Horror Films in Popular Culture Essay - 851 Words

The house is dark, and you think you’re all alone until you hear a small creak. You hear the steps get closer and closer, and you pray that they wont find you. The doorknob turns and the door slams open to reveal†¦ What? Imagine exactly what you would see. Does your heart race? Has your breathing quickened? Are your senses heightened? Perhaps you are even intrigued as to what will happen next. Horror film is a popular genre, but shouldn’t seem to have any real appeal. Horror lures its audience by lingering on the fears of man, manipulating emotions, affecting one’s mind. Those creepy-crawlies on the big screen usually reflect the common fears of the times. These societal fears can be described as the ‘Horrors.’ In the 1960’s, the horror of†¦show more content†¦The popularity of these films prolonged through the 1970s and 1980s. Carnage and bloodbaths were overlooked by the media since they had become conventional (Derry 164), see n in Friday the 13th (I, II, II, and IV; 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1984) and Halloween (I, II, and III; 1978, 1981, and 1982) (Derry 164-165). Films in this period are, instead of having just random violence, punishing those who are seen as deserving of it. The 70s and 80s had to deal with the consequences of the sexual revolution and a record outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases, so the films of the age executed teen promiscuity (Derry 165). Women are also a common victim, as a â€Å"direct response to the feminist movement† (Derry 165). Another fear is the fear of the demonic and contains such films as The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976) (Derry 166). Personality fears say life is terrible because people are insane, and demonic fears are that evil is present in the world (Derry 166). These films include recurring elements: children as a view of innocence, vengeance of Satan against God, possession, and Christian symbology which supports and depraves the Christian aspect (Derry 166). This was a response to the cataclysm of spiritual demolition in the 1960s. Priests and nuns left the Catholic Church, a newly elected pope in 1964, interest peaked in eastern religion, and church attendance had majorlyShow MoreRelatedMovie Analysis : Dog Soldiers987 Words   |  4 PagesA film that I enjoy and constantly revisit is an English horror comedy film, Dog Soldiers. The reason why this film is worth watching is because of the effective visual elements, unpredictable plot, and the realistic special effects used to portray the werewolves in the movie. This film is about a platoon of British soldiers sent on a mission to train with a group of British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers in the Scottish Highlands. 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