Research: Jason Voorhees and Other Antagonists

Across multiple sub-genres of the horror film, there are many different types of villain. These antagonists have developed with the genre of horror as society's fears change after exposure to historical and contemporary issues. This was realised by two different media theorists, Jackie Stacy & John Cawelti. The former stated that genre changes over time according to social and historical
changes, whilst the latter theorises that the horror genre can relate to audiences as the horror of the film reflects aspects of society and their fears. Below are the villains for each sub-genre, who will be identified under Neale's theory of the three types of monster; External, Man-Made and Internal:

• Gothic horror- These villains tend to be man-made monsters or external monsters. These were the common monsters of the period of release, as scientific developments had not proven these creatures impossible, unlike today. The two most famous gothic antagonists are 'Dracula' (external monster) and 'Dr Frankenstein's monster' (man-made monster). 
• The 'Mutated Monster Mash' period- In this period of the horror genre, either gothic creatures were expanded in their power or pulp fiction characters were introduced. These characters either stemmed from 'The Occult' (hell or earthly creatures) or from outer space. Again, outer space had not been explored by the human race at this point, so society feared what could be out there. Antagonists of this sub-genre included 'Godzilla' or 'The Creature From The Black Lagoon'.
• Psychological Horror- In this sub-genre, the antagonists tend to be internal monsters, whose anger is caused by man made actions or through personal conflict. These villains became the new fear after space had been explored, and the idea of a psycho in modern suburbia frightened audiences. The best examples of these antagonists are Norman Bates (Psycho) and Jack Torrance (The Shining). 
• Paranormal Horror- In this sub-genre, the villains are rarely seen. These antagonists are usually entities (ghosts etc.) or occult characters. Due to them being either dead or mythical beings, they are classed as the external monster.
• The Slasher period- Antagonists of this period are known as 'The Slasher'. These characters are masked murderers with a signature weapon. They are classed as internal monsters as they tend to be humans who are excluded from society through cultural differences. They can also be classed as man made monsters as their anger can be caused by human action- e.g. Michael Myers was a murderous kid who was angered further by a prison sentence and by being placed in a psychiatric ward.

              

Video Analysis of Jason Voorhees

This clip is taken from the 1985 film 'Friday the 13th 5'. Jason was previously thought dead but in this clip we see a group of teenagers re-awaken him. We do however discover that this was a dream. In this scene, Voorhees is represented as the antagonist through camera, editing & sound:

• The transition of power- the teenagers originally have the power over Jason when he is in the grave. This is shown when there is low-angle, POV shot from Jason in the grave to the teenagers. Jason is then shown in the grave in a high-angle, POV shot from the teenagers. This is then contrasted when Jason rises from the grave, as he is now shown in low-angle shots. This shows him regaining power as the antagonist.
• Shot-reverse-shots between the teenagers show the fear they have of Jason even when he is seemingly dead. The cuts between the teenagers are slow before the speed up when attacked, showing how the calm has elevated into panic that they were not expecting. 
• Throughout the scene there is a soundtrack which gains volume and pace when Jason first attacks, building the panic. The constant sound of the rain and thunder are traditional iconography of the horror genre, and so give the audience the anticipation that something will occur.

Research: 'Fear' & How it is Represented

Common audience fears and phobias- When have they been used in film?
When it comes to fears and phobias, I am personally afraid of the following;

• Insects and arachnids (spiders etc.)
• heights 
• the end of the world 
• the unknown- whether that be a place or person

Some of these fears are exploited in horror films. There are other fears that are common in society that are commonly tapped into by the horror genre. For example;

• Silence- This is arguably the most common convention of a horror film, as it is a good way of building tension in an audience. 
• The dark- Again, a common convention of the horror genre, whether this be night scenes or scenes with low-key lighting.
• Isolation- A common setting for any horror film. In the film 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', the idea of isolation is used to extend the danger of the situation further.
• The stranger- This is much like the unknown I am personally scared of. Slasher horrors use this fear commonly, With masked killers hunting people. An example of this is 'Halloween' (1978).
• Disease- More common in modern society, epicdemics and outbreaks of disease are feared by society, with real life examples such as Ebola. In film, the fear of disease is interpreted as a zombie apocalypse. A more recent example is 'World War Z' (2013).
• Lightning/Wind/Rain- the extreme weathers are feared by society and are used frequently in all sub-genres of horror. 'Woman in Black' explored this well. 

                        
Fear Theory

John Cawelti & Andrew Tudor
As other theories have suggested, audiences enjoy the emotional and visceral effects that a horror film has on them. However, society has developed over time and so horror has had to develop alongside it in order to keep audiences thrilled. Back in the late 40s & 50s, cultural fears included space and created monsters, however as science and engineering has developed we now know a lot about space and we know that creatures such as 'Frankenstein' cannot be created. Cawelti states that the horror genre then represents the cultural fears of the society at the time. This then helps audiences connect with horror films and still delivers audience pleasures.
This thoery is very similar to that of Andrew Tudor. His theory states that horror provides a 'monstrous threat'. The threat stems from 'notions [...] from the producing society'. In simpler terms, this means that the antagonist in a horror is created to reflect the fears of society at the time.

