Horror Timeline

Horror Timeline from Maleeha17

Horror Theories (in brief)

Propp's Narrative Functions:

Vladimir Propp was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar. He suggested that there were 8 main character types. The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people, but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward. 

1. Hero - seeks something
2. Villain - opposes hero
3. Donor - helps hero providing magic object
4. Dispatcher - sends hero on his way
5. False hero - falsely assuming role of hero
6. Helper - gives support to hero
7. Princess - reward for hero
8. Father - protects princess

Todorov's Basic Narrative Theory: 

Equilibrium -----> Disequilibrium -----> New equilibrium

1. State of equilibrium
2. Disruption of equilibrium by some action
3. A recognition that disruption has caused 
4. An attempt to repair
5. Reinstatement

Aristotle:

Tragedy is a representation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and unhappiness - and happiness and unhappiness are bound up with action. ( All about conflict) 

Levi- Strauss' Binary Oppositions:

All narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was caused by a series of opposing forces - binary oppositions.  

Analysis of Contemporary Film Poster

Conventions of Horror

Created with Padlet

Eden Lake

Eden Lake is a paranoid horror. The threat that the youths present is nearby as they live in the area and know it much better than Jenny and Steve. As Steve tries to communicate with the youths, he is unsuccessful in his attempts to ask them to be more considerate with them, rather than harass him and Jenny by offensive actions and loud music. The audience is easily able to identify the victims of this film, as Jenny is portrayed as a very feminine woman, whereas the male protagonist, Steve, is the typical male. Due to the signs of warning e.g. the Sat Nav voice telling them to turn around, the audience is aware of the tension build up.



The female character, Jenny, is introduced as being very feminine and vulnerable. Jenny and her partner Steve go on a romantic weekend away at an abandoned quarry, which is situated in a very isolated setting. They also come across a little boy who is playing alone in the woods. The audience starts to feel the rising tension from when the dog barks at the couple on the beach, hearing noises from outside of the tent on their first night and then they puncture the car tire due to a bottle placed underneath. Also, when the couples try to track down the kids, they offend a mother in a cafe, which is a very threatening scene and gives an insight into the culture of the area. 

The kids are easily recognised by the audience as the villains in this film, as they are shown to be the bad youth that British audiences can identify with. The setting also helps to recognise the film as a horror, as it is set in a large populated place, which is shown from a bird’s eye view when the couple first arrive. Icons such as knives, the blood, the injuries to the characters and also, the changes that cause Jenny to turn from innocent to monstrous also help to create fear and anxiety for the audience. 

Within Eden Lake, the character whose gender is represented very blatantly is Jenny, as she is in the first scene teaching young well behaved children in a very feminine, flowery dress. Though eventually, the more injured and bloodied and dirty the characters got, the more the roles reversed as it suddenly became the woman's job to help the man survive. This develops the narrative in a way that causes audiences to be intrigued as she is no longer playing the damsel in distress role we were first expecting. 


The binary opposite of social classes is shown within the very first scenes of Eden Lake when the couple leave the middle class area, where Jenny's school is, and end up staying at a small bed and breakfast. The locals are shouting at all hours of the night; the children are misbehaving and being smacked, which is a complete opposite to the well behaved children in her class. By entering into a working class area, the characters of the teens are seen as being terrible from first look, as most audiences would immediately come to the conclusion they aren't well educated and don’t really follow the law.

Vampires

Vampires from Maleeha17

Introduction to Brief