Elements In a Horror Film

A detailed Summary of Elements In a Horror Film


Horror has always been one of the most popular genres in film of anytime. One of the reasons why people are so fasincated in horror films is the excitement that it provides. Audiences of horror films are often expected to find killer, violence, drug, and be surprised in the movie. In order for a horror movie to be successful, it must give the audiences an intense feeling. There are many elements in a movie that help create the intimidating atmosphere. In the movie Halloween, the director used different camera angles, special costume, evil killer, and sex to build an intense environment and shock the audiences.

The director can easily construct an intense environment by manipulating the point-of-view of camera. At the beginning of the movie Halloween, the film opens with a long, single-shot that takes place on Halloween night, 1963. A young Michael Myers watches as his older sister, Judith, sneaks upstairs to have sex with a guy from school. After the boyfriend has departed, Michael takes a knife out of the kitchen drawer, ascends the staircase, and stabs Judith to death. The entire sequence employs


On the other hand, the director is exceedingly careful in chosing the camera angles he uses to shoot Michael. Before the climax, there's never a clear close-up. Michael is always concealed by shadows, shown in the distance, or presented as otherwise obscured. It keeps the audiences wondering where he will appear next. This approach makes Michael a sinisterly threatening villain. Moreover, the real reason why Michael Myers is killing all those people remains a mystery. The lack of a clear motive makes his actions even more terrifying.

In order to make a horror film more realistic, it is common to use a story line that most of us can relate to. One of the approaches is thru sex. That way, the audience can understand the story easier and more interested in what is going to happen to them next. Michael's primary victims are Laurie and her two best friends, Annie and Lynda. Throughout the film, Michael is shown gradually closing in on the girls, until in the final act, Laurie is involved in a face-to-face fight for her life. It is mainly due to the fact that the key to survival in Halloween is being a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Michael Myers, , Annie Lynda, Michael Myers's, Lynda Throughout, Lynda Halloween, horror films, special costume, annie lynda, camera angles, Michael Laurie, movie halloween, evil killer sex, special costume evil, halloween night, intense feeling, michael myers, camera angles special, sex boyfriends, create intense, costume evil killer, angles special costume,

Approximate Word count = 744
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Film ReviewThe Haunting Based on Shirley Jacksonamp39s novel The Haunting of Hill House, this film clearly shows the use of a number of important elements in classic horror films. ... 624 words
  • The Things That Make Our Hearts race ... newest thriller. The elements can keep you suspenseful whether or not you are reading a novel or watching a horror film. They are ... 772 words
  • Art Direction in Film and Televisionhistory ... the original set, borrowing only some of the elements for an entirely different visual story. The original Alien owes much to Thing, a horror film from 1950amp39s ... 2421 words
  • Into The Time Warp The Rocky Horror Picture Show as An Enduring ... ... 196197 Twitchell continues by clarifying that many of the classic horror movie elements exist in the film: a dark and stormy night, the ampquotFrankenstein Place ... 2187 words
  • Genre and Narriative Se7en ... with John Doe and the genre film is going to be of an action thriller genre, maybe even to some a horror, however it does not contain many elements that s ... 1058 words

Professional Essays

  • Night of the Living Dead 1968 ... Filmmakers use a variety of types of image, fearsome ideas, and primal elements to create the horror film, and this commonly means characteristics such as ... 2314 words
  • American Horror Films ... for what was later to become the ampquotslasherampquot film. As Metz point out, most current horror films, which ... first movies to bring those two elements together Metz 42 ... 1813 words
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas ... Yet for all its Disney associations, the film does have, at heart, some intriguing elements of true horror, even if they are not allowed to become genuinely ... 2641 words
  • Tim Burtonamp39s The Nightmare Before Christmas ... Yet for all its Disney associations, the film does have, at heart, some intriguing elements of true horror, even if they are not allowed to become genuinely ... 2641 words
  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 ... story with elements of Caligari as Mabuse is found in a mental hospital. Broadly defined, the fantastic genre, which could include a horror film like the ... 2203 words
  • Contribution of Hitchcock to the Suspense Genre ... In short, Hitchcock showed other filmmakers how well the elements of film could be ... The second half of the film is quite different, a horror film with an old ... 2396 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.