Horror Movies Are All the same

Although Gothic Elements can be very sadistic and twisted the use of it is seen in all types of stories. Some of the more famous stories that Gothic Elements are used in are the following “ A Rose for Emily,” “ The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “ The Tell- Tale Heart”. In these stories, gothic elements are found all over the place do you know why? Well the reason is that all these stories are darker stories than most. Gothic Elements are needed to make a superb scary story.

The world of copyright was just as convoluted in the 1920’s as it is in our world today. The film studio Prana Film, which produced the 1922 German Expressionist film Nosferatu, was sued for copyright infringement by the estate of Bram Stoker, the author of the 1897 Gothic Horror novel Dracula, and ended up filing for bankruptcy after only distributing one film. While this may seem like an immense failure for the studio behind the silent film, it ended up influencing almost a century of vampires, in novels, television, and other films, and made the name ‘Nosferatu’ synonymous with the equally influential novel that it was based upon. On the surface, Nosferatu is a blatant copy of Dracula, from it’s plot, to the characters (besides the change in names), to the portrayal of vampires in general; in reality, many aspects of both bodies of work differ immensely from one another, providing both Stoker and director F. W. Murnau pieces that have influenced generations of vampire media. The structure, characterization and overall tone of Nosferatu is developed differently than Dracula in order to differentiate itself from it’s source material and provide an alternate adaptation of an iconic tale.

‘Gothic Horror’ is a style of literature that is defined by elements of fear, horror, death and gloom, not to mention romantic elements like nature, individuality and very high emotion. It can also include supernatural themes. This style usually appeals more to an older audience, rather than children. It can appeal more to this audience because gothic horror can be used to explore serious themes and ideas, and older audiences can fully appreciate that. An older audience is also more likely to enjoy the feeling of fear gothic horror usually gives.

What is common between most horror films and texts? They all use similar types of codes and conventions. These codes and conventions differ between genre and can be easily identified. These also reflect the values of the audience they are intended for. The 1993 stop-motion animated film, ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, directed by Henry Selick, and the 1845 poem, ‘The Raven’, written by Edgar Allan Poe, are both a part of the horror genre, as they follow the codes and conventions of that genre. They use similar visuals, sounds, characterisation, and themes. Using these and other conventions, audiences can identify a genre, which influences their opinions and feelings about the genre.

Setting conventions play a huge part within the horror genre. Since horror first existed it has been set in ghostly abandoned castles with spooky dark dungeons, gloomy forests and spine-chilling secret passageways. Since these, settings in the horror genre has evolved into a more terrifying definition of scary. In horror movies today we mainly see old, haunted, broken down houses set in isolated forests exactly like the new house the family moves into in ‘The Conjuring’ or like in the horror movie ‘Halloween’, set in a neighbourhood during the night time. Horror has moved into these more sophisticated ideas of creepy and scary as the setting is more relatable to everyday life, and takes a toll on the audience's psychological mind set to start

Since it’s infancy at the beginning of the eighteenth century, horror has followed certain conventions that results in an awakening of the senses, evoking intense emotions of fear and terror in the audience. Horror feeds off triggering the primal fears embedded within all of humankind, creating a sense of menace that is the very substance of this genre. Furthermore, the central menace of a piece tends to enlighten the human mind to the world of the paranormal and the enigmatic, dark side of the unknown. The movie “Psycho” directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a perfect example. Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre, “Psycho” was filmed with great tact, grace and art in regards to horror conventions.

The horror genre has held a prominent position in culture for most of history. Beginning in folklore, used as a device to scare children into good behaviors (e.g. The Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales), horror has integrated its way into the 21st century through film, and in recent years even video games. Yearly, primarily during the fall when the leaves start to brown and the natural eerie sense of fear fills the air around Halloween, the film industry likes to fill in the holes between its major grossing seasons by filling the audience with fear. However, it was Christmas of 1973 that defined the new age of Horror, when William Friedkin released The Exorcist. According to Julia Heimerdinger of Academia’s online journal, Horror, as a whole, can

