Horror Theories

Steven Prince

Theorist Stephen Princes states that "like other genre movies, any given horror film will convey synchronic association, ideological and social messages that are a part of a certain period or historical moment. One can analyse films in terms of these moments, much like they can do with gangster movies. But unlike this genre, horror also goes deeper, to explore more fundamental questions about the nature of human existence, and other questions that, in some profound ways, go beyond culture and society as these are organised in any given form or period". From this, we are able to identify that Prince feels that the horror genre is a particularly important genre within the world and industry of film, as it is the most realistic, and some ideas and beliefs placed into films in the genre, show similarities to that of 'real life".

Tzvetan Todorov

Todorov is a Bulgarian literacy theorist who suggest that most, if not all fictional narratives, begin with a state of 'equilibrium' in which life is considered to be normal and undisturbed, with protagonists seen as happy. However this state of normality becomes disturbed by and outside force, which must be then defeated in order to return to either the previous, or a new state of equilibrium. This theory can be applied to a wide range of films, more specifically, those within the horror genre, that have a seemingly content and happy state of living becoming altered by an entity or being, set out to cause both destruction and death to the protagonist and those who surround them. However, where horror films stand out from other genres, is whether the state of normality or 'equilibrium' is restored at the end, on some occasions, this can either mean the entity being destroyed or the main protagonist being killed.

Steve Neal

It is simple to dismiss the alterations within a genre. Steve Neale states that 'genres are examples of repetition and difference' (1980). He adds that 'difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre': just repetition would not appeal to any audience, be that abstract or mainstream. Texts often display the conventions of multiple genres. John Harltey adds that 'the same text can belong to different genres', this can be applied and used when looking at many horror films, especially those with elements of comedy in it, like my previous post on A Haunted House, or another franchise like Scream that sort of makes fun of itself and the genre, whilst being an entertaining and good slasher movie, by following simple and pre-used conventions. It plays on how we perceive the horror genre and brings that into real life, for an interesting outlook onto both the film itself, and the genre as a whole.