Hannah Midyette

Olivia Rines
UWRT1101
1/25/2015
The Art of Frightening People.
Horror Movies
I chose to write about horror movies because they are my absolute favorite to
watch. I love the suspense and thrill of the unknown. Scaring people has been around
forever, but only started coming onto film in the 1700s. However the term horror
wasnt used for these films until the 1930s. There are many subgenres of horror, but they
all have one goal in mind; to startle the viewer. One thing that interests me about these
films is that over time the subgenres and use of technology has changed. Nowadays
horror movies are more realistic as opposed to those of the past, and there are not as
many monster or creature films anymore besides zombies. Modern day films seem to
use the supernatural or insanity to provoke fear out of an audience. Insanity is something
that is very real, which is why I think its more terrifying than zombies. Nevertheless, my
goal is to see all of the highly rated horror movies and I think this project will help me
delve deeper into the genre of horror and why I love it so much.
Horror and the Horror Film
Chapter One of Horror and the Horror Film goes into depth about horror movies
history, definition, purpose, and genre. Genres include recurring elements, figures and
situations, and their repetition from one film to another is part of the pleasure
(Kawin13). This section talks about recurring events and endings to films, which I find

very beneficial to the purpose of this paper because genre is a blueprint that others use in
order to place/define their own piece of work.
The Horror Film
Stephen Prince goes beyond defining the genre of horror and looks more into the
social symbolism that is used in films. He looks deeper into the special significance of
horror, which differentiates it from other genres. This will be helpful in my genre analysis
by giving me other tools, which are used in horror throughout the decades. He breaks the
genre of horror down by different time periods. This is beneficial to understanding how
the genre has evolved over time.
The Shining
I chose The Shining because it was the first horror movie I ever saw and also one
of my favorites. I think its a good example of horror movies because it has suspense and
insanity. The gradual build from an innocent family on vacation to a haunted mansion to
an insane murderous father is frightening. This film fits in the genre of horror and
explores humanity at the same time.
The Possession
I chose The Possession because I think it fits into the genre of horror well. It
explores the paranormal, the unknown, and uses a religious demon to terrify the audience.
I will explore how religion is used in the genre of horror to explain the unknown, and the
use of based on a true story in this genre.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
I chose The Texas Chain Saw Massacre because its all about murder, gore, and
investigative teenagers. Why do people always go investigate the noise in horror movies?

Why do friends always split up? This is something that reoccurs in the genre of horror.
Gory murderers also reappear throughout the horror of genre. Finally, gore in the film
industry is changing, but has always been used to recreate someones nightmares.
Because dying is something that scares us all.

Works Cited

Sources
A Brief History of Horror. FilmmakerIQ. n.d. Web. January 25, 2015.
Kawin, Bruce. Horror and the Horror Film. London; New York: Anthem Press, 2012.
eBook.
Prince, Stephen. The Horror Film. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press,
2004. eBook.
Examples
The Shining. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros.Inc, 1980. Film.
The Possession. Dir. Ole Bornedal. Lionsgate. 2012. Film
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Dir. Tobe Hooper. 1974. Film