To begin, “The term Gothic fiction refers to a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. These emotions can include fear and suspense.”. (Greaver, 1). This specific style of writing began in the late seventeen hundreds. Gothic fiction was created in order to keep a narrower set of viewers or readers more intrigued and interested. “The term Gothic actually originated as a term belittling the architecture and art of the period, which was dark, decaying, and dismal. The settings were often old, dilapidated buildings or houses in gloomy, lifeless, fear inducing landscapes.” (Greaver, 1). Gothic literature is often explained as an illusion that is unexplainable. “Gothic fiction hovers between the uncanny and the marvelous, offering little

A horror film has a recognizable pattern that is unique to this genre. The genre doesn’t allow much room for successful sequels, due to this repetitive and obvious film pattern. The history of the horror film genre started long before film, but with telling the tales of Urban Legends. These Urban Legends were then written down into novels, and after, produced into films. The first horror film was a French film, The Manor of the Devil (1896), by George Milies.

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are the great Gothic writers of the 19th century. Gothic in the 19th century was considered gritty, grim and barbarous, depending on the author you come across. It is what brought the unconscious mind, also known as altered states, to the surface. The unconscious mind being, the fear you don’t seek. Most of the time, in your dreams—or what you think to be your dreams. The unconscious mind shows you that with great hope, also comes great fear. It makes you think about the darkness you fear and creates it into your Gothic, which is why it scares you. Poe and Hawthorne both made Gothic their own versions of their fears and they did it well.

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are the great Gothic writers of the 19th century. Gothic in the 19th century was considered gritty, grim and barbarous, depending on the author you come across. It is what brought the unconscious mind, also known as altered states, to the surface. The unconscious mind being, the fear you don’t seek. Most of the time, in your dreams—or what you think to be your dreams. The unconscious mind shows you that with great hope, also comes great fear. It makes you think about the darkness you fear and creates it into your Gothic, which is why it scares you. Poe and Hawthorne both made Gothic their own versions of their fears and they did it well.

“By the early 1930s, horror entered into its classic phase in Hollywood - the true Dracula and Frankenstein Eras.” (Horror Films) The original Dracula was released in 1931. Dracula was a five hundred year old vampire was that was very frightening to early audiences. This undead villain entranced and charmed his victims with his veracity.”(Horror Films) The 1930’s also brought the first production

Horror is a genre that is often overlooked due to a plethora of reasons. Readers tend to think of vampires or werewolves, but it is much more in depth. Horror is a genre that if dissected properly, can help the reader understand the correspondence to society. The Horror genre has been around since the 1890’s, when Georges Méliès was credited for creating the first horror film, emphasizing the idea that horror films have a cavernous meaning. In Georges Méliès famous short film, Le Manoir du Diable, the main character confronts Satan and has nowhere to run. This represents conflict within oneself, coinciding with the idea of a deeper meaning being prevalent throughout Shirley Jackson's work. In the novel, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley

Horror can be defined as a genre meant to psychologically trigger individual fear with the presence of certain supernatural or abstract characteristics. The genre is dependent on people’s fascination with unrealism and the sensation that comes from experiencing fear personified into tangible elements on a screen. Horror films have thrilled audiences for decades, revealing stories of the more sinister parts of life. The popular allure that stems from the genre comes from the tension moviegoers experience when aroused by specific stimuli uniquely present in these cinematic features (Walters). Over time, as the genre progressed, the standardized elements found in a typical horror movie began to shift in different directions primarily due to changing societal circumstances and increasing consumer demand for cinematic innovation. The expansive nature of the different codes and conventions within the horror genre, coupled with the evolution of society’s fascination with these characteristics, has led to the mutation of the genre itself in order to allow for unique approaches to a familiar style in response to both economic developments and taste shifts within the consumer industry.

This genre is so appealing to use for movies since it has such a strong sense of morbidness, suspense, horror, and overall creepiness. In essence, all of these the emotions and gut instincts are what make these movies so appealing to an audience and make these conventions so popular. In the long run, many movies are recreated or based on popular gothic stories. Horror and romantic movies are the most influenced by gothic literature with mystery and action movies being very closely influenced as well. With how well gothic conventions have blended into modern it becomes almost impossible to see where the influence of gothic literatures begins and ends. On the whole, these movies are influenced by gothic conventions such as: dissolution of the family structure, mental breakdowns, elements of the supernatural, dark and foreboding nature, and hundreds more. All in all, this very clearly shows how important gothic literature is to contemporary culture, even though it is becoming more difficult to distinguish what is gothic