Genre Evaluation Take Two

Well, for whatever reason, my first post of this did not copy to my blog, but I will try again!

I chose horror as the genre I would like to examine because I think it is a fascinating genre. The line between good horror films and bad horror films (and books, and shows, etc.) seems to be so clear, yet horror movies seem to be one of the few niche markets that can knowingly release "bad" work, and still do well financially.
When I think of "good" horror movies, I think of The Shining, The Exorcist, The Omen, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Alien, Saw, Halloween, Psycho, Scream, Sean of the Dead, Paranormal Activity, etc. Alternatively, when I think of "bad" horror films, my mind reverts back to the genre itself- most horror films are bad. For the most part, "good" horror films tend to be the exception, and this is only until they are sullied by the plethora of sequels and prequels that inevitably follow any scary movie success. So what makes a good horror film?
This is a tricky question. When you get down to it, the same aspects of "good" film apply to all movies, but with horror, I believe that timing is of the essence. You have slow burn movies like The Shining and Paranormal Activity where it takes the entire film's length to reach the payoff point, and you have rough and rowdy rides like Saw and Halloween that scare you from the get go.
It is also my opinion that less is more in horror movies. Consider Jaws. The first half of the film is terrifying because you never see the shark. While shooting the film, Spielberg could not get the mechanical shark to function properly, so they tried shooting glimpses and shadows of Jaws instead of showing what a giant, floating set piece he really was. This turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Spielberg.


Films like Paranormal Activity pick up where Jaws left off. Here is what I thought was the most terrifying moment in the film:


Smart horror films seem to attack us when we are most vulnerable, in our sleep, in the bathroom, etc. And, I think the reason subtle horror movies like Paranormal Activity are so scary in the face of giant, digital monsters and unnecessarily explicit gore is that it plays on things we encounter that scare us. A billow of wind through a bedsheet, a creek in the house, a glimpse of a shadow are all things that make us jump.
The last bit of this genre I would like to discuss is the sub genre of slasher movies. I think it is incredibly hard to make a good slasher movie. There are only a few that come to mind: Psycho, Scream, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, etc. Partly what ruins most generic slasher movies is the incredibly flawed logic that exists within most slasher films (and horror films as a whole). As a matter of fact, most slasher movies are laughable, which is why films like Scream are so great. Scream knows what it is and in what genre it exists and exploits that to include themselves in the joke as opposed to being the butt of it.
Part of the reason so much horror becomes comedic is because the beats are extremely similar to comedy. There is a set up, the anticipation/build, and then the payoff: the punchline or the scare. One major difference between the two genres is that in comedy, the clown sees everything, but in horror, the victim only sees when it is too late. Laughter is also just another coping mechanism for dealing with things we cannot understand, or that scare us. I think this connection is the real reason anyone bothers with horror movies at all: it's fun to feel scared once in a while!


Here is my teaching activity that can also be found on our PB Works site:

Oh, the horror...the horror! Examining cliches and the horror genre

by Allison Witham



After reading a classic, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, or modern piece of horror literature, The Shining etc., I would ask the students to create a series of lists. The first list would be qualities of good films such as logical progression through the story, well developed characters, the film leaves an impression on the audience, etc. I would then ask them to think of horror movies they have seen and jot down what are some common features of horror movies like, plot holes, graphic violence, graphic nudity, sequels, etc. Finally, I would ask them to create a venn diagram with their two lists to figure out what are the earmarks of good horror movies are. After hearing from the students about the common characteristics they found between good movies and horror movies, I would ask the students about the horror characteristics that did not meet the "good movies" criteria they established. After hearing from students and writing their observations on the board, I would introduce the idea of cliches. We would have a brief lesson on cliches and their uses and then move on to the second half of the activity.



The students would be broken into groups and asked to imagine they are the producers of Dracula (or whatever novel they are reading). I would then pass out reviews and stills of previous versions of the film or, (depending on the grade level and appropriateness) perhaps even show some clips. After they materials have been passed out, I would ask the students to devise criteria for the film to make it a "good horror film." Ex. Count Dracula's accent should be legit, the costumes should be period and not just about showing off the actresses' chests, and the characters should have some depth to them instead of being wooden. Afterward, the groups would be invited to pitch their films to the class and vote on who should be produced.