Opening to a Horror Film
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Certificate: 18
Director: Wes Craven
The opening scene is off a girl in abandoned warehouse. The music sets the tone which makes you feel tense. A Horror movie cliché is that you get scared while not seeing the killer at all. You see the main enemy (Freddy Krueger) only a couple of times. The only time you see him fully is at the end of the scene, where you are most likely to jump. The text is quite weird to show that the film is quite strange. The text is off the actors in the film and afterwards goes to the people with the smaller roles (casting and production designer). It goes to the bigger people in the film like the editor and the executive producer. You have to wait until the end to see who the director and in this case writer is, who is Wes Craven. If you were familiar to Craven’s work you would know that he had done Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), two of the most iconic horror movies of the 1970’s. Craven had created an iconic horror film character in Freddy Krueger as iconic as Jason in the Friday the 13th (1980-2001), with the two characters having a whole franchise, a new remake
and also a film with them both in together, Freddy vs. Jason (2003).
What is the most popular horror sub-genre?
From researching into Horror films, I asked what sub-genre people preferred from four categories, Psychological (e.g. Psycho), Slasher (e.g. A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween), Supernatural (e.g. The Conjuring, The Exorcist) and Science fiction (Alien, The Thing). From asking people, I found out that Psychological was the most popular sub-genre with 34%. Slasher got 26%, Science fiction has 25% and Supernatural got 15%. This is because Psychological is more interesting and each Psychological is different to each other. On the other hand, you could suggest that Slasher horror all have the same storyline, with a teenage girl dying in nearly all Slasher films. Also, the killer usually doesn't die which means that they is usually a lot of sequels of Slashers.
Some of the first horror films were silent films. The German films, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) influenced many other films. Hollywood followed suit, with films including Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1920), The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Unknown (1927), all starring Lon Chaney. Chaney was Hollywood's first horror movie star.
In the early part of the 30's, Universal Pictures in America began a successful Gothic horror film series. These included Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi and Frankenstein (1931) starring Boris Karloff. Frankenstein was the first in a series which included the monster, with Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Other films in the period were Freaks, The Invisible Man (1933), The Wolf Man (1941) Cat People (1942) and The Leopard Man (1943).
With advances in technology, the genre focused more on contemporary themes in American horror. Many films focused on humans overcoming threats from aliens and mutations of people, plants and insects. These films included The Thing from Another World (1951), Tarantula (1955) and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). In Britain, Hammer films focused more on Gothic themes from the thirties and re-created Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) and made successful sequels going into the sixties. In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho, which is birth of the modern horror film. Hitchcock then followed Psycho with The Birds (1963). By the end of the 60's the counter-culture was building, and Rosemary's Baby (1968) and George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), with Romero creating his his "Dead" series, were influential and successful and showed what was coming in the seventies.
Following the success of Rosemary's Baby, many similar films followed suit including The Exorcist (1973) and the The Omen (1976) which saw the Devil as the villain impregnating women or possessing children. The ideas of the 60's started to influence 70's horror, with the counter-culture the focus in The Last House on the Left (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Romero created his 70's zombie film with Dawn of the Dead (1978) set in a shopping mall. Stephen King's novels started to be made into films with Carrie (1976) and The Shining (1980). By the late 70's, the "slasher" film was coming in with John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Sean Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980) and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) were significant for horror movies. These films created many sequels, remakes and even a join up in Freddy vs Jason (2003). The films Jaws (1975) and Alien (1979) saw horror films start to become Hollywood blockbusters and not just 'B' movies. By the end of the 80's the low-budget gorefests became popular, with Sam Reimi's Evil Dead movies, Gremlins (1984) and Fright Night (1985) being prime examples.
