Midyette

Hannah Midyette
Olivia Rines
UWRT1101
February 23, 2015
The Art of Being Frightened
Youre curled up in a ball on your best friends couch. Its nighttime and darkness
surrounds you. Your body is tense and you start to sweat as your heartbeat gets faster.

Olivia 2/27/2015 3:47 PM

Comment [1]: Your margins should be 1
all around. Also, your title should be in plain
text, not bolded.

Whats worse is that the only protection you have is a decorative couch pillow covering
half of your face. Our eyes widen at the image of horror, taking it in, feeling awe at the
awful. Those momentswhen we must look at what we dread to imagine or think we
cannot bear to seeare the pulse of the genre, moments of revelation and clarity
(Kawin5). Horror is defined as an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. As something
that is meant to recreate our worst nightmares, why is it that we as humans are so drawn

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:05 AM

Comment [2]: The shift from second
person to first person plural here (you
versus we) is a bit disconcerting for the
reader.

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:06 AM

Comment [3]: Citation needed

to horror movies? What is it about this genre that pulls all ages towards the unimaginable
and unknown?
A well-made horror movie will complete its goal of frightening and revolting the
audience and include a number of clichs. It tells us that our belief in security is a
delusion, that the monsters are all around us, and that we, the inhabitants of this collective
nightmare, are just so much meat awaiting the slaughter. (Prince4). Such movies can
narrate fictional stories or real-life experiences. In horror movies there are recurring
themes that access fears we share as humans; one of the biggest being the fear of death.
In addition there are others such as the fear of being alone in the dark or the fear of
monsters living underneath our bed, which are things that usually go away as we get
older. Some examples of recurring themes in horror films are blood, gore, psychological

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:06 AM

Comment [4]: This is a really strong
introduction. The only suggestion I have is
that you might want to add another
sentence here that states the purpose of this
paper.
Olivia 2/28/2015 11:08 AM
Comment [5]: Is this true of all horror
movies? Also, where did you get this
information?
Olivia 2/28/2015 11:07 AM
Comment [6]: There should be a space
between the authors name and the page
number (Prince 4)

Midyette 2

horror, religion, superstitions, paranormal events, suspense, and the use of sound and
camera perspective. Most horror movies begin with a normal everyday environment until
BOOM things start going awry. All of these conditions play a role in provoking our
fears.
The Shining, (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) is an excellent example of psychological

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:08 AM

Comment [7]: You need citations for the
information in this paragraph.

horror. The movie is rated R for strong terror, disturbing images, language, sexuality, and
graphic nudity; making it intended for an audience of 17 and up. Disturbing images are
used throughout the movie. In the film, a picture of a perfect family is created to other
characters. To other characters and the audience, the father, Jack works and provides for
the family, while the mother, Wendy, takes care of their son. One thing about horror
movies is that nothing is what it seems and nothing can go right. As an audience
watching a horror film we expect the many recurring factors characterizing this genre to
lead us down the path that things will eventually start to go downhill.

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:09 AM

Comment [8]: What are these many
recurring factors?

In The Shining there is a constant connection to the paranormal. The dead are
trying to tell the main characters their stories. Gore ranges from blood spilling all over the
lobby to a naked rotting old woman in a bathtub. The physicality of the images and the
use of music truly make this a horror film. Throughout the film, suspense is used as a
tactic to get our adrenaline running. We are always curious as to what Jack is so seriously
typing. In the scene where Wendy is snooping around Jacks work space, the camera
zooms close to the typewriter revealing that Jack has only been typing one sentence the
entire vacation, which just happens to be All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
This is clearly not something someone normal would do and the perception of craziness
provokes our fear. The creation of a human monster, a psychopath, is made. The anxiety

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:10 AM

Comment [9]: Citation needed.
Olivia 2/28/2015 11:10 AM
Comment [10]: Can you explain? What
about typing and retyping this sentence
invokes the audiences fear?

