theory is so full of ****, it's ridiculous.
Men aren't scared by the sight of someone getting stabbed because it's like their penis going into someone, they're scared of it BECAUSE IT WOULD **** HURT. And then you die.
The uncanny CAN be scary, yess. That's why the horrific things are often the ones that are basically human except for something that makes them vulgar. Like the girl from the Ring. Or stabby serial killers. They're all normal people, except for the murdering.
Alien uses gender brilliantly, but, most of the other links are so tenious it hurts. Knives aren't penis extensions, they're just WEAPONS. They're not phallic shaped out of some symbolism, they're phallic because that's the most effective shape to murder someone with. I can't imagine a non-pointy knife WORKING very well somehow.
The mother symbolism works well, but, only really as a motive, a reasoning. It doesn't give those films their proper horrific elements.
Plus, why would a man be worried about his penis disappearing inside someone? I think most men would just be like "my penis is in someone, so I'm happy".
Men aren't scared by the sight of someone getting stabbed because it's like their penis going into someone, they're scared of it BECAUSE IT WOULD **** HURT. And then you die.
The uncanny CAN be scary, yess. That's why the horrific things are often the ones that are basically human except for something that makes them vulgar. Like the girl from the Ring. Or stabby serial killers. They're all normal people, except for the murdering.
Alien uses gender brilliantly, but, most of the other links are so tenious it hurts. Knives aren't penis extensions, they're just WEAPONS. They're not phallic shaped out of some symbolism, they're phallic because that's the most effective shape to murder someone with. I can't imagine a non-pointy knife WORKING very well somehow.
The mother symbolism works well, but, only really as a motive, a reasoning. It doesn't give those films their proper horrific elements.
Plus, why would a man be worried about his penis disappearing inside someone? I think most men would just be like "my penis is in someone, so I'm happy".
Yeah, Fraud was full of **** (that he was obsessed with ).
Also, horror doesn't scare me? It appeals to me in a "I can't go out to hunt and kill things with my bare hands any more, so I watch a visceral substitute" kind of way, as I suspect it does most men.
I like to wave my penis around in the bedroom. I like to wave my sword around on the battlefield. I never get the two mixed up in any way shape or form
To be honest, isn't it more likely (especially considering that most women fear or are repulsed by horror films) that it's the opposite? That horror films resonate a feeling of rape? Stabby stabby!
).Also, horror doesn't scare me? It appeals to me in a "I can't go out to hunt and kill things with my bare hands any more, so I watch a visceral substitute" kind of way, as I suspect it does most men.
I like to wave my penis around in the bedroom. I like to wave my sword around on the battlefield. I never get the two mixed up in any way shape or form
To be honest, isn't it more likely (especially considering that most women fear or are repulsed by horror films) that it's the opposite? That horror films resonate a feeling of rape? Stabby stabby!
nadroJ
CF Legend
That's the thing though, it's theory. It's nothing to do with like, this is WHY you're scared and is the only explanation. It's just a psychological theory. And it makes sense when you break it down and apply it to the films you're looking at. It just doesn't apply when you actually look at the people watching the films.
The whole 'penis disappearing' thing stems from a childhood misunderstanding of sex (according to Freud anyway), and if a man were castrated, her would be left with a wound - or a vagina, symbolically.
Once again, it's not all meant to be taken literally, it's all theory =]
I just find it all very clever ;]
And I agree, I'm scared of knives, murderers, aliens etc because they bring PAIN and DEATH.
Ohhh yeah, and there's this whole thing about females being terrifying because of their link to death (as in the birth to death cycle, they play a massive part in it, which associates them to it, which makes them uncanny).
The whole 'penis disappearing' thing stems from a childhood misunderstanding of sex (according to Freud anyway), and if a man were castrated, her would be left with a wound - or a vagina, symbolically.
Once again, it's not all meant to be taken literally, it's all theory =]
I just find it all very clever ;]
And I agree, I'm scared of knives, murderers, aliens etc because they bring PAIN and DEATH.
Ohhh yeah, and there's this whole thing about females being terrifying because of their link to death (as in the birth to death cycle, they play a massive part in it, which associates them to it, which makes them uncanny).
WaterParkGuy2
Roller Poster
Ive seen enough to be a horror addict, my favorite genere is actually horror/scifi. Classics, and modern day horrors all have some sort of scare in them, even the new remakes of classics are great, but the old props suit me just fine . Great list you have, I would of added a bit more but it is well enough to tell if you are a horror addict.
. Great list you have, I would of added a bit more but it is well enough to tell if you are a horror addict.
ATTACKHAMMER
Strata Poster
AquaTrax said:
Alien, in space no one can hear you yawn...... :--D
BraveNewWhirls
Roller Poster
I've seen 36 of the ones in the OP - some are far better than others.
I like the original Chainsaw Massacre and the old-school slashers like Elm St and Halloween.
Hellraiser is another personal favourite, I'm not sure if that was on the list.
Demons are good in horror films but the actual films usually suck!
I've seen the whole Wishmaster series - I think even I couldn't make it all the way through the fourth one though! It stopped making any sense about halfway through the first film because the Djinn can only use his magic powers if he's granting wishes to people. But he just assumes everything anyone says is a wish like when the police say "Freeze!" he freezes them...and says 'as you wish' all smug-like.
But the demon looks pretty cool.
Kind of a crap picture.
An attractive female releases the Djinn from that stone and then he kills people until something happens and she manages to trick him into going back into the stone. Usually by exploiting the wish system somehow.
I can't wait for the Evil Dead (sort of)
The trailer alone was really, like, quite intense...
I like the original Chainsaw Massacre and the old-school slashers like Elm St and Halloween.
Hellraiser is another personal favourite, I'm not sure if that was on the list.
Demons are good in horror films but the actual films usually suck!
I've seen the whole Wishmaster series - I think even I couldn't make it all the way through the fourth one though! It stopped making any sense about halfway through the first film because the Djinn can only use his magic powers if he's granting wishes to people. But he just assumes everything anyone says is a wish like when the police say "Freeze!" he freezes them...and says 'as you wish' all smug-like.
But the demon looks pretty cool.
Kind of a crap picture.
An attractive female releases the Djinn from that stone and then he kills people until something happens and she manages to trick him into going back into the stone. Usually by exploiting the wish system somehow.
I can't wait for the Evil Dead (sort of)
The trailer alone was really, like, quite intense...
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
Horror is ok. I can only really watch them at night to add atmosphere. During the day they bore the hell out of me.