The 90's saw many sequels of the slasher films A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween although The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was hugely successful. Other films including Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and Scream (1996) mimicked other horror films and made a lot of references to other films, especially Scream. These films were also teenage influenced and other films like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) were like this also. As CGI had advanced and special effects were better, some horror films that used CGI included Blade (1998) and House On Haunted Hill (1999). At the dawn of the new millennium, Hollywood decided to re-create the hay day of horror films, so remakes of Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th were made. Final Destination (2000) dawned more teen-focused horror like the Scream sequels. However the more successful horror films were the new genre known as "horror porn" with a lot of blood and gore. These include Saw (2004), Hostel (2005) and The Human Centipede (2009) which spawned many sequels. Zombie films have been reborn in the 2000's starting with the British films 28 Days Later (2002) and the comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004). This led veteran zombie director George A. Romero to make Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2010). The films I Am Legend (2007) and Zombieland (2009) also helped the rebirth of zombie films which had disappeared in the 90's.
Why I researched this?
I researched Horror sub-genres because I needed to think of what horror sub-genre I wanted to create. This would help me more as then I could concentrate on a specific horror sub-genre. I decided to choose the "Slasher" genre because it is a very popular genre and one of the most famous genres. The genre always tends to make a lot of money at the box office with the Saw franchise showing this. It was also one of the most popular genres from my research as many people find it interesting. Although the genre can get very repetitive, I am going to create a film that breaks the slasher movie conventions, so that my film stands out.
Every film that gets released at cinemas have a classification (shown as a symbol) to tell people if they can watch the film or not.
These include: U, PG, 12, 12a, 15 and 18
History of Horror Films
Horror films have always been a part of cinema and have been around since the early stages of film. They have made a big impact on cinema in the twentieth and twenty-first century.
1920's
Some of the first horror films were silent films. The German films, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) influenced many other films. Hollywood followed suit, with films including Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1920), The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Unknown (1927), all starring Lon Chaney. Chaney was Hollywood's first horror movie star.
1930's - 1940's
In the early part of the 30's, Universal Pictures in America began a successful Gothic horror film series. These included Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi and Frankenstein (1931) starring Boris Karloff. Frankenstein was the first in a series which included the monster, with Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Other films in the period were Freaks, The Invisible Man (1933), The Wolf Man (1941) Cat People (1942) and The Leopard Man (1943).
1950's - 1960's
With advances in technology, the genre focused more on contemporary themes in American horror. Many films focused on humans overcoming threats from aliens and mutations of people, plants and insects. These films included The Thing from Another World (1951), Tarantula (1955) and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). In Britain, Hammer films focused more on Gothic themes from the thirties and re-created Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) and made successful sequels going into the sixties. In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho, which is birth of the modern horror film. Hitchcock then followed Psycho with The Birds (1963). By the end of the 60's the counter-culture was building, and Rosemary's Baby (1968) and George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), with Romero creating his his "Dead" series, were influential and successful and showed what was coming in the seventies.
1970's - 1980's
Following the success of Rosemary's Baby, many similar films followed suit including The Exorcist (1973) and the The Omen (1976) which saw the Devil as the villain impregnating women or possessing children. The ideas of the 60's started to influence 70's horror, with the counter-culture the focus in The Last House on the Left (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Romero created his 70's zombie film with Dawn of the Dead (1978) set in a shopping mall. Stephen King's novels started to be made into films with Carrie (1976) and The Shining (1980). By the late 70's, the "slasher" film was coming in with John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Sean Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980) and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) were significant for horror movies. These films created many sequels, remakes and even a join up in Freddy vs Jason (2003). The films Jaws (1975) and Alien (1979) saw horror films start to become Hollywood blockbusters and not just 'B' movies. By the end of the 80's the low-budget gorefests became popular, with Sam Reimi's Evil Dead movies, Gremlins (1984) and Fright Night (1985) being prime examples.
1990's - 2000's
The 90's saw many sequels of the slasher films A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween although The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was hugely successful. Other films including Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and Scream (1996) mimicked other horror films and made a lot of references to other films, especially Scream. These films were also teenage influenced and other films like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) were like this also. As CGI had advanced and special effects were better, some horror films that used CGI included Blade (1998) and House On Haunted Hill (1999). At the dawn of the new millennium, Hollywood decided to re-create the hay day of horror films, so remakes of Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th were made. Final Destination (2000) dawned more teen-focused horror like the Scream sequels. However the more successful horror films were the new genre known as "horror porn" with a lot of blood and gore. These include Saw (2004), Hostel (2005) and The Human Centipede (2009) which spawned many sequels. Zombie films have been reborn in the 2000's starting with the British films 28 Days Later (2002) and the comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004). This led veteran zombie director George A. Romero to make Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2010). The films I Am Legend (2007) and Zombieland (2009) also helped the rebirth of zombie films which had disappeared in the 90's.