Midyette 3

at the heart of the genre is, indeed, the nature of human being. (Prince3). As humans,
anything that is different from what we consider normal can be intimidating, especially
when it comes to how other humans act. In our society we have a sense of what is
normal/socially acceptable and what is not. The Shining plays on taboos and humans
fear of different. At the end of the film, Jack has gone completely insane and is going
after his wife and son with an axe with the intent to kill. When the film has ended, you
may become afraid that something like this could happen to you or your loved ones.
Throughout the movie, Wendy suffers both physical and emotional abuse from
her husband. The feeling that men are superior to women is created by the sexualization
and the comments made about women. At some point in the film we hear Jack call
Wendy a sperm bank indicating she is only worth how she can be used. These scenes
make the director seem sexist towards women, but we must keep in mind that this film
was created in the 1980s. Although sexism still exists today, it is not used in the same
capacity as it has been in the past.
The Possession (Ole Bornedal, 2012) plays with humans fear of the supernatural
and paranormal. The Possession is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing material. The
film is not intended for immature minds, as it could be difficult for them to understand
the difference between what is real and what is not resulting in terror that is no longer
entertaining. The plot starts off with a separated family in which the father has custody of
his daughters for the weekend. Before going home, the three of them stop by a yard sale
at which Emily buys a beautiful wooden box. That evening she pries it open and finds a
tooth, a deceased moth, a wooden figure, and a ring inside. This is the moment when her
behavior becomes strange. She becomes increasingly violent and even begins to speak to

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:13 AM

Comment [11]: I think you need a
transition between these two paragraphs.
Olivia 2/28/2015 11:12 AM
Comment [12]: This is an interesting
point and firmly speaks to the biases at play.
However, how does that relate back to your
main point? How does this relate back to the
genre of horror?

Midyette 4

the box. Her father seeks to discover more about the box and why Emily is so attached to
it. He eventually he discovers that an ancient Jewish community had used the box to trap
a demon and that Emily has now released the demon. In order to remove the demon from
Emilys body, an exorcism must be performed. Bornedal is using religion to face our fear
of the unknown. Exorcisms appear in a lot of horror films because of our curiosity
towards the afterlife.. The Possession was also based on a true story, which can make an
audience a little uneasy until they look at the how much of the real story was put into the
film (The Possession and its True Story).
Religion plays a big role in how people view the world. Although not everyone is
religious and many people acquire different religions, most people wonder what happens
after you die. Horror is part of our response to the world. It runs through and determines
many of our oldest tales as well as our movies. Suspicions about the supernatural are as
old as religion if not older. (Kawin3). The family in this movie is not Jewish, but they
must believe in order for the demon to be rid of Emilys body. This makes the audience
question What should I believe?
The original of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) movies made
its debut in 1974 and is as a slasher film as the use of gore and violence is considerable.
Although more realistic scenes could be made in this day and age, the thought behind the
film, repeated murders, is utterly horrifying. This caused some theatres to shut it down in
the 1970s due to the use of violence. The film is about a group of teenagers who go to
explore an abandoned house and are being followed and killed off one by one with a
chainsaw by a group of cannibals and their leader. Here we see a connection to The
Shining in which both killers use tools that could be found in a common everyday garage.

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:14 AM

Comment [13]: This is a good summary
of the movie but how does it relate to genre?

Midyette 5

Since this film, a clich has been developed in the horror movie genre where a group is
separated, stalked, and one by one they all disappear. Hooper plays with humans fear of
death, the pain of being killed, and being alone.
Like other genre movies, any given horror film will convey synchronic

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:15 AM

Comment [14]: Are you saying that this
film influenced the genre in that it inspired
the use of clichs?

associations, ideological and social messages that are part of a certain period or historical
moment. (Prince2). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based on Ed Gien, a serial killer
and cannibal who kept his victims body parts and used them to make household objects.
Gien was thought to have taken several victims in the 1950s. Leatherface who is the
main antagonist in this film wears a mask made of human skin and kills his victims using
a chainsaw. Gien also created and wore a mask from human skin, but never used a
chainsaw to murder anyone. There have been several movies made using Gien as a muse
in order to provoke fear out of an audience, as it was his reality that the rest of the world
didnt understand. Again, things that we cant comprehend are unknown, and the
unknown is scary.
Audiences never tire of being frightened because they never stop feeling
frightened about their fellow human beings and the world they collectively
inhabit.(Prince3) This is why the horror movie genre will never die. The rush of
adrenaline keeps audiences coming back for more just as roller coasters keep people of
all ages wanting more. The thrill from the stimulation and knowing that no harm can
really come to you pulls people back in. Horror movies are a way to experience your fear
without getting hurt.
The genre of horror continues to change in order to fit the fears of the modern
world. Modern horror films are more often about human monsters (psychopaths) rather

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:16 AM

Comment [15]: Do you know this from
the movie or did you get this from another
source?