Steve Neale
Neale states that all horror have one of the following three specific monsters. These monsters are also the sole source of fear;

• The External Monster- These monsters are considered complete outsiders. These monsters can never be part of society or never have been part of it. The best examples of these monsters are vampires, with characters such as 'Dracula'. 
• The Man-Made Monster- Whether by accident or not, these monsters have been created by man or been modified due to man's actions. An example of a man-maed creature is 'Frankenstein', and an example of a mutated creature are the monsters in 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2005), which have been altered by nuclear radiation, caused by man.
• The Man Gone Wrong- These monsters tend be human, however have internal demons. These characters can be isolated people or psychotic. The killer 'Jason Vorhees' from the 'Friday The 13th' franchise is the perfect example of a man gone wrong.

It is argued that paranormal monsters are not able to fit into these categories, however can be considered as 'The External Monster' as spirits or occult characters have never been part of society and cannot be. The monster can also be a mix of each category. An example of this is the perpetrator of the 'Saw' franchise 'Jigsaw'. He is a Man Gone Wrong due to his torturous actions, however his anger was caused by the murder of his child, which can also make him a man-made monster.

Wood & Cohen
Wood believes that in all horror films 'normality is threatened by the monster'. I personally feel that this theory can not be argued, as in all horror films I have viewed the protagonist/s are considered as normal citizens and the antagonist/s are considered as the opposite. Cohen's theory states that monsters are 'different in the flesh' and their anger could be caused by a 'cultural, political, racial, economic or sexual' difference. This theory remain relevant even if it is rare for a monster in a horror film to be angered by political or racial differences. 

 

Research: Conventions of the Horror Genre

What are the conventions of the horror genre?
Within a horror film, the conventional narrative is where a single person or group of people are being persecuted by an antagonist. This group of people usually consists of teenagers or people in their adolescent years. The group is an even mix of male and female characters however, when it comes to the end of the film, there is usually just the 'final girl'.
When is comes to iconography, horror has a very distinctive set of conventions. The two main settings for horror films are either a surburban area or an isolated area, two contrasting places. Most scenes in a horror film also take place in either low-key lighting or at night.
A good example of these conventions is the 1974 film 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. A group of teenagers are being hunted by a psycho killer. They are at an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, and most of the killing takes place in dark houses or at night. At the end of the film, it is the 'final girl' that escapes during daylight.

Horror and it's sub-genres
There are multiple sub-genres for horror. These sub-genres are;

• Gothic- In a Gothic Horror, the typical antagonist is some sort of monster, most notably monsters such as Frankenstein or Dracula. A more recent example film is 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957).
• Slasher- The Slasher sub-genre contains an antagonist that is human, however is a psychopath.  Each psychopath hides their identity behind a mask and has a signature weapon, the most notable in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) with the weapon of choice being a chainsaw. The protgonists remain a group of young adults or teenagers.
• Psychological-This sub-genre is one focused on the mental and emotional instability of a character. This means the antagonist is usually a regular person who deteriorates over time. An example film here is 'The Shining' (1980).
• Paranormal- Otherwise known a supernatural, this sub-genre focuses on entities & the occult. These films usually occur in modern suburbia, and the antagonist is rarely seen. 'Paranormal Activity' from 2007 is a good example of this sub-genre of horror.
• Gore- Now that audiences have developed, blood and gory scenes can now be seen in cinemas. These films usually consist of torture by a human/psychopath using a range of weapons. The protagonists can be anyone of any age/race/gender. The most successful horror franchise, Saw I- VII (2004- 2010), stems from this sub-genre.
• Found Footage- This sub genre consists of footage that is or is made to look real. The protagonists remain teenagers, however the antagonist it usually an entity of some sort. One of the most famous films in this sub-genre is 'The Blair Witch Project' from 1999. 

The theories behind genre and horror
Within all genre, there are certain theories that can apply across all. Multiple media theorists have identified all types of pleasures that audiences get when viewing any genre. Pleasures that the audience experience could be emotional, visceral, intellectual or counter-culture (Rick Altmans's theory from 1999). In the horror genre the audiences pleasures are:

• Emotional- fright, sadness, tension
  
• Visceral- crying, screaming or other physical effects
• Intellectual- Who will die? Who will survive? Who is the killer? What is his motive? Audiences enjoy the 'Enigma Code' side of films, where the audience predict what will occur in the film beforeit happens. This was first discovered by Barthes.
• Counter-Culture Attraction- the enjoyment audiences get from watching murder or psychotic behaviours. These can be shown in killing scenes where you see POV shots from the killer, such as the shower scene in 'Psycho' (1960).

Molitor & Sapolsky and more
Molitor & Sapolsky were two media theorists, who carried out an experiment on horror films. In this experiment they recorded the length of murder scenes on each gender. They found that the scene length for the murder of a female character was significantly longer than that of a male character. This can link to the theory of Linz, Donnerstein & Adams. This theory states that males will be less disturbed by images of extreme violence against women. This would be caused by the 'hypodermic syringe', which is the idea that people become desensitised to immoral actions, if exposed to them on a regular basis. Linz, Donnerstein and Adams' theory was created in 1989, so this theory may not be relevant to a modern, developed audience.
The idea that horror films are misogynistic is argued by Carol J Clover, who, in 1992,  stated that viewers only associate with the killer up to the point of the final girl. This final girl usually escapes and/or kills the perpetrator. This is a positive view that women have the courage to defeat evil.

In this youbtube clip, the ten best 'Saw' traps are shown. 'Saw' is a Gore Horror and is the highest grossing horror franchise of all time.

Research: History of Horror