Genre analysis: What Makes Horror?

As the fall season approaches and the green leaves begin to transform into crunchy, misshapen embellishments for the concrete streets, our hearts and homes grow with warmth and spookiness. One of my favorite ways to celebrate the month of October is filling my free time with some popcorn and scary movies. The genre of horror is extensive and rooted in some of the most fascinating film history of all time. Fortunately, I am going to spare you the long-winded rant that I am very capable of providing and instead explore the factors of scary movies that distinguish them from the rest of cinema. We will investigate how and why our heart rates shoot up at the sound of a synth or unease of the unknown using three distinct films as a basis. The narratives, the camera work, and the colors of the scene all make us want to escape behind our hands, shielding us from whatever evil presence is projected onto our screens.

To begin our analysis on the anxiety-inducing nature of a horror movie, we will examine the infamous The Conjuring directed by James Wan in 2013. The film centered around the paranormal investigations by ghost hunting power couple—for lack of cooler wording—Ed and Lorraine Warren. This film marks the first of a four-film franchise and ten-movie universe. The Conjuring follows Ed and Lorraine through one specific case; after moving into a new house, they start experiencing disturbing paranormal activities. Through investigation, Ed and Lorraine use their connections to the Church to identify that the house was infested by a demonic presence. Although seemingly not a petrifying or, for that matter, new narrative, what makes this film so successful is its use of imagination. Although the idea that the house was haunted was established early in the film, the demon’s screen presence totals only about ten minutes. Every other time the demon is mentioned, or is a part of the scene, it is not shown. This strategy makes imagination the real fear factor. Through showcasing the demon's evil capabilities, like possessing a body, destroying the house, and physically abusing people, we can only imagine what it looks like. In the case of The Conjuring, less is more. And frankly, once we see the demon, it disappoints. Not only is the demon not scary, but it also so closely resembles a human that some may even sympathize. The anxiety felt throughout the film is based on the fear of the unknown. We are forced to wonder how a demon with little physical presence can cause so much harm, running our imagination to its limits, inevitably making the movie as a whole successfully scary. 

The jump scare. If you are like me, you would rather not watch a movie than have to sit through the anxiety-inducing setup to a jump scare. We all know how the common jump scare works. The setup includes the following: eerie music, an obscured and distorted setting, and the subject of the film being just as scared and lost as we are. These factors all work together to create a prolonged suspense by putting us in the same frightening situation as the character. Then BAM, the scare. Whether it's a kill or a jump to a monster’s face, or in some cases, even a fake out, these jump scares are pretty easy to foresee as their setups are so common. I am here to tell you that these jump scares are out, and the truly unsuspected ones are in. The truth is, a good, unsuspected jump scare follows the same steps as a bad one does; it is all based on the execution. The secret is to make the setup scene feel like the rest of the movie and not unreasonably scary. Kill the eerie music, the heartbeat sound effects, and everything that makes the scene obviously a setup scene. One of the best jump scares I have ever experienced was in the movie The Descent directed by Neil Marshall in 2005. The film follows a group of people who decide to explore a cave. Obviously, the trip goes horribly wrong. As they start to realize that they are all trapped in this cave, the tension of the movie, as a whole, rises. Audience members begin to mirror the fear and uncertainty felt by the characters. At some point, they get their hands on a night vision camera to assist their impaired sight in the dark cave. The perspective switches from the third person to what the character sees through the night vision camera.  Serious spoiler alert!!  Suddenly, BAM, a humanoid-creature thing appears in the foreground. What adds to this scare is the fact that there was no hint that the climbers were among another presence. The movie is set up to be a thriller about being stuck in a cave with no way out, not a film with horrific monsters. Marshall intentionally makes the setup scene feel normal, making the jump scare all the more scary. 

The last element of horror movies that perpetually instills fear in an audience is the concept of dread. The definition of dread is to anticipate with great apprehension or fear. The majority of people tend to enjoy scary movies that do not fill us with disgust or an upset stomach. However, some of the most important and notable horror movies are the ones that portray the most twisted perspectives that make you want to turn off the television. There is one movie specifically that comes to mind when thinking about this: George Sluizer’s 1988 The Vanishing. This movie follows a couple who take a relaxing trip to France for vacation. As they stop at a gas station, the wife goes into the store to get snacks for the rest of the drive. After a while, the husband realizes that his wife is nowhere to be found. As the film progresses, we understand that the wife had been kidnapped by a psychologically disturbed person. His actions and intentions are showcased and analyzed, which are the scariest, most disturbing aspects of this film. Not only does he go to extreme lengths to put this couple through hell, but the film puts the audience into his perspective, which subconsciously evokes guilt in our own minds. This psychological horror is successful because of its long, single narrative and execution. You begin to feel dread, that nothing can go right; this is not a movie with a happy ending, but one that forces you to feel sick until the end. The film is not gory, nor is it explicit; it shows us what goes through the mind of a psychopath, making this disturbing story frighteningly realistic. 

These three films, all distinct in nature, each utilize a different approach to igniting fear in their audience. Movies like The Conjuring that use strategic camera work to create certain perspectives make the imagination the true evil of the film. The jump scare movies, ones that we all know and love, evoke fear in us due to their high-tension scenes. Finally, the psychological elements of horror movies disturb us because we are perpetually forced into these perspectives that make us question human sanity. The one thing that all these films have in common is a visionary director. A good director of a horror movie is well-versed in the psyche and how to manipulate it to evoke emotion. They know what scares us: the unknown, destruction, and paranormal activities, and they know how to show it on a screen. So, as you prepare yourself for the spooky season, watch a scary movie! Try to understand what scares you and why, maybe, just maybe, you too can create a movie that produces the visceral reaction that a good horror movie does.