"It's the exploitation of tension, that's what horror is all about. You've got to create a situation that's unbearably tense and the audience knows that something's going to happen. That the guy in the black is suddenly going to leap into the frame. It's a very unifying thing in a cinema" These are the words of Wes Craven, director of the 1984 movie A Nightmare on Elm Street. Maybe it was my mother's negative perception of horror films that deterred me from watching them. Therefore, watching horror films has never been of interest to me.
Over the course of the past week I had the opportunity to view two horror movies from different eras and compare their "exploitation of tension." First was Gothika, released in 2003; the second was Rosemary's Baby, released in 1968. Tension was built effectively through music, special effects, and storyline as each film unfolded.
Miranda
A Nightmare on Elm Street
MirandaTrue horror fans would enjoy either film, personally I feel Gothika is a must see.
Film styles have definitely changed. "Rosemary's Baby", directed by Roman Polanski, relied on building a relationship between the audience and the characters, Mia Farrow played Rosemary, wife of Guy Woodhouse. They moved into an apartment in N.Y.C. formerly occupied by a recently deceased elderly woman. The building had a dark history, unexplainable things happened there. There was an old Leave it to beaver, family quality to the beginning of this film. The movie moved very slow, giving the audience lots of time to get to know the main characters, and their involvement with one another. I think to make the audience comfortable with them, to like them before learning of the misfortune that was about to be bestowed upon Rosemary. Rosemary was a house wife, taking care of things around the house during the day,
Gothika and Roasemary's baby
Another great essay. I liked the way that you discussed the effect that the effects had on you rather than just sting them
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