Horror Film Genre Essay - 969 Words

The two movies I viewed were Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist, which were both directed by Tobe Hopper. Both films displayed the general rules horror films generally follow through the use of horror film genre conventions. For instance, both movies follow the good verses evil story lines and in each the end does ultimately win. However, this is not entirely true in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The friends represented the good and the chainsaw carrying monster and his family portrayed the evil. In the end on of the friends, Sally, ultimately does escape from being killed by the monster in the movie. However, her other four friends were taken down and gruesomely killed by the evil killer in the movie. So although in a bittersweet manner,†¦show more content†¦In Poltergeist, the world of ghosts that jumps at the family is not one considered ordinary or one that would have any sort of rationale behind it. Many would not believe such a thing to be true no matter if they had a house built on top of a graveyard or not. Ghosts and the supernatural do not exist so this showing up in a film brings a sense of irrational thought which would likely keep the audience of the horror film guessing for they do not know what to expect. However, in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, mostly due to the fact the film was based on a true story, there is a rational world where the events taking place could be explained. An audience can believe that such a monster could exist because there are crazy enough people in the world that could be ruthless murderers and cannibals. It is not something that would be a pleasant thought even if it can be explained however rationale can be given behind it which is not typical in horror films. In addition, although being in the dark about something is more frightening Texas Chainsaw Massacre still did a good job of producing a scare in a rational horror film by still keeping the element of surprise and suspense throughout the movie. The timing of the appearance of the evil in each movie was just as similar to other movies, delayed. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it takes up to half way through the movie for the chainsaw killer, Leatherface, to appear and attack his first victim. In Poltergeist, theShow MoreRelated New Classics of the Horror Film Genre Essay3002 Words   |  13 Pagesarchaic in horror film history. The monster movie of the past makes way for the thriller or slasher movie of the present, while the monster villain gives its role to the deranged, psychotic serial killer. Friday the 13th series, Nightmare on Elm Street, Copycat and Seven have become the new classics in the genre of the horror film. 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