For primary research on ‘the Man in Black’ I have decided watched four very different horror movies covering different aspects of horror and make notes, these categories include, cult, slasher, and supernatural. This will help me understand what makes a movie in these categories scary physiologically for their viewers.
I also decided to try a different approach by reading the Stephen King horror novel of the shining, this was to allow me to explore how the details in a scene play a crucial role in making a scene look truly terrifying.
Scream (1996)
In horror, sound is an intricate part of the movie, Scream is no expectation. From the minute the movie starts we are introduced to creepy music through innocent music to the introduction of strings as the Dimensions Films logo slowly creeps into the shot, and this use of sound is drastically used thought the entirety of the movie.
Scream is one of the horror movies that leave the audience to become it’s own detective, leaving us with a who did it scenario changing peoples views on who the true killer is, but the plot is revealed from the very beginning when we first get introduced to Billy by playing ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ by the Blue Oyster Cult. The movie also starts with an opening scene Ghost faces first kill, setting up the ringing of the phone which is Leit Motif-ed through the entirety of the plot.
The movie uses interesting visuals, showing various different angles and perspectives, this technique is used typically in slasher movies through the use of the first-person perspective from ghost faces eyes and third-person perspective as we see him creep up on the character, this is then backed up with the use of strings in the music. Visualization is a crucial role in the entirety of the movie and this is what makes the movie more interesting.
‘Scream’ has helped influence me on how to use sound to foreshadow future events in the movie, whether that be playing a song that ties in with the main characters fate or gradually using strings to create suspense, I will carefully consider what to use in my own project.
The Wicker Man (1973)
Before the 1970s, horror movies were a typical night time scene with a mysterious, unnatural creature but the Wicker Man changed the meaning of a horror film. This is stated from the title sequence in which we see a small plane flying over the desolated islands of the Hebrides accompanied by kneeing folk music, it is clear this will be a horror movie like no over that will take place in bright sunlight other than the typical shadows and nighttime scenery.
The Wicker Man shows the battle between religion in an unusual way, showing how Christianity believes it is more superior than any other, in this case, Paganism. From the beginning of the movie, we are lead to many different twists and turns as the plot thickens. The movie is set in the eyes of copper with the events happening around him putting the audience in his shoes, this style of filming added a new trend of psychological horror which is being used more in modern horror movies.
The Wicker Man’s use of music is also very symbolical, from its use of flutes the folk music has its own creepy feeling. With more flutes being added as the events unfold we are left with an unsettling feeling in our stomachs, but the use of flute music makes the town feel more realistic and excluded from society. The movie also shows the extremism of a cult society through there unnatural and unsettling behavior throughout the movie towards the copper, not questioning when their leader tells them they need a human sacrifice.
‘The Wicker Man’ has helped influence me on how to involve the events of the movie around what the characters do, whether that be making the camera lear behind specific characters or making them responsible in some way for the demon’s action.
Final Destination (2000)
Final destination observes the time-honored formula of the Dead Teenager Movie: It begins with a lot of living teenagers and dooms them, but this movie smartens the genre by adding its own supernatural twist, instead of the typical ghostly hauntings we see a new take on the supernatural genre with death marking the survivors.
The movie opens in a real-world scenario of the plane exploding on its way to Paris setting up the plot for the rest of the movie, the fact that the movie happens in a real-world environment adds more fear applying this could happen to anybody. Final destination in its own way is biblical, although the students use the word fate a lot in the movie they are really talking about God.
The final destination movie also has a weird take on its use of audio by not using much dialogue and allowing the audience to see the events unfold before the character does, this technique creates a great deal of suspense and the feeling of being in the theatre watching a play and shouting ‘it’s behind you’. The way death kills his victims is also set in a way that it looks like an accident, the fact they are killed this way makes the movie more sinister.
‘Final Destination’ has helped influence me by showing me that the more of a realistic environment you create the more it creeps the audience out, whether that be using less dialogue or everyday locations when filming.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Today, telling somebody “I know what you did last summer”, and meaning it as a threat just wouldn’t fly. Everybody knows what you did last summer, but back in 1997 things were different; it was possible to keep things private. The feeling that someone knows more than you want them too mentally affects people.
Immediately we get a wide shot of the ocean with eerie music playing in the background, but this stops as soon as we get introduced to the main characters. Foreshadowing plays a big role in the entirety of the movie, we hear the story of a man with a hook being told by the cast before they hit the person with the car. It is not until someone knows their secret that things take a turn for the worst. When the first person is murdered, leitmotif is used as he stalks around the building after his victims, similar to how the ringing on the phone is linked to ghost face in Scream.
The movie uses various different angles and perspectives, this technique is typical in slasher movies using first-person perspective from fish hooks eyes, this is then backed up with the use of strings in the music. The events have a big effect on the character’s behavior towards each other, collapsing their friendship as one blames the other for being the killer, leaving the audience to be more surprised when more dots are connected.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, has helped influence me by showing me that foreshadowing future events allows the audience to be more surprised at the end, I will carefully consider how to use this in the opening scene.
The Shining Novel (1977)
The Shining explores the drastic events of isolation, and how it has an effect on a person psychologically, although it is laid out like your traditional haunted house book with the main character thrown into a pit of paranormal events, the shining involves a lot of detailed paragraphs which was not shown clearly enough in the 1980 movie adaption made by Stanley Kubrick.
Stephen King’s attention to detail is thrown into every page of the book, from the colours of the bricks to the sounds of the surroundings, all playing a crucial role in creating a vivid location within your head, he also uses this technique to foreshadow future events, throughout the first and second chapter of the book he constantly reminds the reader how isolated the overlook hotel is to the rest of civilisation with the character Wendy constantly bringing up an incident where a party of people got isolated and had to result to cannibalism.
Stephen King also uses sound in his novel to make a realistic feeling to what’s happening within the scene, for example, on page 42 there is a scene where Jack Torrance is remembering a past event where they hit a kids bike whilst drink driving, the description of the sound of the bike hitting the car is almost ear piercing even though your only reading words.
‘The Shining’ has helped me by showing the importance of detail and how a location can create an eeriness of its own, I will use this to help me when deciding what locations to use in the movie
The Blogs Of A McCarthy 