Horror as a genre is intended to invoke a strong emotional response to what is shown. There are several techniques films employ to earn this response. Low context horror films, which I strongly dislike by the way, may simply try to earn this response by showing intensely gory scenes. For example the Saw films have slowly slipped into this pattern of a poorly made narrative with tons of cut up bodies and what not like this is going to actually scare anyone over the age of 12. Great Horror films use stronger techniques such as the way scenes are shot. Before special effects took over cinema this was the way which directors would achieve their ultimate goal of invoking fear but also reinforcing the films connotative meanings.
Horror is notorious for using women as the victims of the films. As an audience we can see that they are the victim from merely watching the movie but there are subtle added effects in the way they are shot which can back up that they are the subject of degradation. An example of this which to me has become a cliché in recent horror films is they pick a female as the victim but not only a female one that is better looking than the standard for lack of a better term. The film then exploits this good looking female throughout the film. As this female is shot there are times when you can see cleavage and curves taking advantage of female beauty, or what female beauty means to an overpowering male. Therefore the females are shot from a high angle and at a relatively close distance. In class we spent much time discussing that this exemplifies a power balance due to the male towering and over the female which is made stronger by shooting them down. Also I noticed when this happens in a film that it leads to showing more cleavage or skin on that female. In the film Jeepers Creepers there is a scene on the school bus the students are riding home from the basketball game. The main female character is moving up to the front of the bus to sit next her best friend on the bench and across from her is her two guy friends. Before she reaches her chair the camera switches to the perspective of the two guys in the opposite bench and as she moves to sit in the seat in the bottom left part of the screen you can you see the girls rear end. As she bends to sit her jeans are lowered slightly and her black thong underwear slips out of the top of her pants. The camera switching to the male perspective and the emphasis on her rear end and exposed undergarments only aid the exploitation of the female body.
Horror as much as it objectifies women through the use of the shot, the shot can also help to create more fear for the audience. In a lot of great horror flicks there is a use of shadows which adds effect. This makes sense as a tool for a director because horror films usually take place during night hours so shadows would naturally be created. In an earlier post I made of a scene analysis from Nightmare on Elm Street there are many examples of how shadows are used. When Freddy Krueger is about to make himself visible he is walking around the corner of the alley out of sight. Although his physical body is out of sight there is a tremendous silhouette of him displayed onto a garage door. The expanding of his shadow makes him seem much more menacing, also it adds to the suspense the audience feels while waiting for his appearance. In the film Halloween in the final scene when Jaime Lee Curtis makes her final stand she is walking away from what she thinks is the dead body of Michael Myers but is actually being followed by him. The camera follows her for a second then moves into the next room prematurely. When in the next room both characters shadows are portrayed through the door before they enter and you can see Michael Myers grab onto her from behind in their shadows and then they spill into the room.
It is quite interesting to sit and watch horror films and attempt to pick out camera techniques which directors use to emphasize various aspects of the film.
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