Horror is an exciting, high interest genre that raise heart beat of fans and audiences around the world. ‘Horror’ is an ancient art form. The human race have tried to petrify one and another with dark tales that trigger the less logical sections of our imaginations for as long as tales have been told. Ancient world ballads to the modern day myths, many listens and viewers will willingly offer them selves to be scared witless by sadistic storytellers and atrocious stories, and the audience would be more then happy to pay for the thrill. The horror genre on a whole flourish potential theories as to why its such a thriving genre for example ‘Do we derive basic thrills from triggering the rush of adrenalin which the fear factor brings?’ or do the horror stories serve a rather large moral purpose for example ‘Reinforcing the rules and taboos of our society and show the ghastly and ghoulish fate of those who transgress to disobey ?’
From the beging of the very first horror film to the latest films of 2011 they have served both purpose, to deliver thrills and ecstasy, as well as narrating stores of the forbidden dark side of life and even death. Horror films also impart a revealing image of apprehensions and unease of its time. For example both poplar vampire films Nosferatu (1922) and Blade (1998) reflect on the making and release f there time periods. Nosferatu is not a basic tale about vampires, but actually shows distressing and tragic images of a European town faced with constant deaths which were random and premature, which echoes does of the Great War in 1918 and the Great Flu Epidemic. On the other hand Blade (1998) is not just a basic tale of vampires around the America but reflects on the fear of power yet irresponsible elements in society, which echoes on the impunities behaviour of those on the very top end of society and politics.
Different generations tend to differ in the horror genre, therefore through the decades the monster which presents the threat tends to change and mature. In the early 1940s a time where Hitler was seen as half man and half beast as he destroyed those that would go against him. Therefore the horror genre films reflected on monsters that where based on monsters that resembled man or part beast part man animals. In 1990s the beast like monsters begin to diminish and more killers appeared for example Jonathan Doe (Se7en 1994) and Hannibal Lector (Man hunter 1986, Silence of the lambs 1991, Hannibal 2001) were 100% human and performed natural although sadistic killings. Now in the twenty first century, the zombie and ghost characters are repapering back in the western and eastern superstitions converge and again we are egger to be told stories that are induced by evil way past evil beyond human belief.
Where is the theory?
ReplyDeletenarrative?
reception?
audience?
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