Midyette 6

than fictional fairytale creatures. Older films such as Dracula (Browning, 1931), The
Wolf Man (Waggner, 1941), and The Mummy (Freud, 1932) explore more of the fictional
creatures that the human imagination used to fear. In this day and age as adults, we are no
longer afraid of dragons and vampires, but more afraid of real people or situations such
as the world ending, a serial murderer on the loose, or an outbreak of a disease that
cannot be stopped. Although we did not explore any older films, they still play an
important role in the evolution of horror movies. Most horror movies no matter what year
it is play with the fear of death or bodily harm because this is something that we as
human beings will always be afraid of.
Genres in the modern world are often based on the society around them. Every
genre explores social problems and issues of a time period because we as humans are
interested in how society around us functions. There is much more exploring to do, but
content will continue to change as the world around us does.

I really enjoyed reading your draft. You are clearly a strong writer. However, there are a
number of issues that, if resolved, could substantially improve your paper. A number of
the questions (please see rubric below) were not answered in your paper. Also, when you
were analyzing your examples, you were focusing too much on the information presented
in the genre and not enough on the aspects of the text that make it fit or not fit the genre
described. This paper should be focused solely on the genre of horror movies. You should
include a step-by-step breakdown of the framework of the genre, including aspects such
as discourse modes, features, communicative purpose etc. Also, please make sure that
every claim that you are making in this paper is supported by evidence and/or citations.
All facts, unless they are commonly known by the general public, must be supported by
evidence/citations.
The following is the rubric for the assignment, including what you would have received
had this draft been your final draft. This grade will not be recorded anywhere. It is simply
a chance for you to see where you stand.

Midyette 6

Category

Content
(60 points)

Organization
(10 points)
Style and
Conventions
(30 points)
Score

Scoring Criteria
Is focused, clear, purposeful, and meets the needs of the audience
States the main function/communicative purpose of the genre and how
the purpose is accomplished
States the discourse mode(s) commonly used in the genre
States the core features of the genre and how the features are shaped by
the communicative purpose
States the context, intended, actual audience, and biases at play for each
text
States if each text fits the genre
All claims made are supported. Writer uses specific references to sources
to support claims.
Introduction establishes a framework for the rest of the paper and
includes a thesis statement.
There is an obvious conclusion summarizing the paper that discusses the
evolution of the genre and what the writer learned
Utilizes a strong internal structure and purposefully moves the reader
easily through the text.
Vocabulary and word choice are precise and varied.
Sentences are all well-crafted and consistently varied in structure, length,
and beginning.
The writer demonstrates a firm grasp of the conventions of written
English (spelling, capitalization, punctuation etc.). There are no typos.
Is formatted according to the conventions of MLA
Is 1500 2000 words
Total Points

Total
Points
5

Score
4

10

10

10

10

10
5
100

8
5
59

Midyette 7

Works Cited
A Brief History of Horror. FilmmakerIQ. n.d. Web. January 25, 2015.
Kawin, Bruce. Horror and the Horror Film. London; New York: Anthem Press, 2012.
eBook.
Prince, Stephen. The Horror Film. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press,
2004. eBook.
The Shining. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros.Inc, 1980. Film.
The Possession. Dir. Ole Bornedal. Lionsgate. 2012. Film
The Possession and its True Story. Rhinos Horror. Horror News, n.d. Web. February
8, 2015
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Dir. Tobe Hooper. 1974. Film
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Questioning the Story. Chasing The Frog. CTF
Media. 2003.

Web. February 9, 2015.

Olivia 2/28/2015 11:18 AM

Comment [16]: This line should be
indented