2010's
The 2010's have seen a fond for supernatural horror films including Paranormal Activity (2009), Insidious (2011) and The Conjuring (2013). Other supernatural horrors include The Women In Black (2012) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012) These have spawned many sequels due to their successes. There have also been remakes of Carrie and Evil Dead. There have also been a Hollywood blockbuster zombie film World War Z (2013) continuing the zombie rebirth from the 2000's and also many more sequels from the successful horror movies of the 2000's.
Why I researched this?
I decided to look at the History of Horror films because then I started to learn more about the genre and the codes and conventions that are common in these type of films. As the genre is a very broad one compared to romantic comedies for examples, I could take conventions from many films in the genre which I could put into my film.
Why I researched this?
I decided to look at the History of Horror films because then I started to learn more about the genre and the codes and conventions that are common in these type of films. As the genre is a very broad one compared to romantic comedies for examples, I could take conventions from many films in the genre which I could put into my film.
Horror Sub Genres
There are four Horror sub-genres that I focused on for my research. This was because they were the most popular and the most popular of mine.
Slasher
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th (1980)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Most slasher films have one main killer throughout the film. They usually don't die or they come back to life so that there can be a sequel so that the people who make the film can make more money. This is why slasher films, and the four most famous slashers have spawned many sequels and remakes made in the 2000's.
Psychological
Psycho (1960)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
The Shining (1980)
Saw (2004)
Psychological horrors need to make tension and The Shining does that. Also, some psychological horrors have a lot of gore which can put off some audiences if they don't like a lot of gore. However, the success of the Saw franchise has shown that a lot of gore is a good thing and that people like to see psychological horrors.
Supernatural
The Exorcist (1973)
The Omen (1976)
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Paranormal Activity (2009)
The Woman In Black (2012)
The Conjuring (2013)
Supernatural horrors are usually involve haunted houses, ghosts or the devil. In the 70's, these films were usually about the devil, who possessed children or impregnated women. In The Exorcist and The Omen however, children were possessed by the devil to do awful things that you wouldn't expect from children, which is why it is more chilling to watch. In the last few years the supernatural horror has come back, with the recent success of Paranormal Activity (on a budget of around $15,000) get millions at the box office. This has led to other supernatural horrors including The Woman In Black and The Conjuring.
Science-Fiction
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
George A. Romero's "Dead" Series (1968-)
Alien (1979)
The Thing (1982)
World War Z (2013)
Science-fiction horror films involve aliens in some way. We have no idea what they look like or even if they exist but for about eighty years cinema has given us an idea of what they might be like. They teach us about how we overcome zombies or aliens. Because of Cold War paranoia and the atomic bomb, most horror films made in America during the 50's were sci-fi films or mutated people, animals or plants to show the worst that could happen with society at that time. This led to films like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Hollywood blockbuster Alien (1979) gave the most realistic look at aliens and have spawned three sequels and a prequel. John Carpenter then remade The Thing based by The Thing From Another World (1951) from the sci-fi hay day in the 50's. In the late 60's, George A. Romero re-created zombies for today's societies, and does his "Dead" film every decade.
Sequels and Remakes
The horror genre like making sequels. Nearly every successful horror film has a sequel. Which is why the villain in horror films don't usually die, because then there wouldn't be a sequel. Especially with slasher films like A Nightmare On Elm Street, they remade many horror films in the 2000's for a new audience, suggesting that Hollywood are running out of ideas and using their old films for solutions.
Slasher
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th (1980)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Most slasher films have one main killer throughout the film. They usually don't die or they come back to life so that there can be a sequel so that the people who make the film can make more money. This is why slasher films, and the four most famous slashers have spawned many sequels and remakes made in the 2000's.
Psychological
Psycho (1960)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
The Shining (1980)
Saw (2004)
Psychological horrors need to make tension and The Shining does that. Also, some psychological horrors have a lot of gore which can put off some audiences if they don't like a lot of gore. However, the success of the Saw franchise has shown that a lot of gore is a good thing and that people like to see psychological horrors.
Supernatural
The Exorcist (1973)
The Omen (1976)
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Paranormal Activity (2009)
The Woman In Black (2012)
The Conjuring (2013)
Supernatural horrors are usually involve haunted houses, ghosts or the devil. In the 70's, these films were usually about the devil, who possessed children or impregnated women. In The Exorcist and The Omen however, children were possessed by the devil to do awful things that you wouldn't expect from children, which is why it is more chilling to watch. In the last few years the supernatural horror has come back, with the recent success of Paranormal Activity (on a budget of around $15,000) get millions at the box office. This has led to other supernatural horrors including The Woman In Black and The Conjuring.
Science-Fiction
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
George A. Romero's "Dead" Series (1968-)
Alien (1979)
The Thing (1982)
World War Z (2013)
Science-fiction horror films involve aliens in some way. We have no idea what they look like or even if they exist but for about eighty years cinema has given us an idea of what they might be like. They teach us about how we overcome zombies or aliens. Because of Cold War paranoia and the atomic bomb, most horror films made in America during the 50's were sci-fi films or mutated people, animals or plants to show the worst that could happen with society at that time. This led to films like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Hollywood blockbuster Alien (1979) gave the most realistic look at aliens and have spawned three sequels and a prequel. John Carpenter then remade The Thing based by The Thing From Another World (1951) from the sci-fi hay day in the 50's. In the late 60's, George A. Romero re-created zombies for today's societies, and does his "Dead" film every decade.
Sequels and Remakes
The horror genre like making sequels. Nearly every successful horror film has a sequel. Which is why the villain in horror films don't usually die, because then there wouldn't be a sequel. Especially with slasher films like A Nightmare On Elm Street, they remade many horror films in the 2000's for a new audience, suggesting that Hollywood are running out of ideas and using their old films for solutions.
Why I researched this?
I researched Horror sub-genres because I needed to think of what horror sub-genre I wanted to create. This would help me more as then I could concentrate on a specific horror sub-genre. I decided to choose the "Slasher" genre because it is a very popular genre and one of the most famous genres. The genre always tends to make a lot of money at the box office with the Saw franchise showing this. It was also one of the most popular genres from my research as many people find it interesting. Although the genre can get very repetitive, I am going to create a film that breaks the slasher movie conventions, so that my film stands out.
Movie Classification
Every film that gets released at cinemas have a classification (shown as a symbol) to tell people if they can watch the film or not.
These include: U, PG, 12, 12a, 15 and 18
15
The "15" symbol means that no one under the age of 15 is allowed to watch the film that is shown.
What makes a 15 stronger than a 12 or a 12a include:
- strong violence
- frequent strong language (e.g. f***)
- portrayals of sex and some sexual nudity
- strong verbal references about sex
- some scenes of sexual violence or verbal references about sexual violence
- some drug taking
- discriminatory language or behaviour
The majority of horror films have a 15 certificate. In most horror films, they have or a set around teenagers, this means that they are more likely to have a lot of sex and taking drugs. This is because there are some sexual nudity and sexual scenes in the majority of horror films. This is also because the film makers target a teenage audience for the film, as there are many teenagers in them. They have also got a lot of strong language as there is someone going around killing people. However, there can be some gore but not an exceptional amount, this is inappropriate for a 15 certificate film and is used for a 18.
What certificate did I use for my film?
For my film, I decided to give the certificate of my film as a 15. This is because there is a lot of violence in my film as the killer goes on a killing spree. There will also be some strong language and sexual references like in other horror films like Scream (1996).
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