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1. SCRIPT
Breakdown
 Storytelling
 Characters
 Dialogue
 Music
 Cinematography
Modernvs classic horror Version1 (highlightstuffin black and red) list
Intro:
Hellothisis Mediaenthusiast02andtodaywe will be talkingabout classichorror.Inthiswe will be
makingthe comparisons onhowhorror has changed.Forbetteror for worse,itisclearthat the
horror genres have changedregularlyoverthe years. Todaywe will be lookingathow horrorhas
changedthroughthe comparisonswe will be makingof them. We will alsobe lookingatseveral
directorsandrating themonhow theirprojectshave come about.Seeingwhywhattheyhave done
has beensosuccessful andwhyitispopularincinemahistory.
Storytelling(one-pointtoclassic)
The firstsubjectthat we will lookatisstorytelling. Storytellinghas become alotmore advancedover
the years,howeverwe findnowadaysthatthere isalotof repetitionandideasare beingreused.I
cite for example the comparisonbetweenthe 1973 film“’The Exorcist’ where ayoungwomanhas
beenpossessedbyaghostly entity inthisfilm.Thiswasanew conceptand a verypopularfilmof the
time.however, if youlookatthe film‘The VaticanTapes’,nothingnew isadded.Theyhave literally
recycledthe plotwhichmakesitdull andboring. It’sa real shame because youwouldthinkthat
modernhorrorhas advancedand developed.Youwouldthinkthatitwasalmostimpossibletosee
the recycledideasbutsadlytheyare reuseda lotof the time. Thispointgoestoclassic.
Characters (one point to classic)
The nextthingI wouldlookatis the characters.Now whilstthe characters make upthe story,it is
possible tohave good, complex, andrelatable characters inabad plot,or vice versa.
For certainthispointwill be goingtoclassical horror.Justlookat the antagonists forinstance.They
are a lotmore 3D and have more characteristics that make themeven relatabletothe fear.Thisis
done throughfear;these villainsall have afearfor something.ForFrankenstein itwasthe fearof the
unknownandhumans.ForDracula it wasthe fearof sunlight.A lotof the characters weren'tevil,
theywere justdifferent. The hammerhouse horrorfranchise whichhasoftenstarred actorsuch as
PeterCushingandChristopher Lee isoftennotedforitspopularity andIbelievethisisdowntothe
characters inthe films. The fearof the unknownissomethingthatisdone a lotmore back then.A lot
of horrorfilmsshowthe antagonistsstraightonandso the movie haslostits charm.There are
modernmovieshoweverthathave done thiswell though.Suchasthe ‘Babadook’.The villainisnot
showntill the lastsecondandeventhen it’snotverylong.
Dialogue (one pointto modern)
Dialogue.A scriptisneededtobe draftedoutfor anythingthatyouare producingthat will be shown
to an audience.It’sthroughlearningthe linesand readingthemoutthatyouunderstandthe theme

2. and feelingand become the character. Thispointwill have togomodernhorror. I feel actinghas
improvedwhencomparingmoderndayfilmstothe more classical onesandthisispossiblydue to
the competitioninthe industryandthe trainingthatisnow affordedtoactors. You wantto act your
heartout to getthe performance youwant.Awardceremonies suchasthe BAFTAsand Golden
Globesare nowrecognisingthe actingskillswithinthe horrorgenre forexample, Natalie Portman’s
actingin 2010’s ‘Black Swan’. Itcan also be seenthrough JordanPeele’s getout.Thisshouldbe more
directedtostorytelling, butthe plotissosuccessful because of whatthe focusesare onthe film. Its
keyfocusis race.Somethingwhichissucha delicate topicbutitsbrave enoughtobe pulledina
modernhorrorfilmbecause these importantissuesdeservetohave more recognitionwhetheritsin
filmorif itsreal.
Music (one point to modern)
Music isone of the keyelementsthatmake upa goodhorror film.Ithelpsbuildupsuspense and
adds tothe drama of a scene. Nowthispointwill have togotomodern. Horror filmsthathave good
use of foleysound canbe incrediblyeffective. Take thisscene inthe ‘Insidious’ forinstance.Thereis
no sound apart fromthe natural noise of the scene.This createsmore tension.There isnodramatic
musicbuildupthat distractsyoufrom the scene.Itcan reallytake youout of the scene whenit’sjust
messilythrownin. The musiccanbe rather highpitched.ThoughIhave seenthe waythe music is
made and itcan’t go withoutthe appreciation.Inasimilarwaythatthe movie are practicallymade.
The music isalsodone ina similarway.Whetheritsdone throughstampingorclapping.These were
the waysthat the musicwasmade as theydidn’thave the advancedequipment. So, whilstthe
modernhorrorgets the point.The classichorror musicisadmirable whengoingthe behindthe
scenes.
Cinematography(one point to classic)
Cinematographyiskeytofilmmakers.If none of the above workswell thenthiscanbe whatisbest
to capture the imaginationof the audience.Thispointwill have togoclassical horror.Thisone is
difficult.There are goodpointstoaddto modern cinematography.Theyhave awhole different
range, and theycan evenconnotate tohow the character is feelingintermsof colour. However,
throughthis varietysome filmsare tooexperimentalandthat’swhatruinsit. For instance, if you
compare the 1978 ‘Halloween’tothe ‘Resurrection’ versionin2002…. itwasn’tthat much of a
resurrection!Youcan tell this fromthe shakycameramovementswhenyou compare ittothe
original.There’snoneedtoevenhave acomparison.The original waswayaheadof itstime.Now
special effectsaddtothe cinematography.Ipersonallydon't have anythingagainstspecial effects.It
givesanotherdimensiontoplaywith butsadlyithasalso ledtomany bad filmslike well....whatever
thisis. (Birdemic:shockandterror)
JamesWan
JamesWan is forsure my favourite directorand hisfilmsare a goodprestationonhow modern
horror can be.He isan example there have beenotherfilmslike ‘IT’and‘Pet Cemetery’.However,
JamesWan has done ita lot more and thiscan be shownthroughhisrange of techniques. These
filmsaren’tjustsimilartothe originals.Theyflip themselvesaround.In‘insidious’itwasa haunted
house thatwasn't evenhaunted.This throws inthe stereotypeandthenflips it.Foolingthe audience
intothe securityof thinkingtheyknowwhatisgoingtohappennext, andthengettingscaredwhen
it’snot whatyou expected. These filmsare alsobasedupontrue storiesandevents.Thismakesthe
movie evenmore real andwill increasethe fearfactorinthe audiences’mind.

3. Other directors
Now let’stake a looka lookat otherdirectorsand see how theygotit right. Rob Zombie isone
directorwhoI thinkisworththe mention.His experimentonremakingiconichorrorfilmssuchas
‘Halloween’hasbeenamassive inspirationtofansand young filmmakers.Whilstthisfilmcanoften
getbad reviews youhave togive himcreditfortryingto make the originsof such a popular
character. Evenif to the critics,it didn’tworkthatwell. Anotherdirectorthathas done itwell isJohn
Carpenter.WhilstI thinkwe have beenalittle Halloweenheavyinthisdocumentary.He doesrelya
lotmore onthe tensionof the scene asopposedtothe gore that can come outof it.
Conclusion
So countingupthe pointswe have to give thisone to classical horror. Overall, onasubjective value I
have to agree that classical horrorfilmsare betterthanthe modernones. Theyhave a charm to
themthat makesthemmemorable greats… ‘Halloween’,‘the exorcist’,“Dracula”,“Frankenstein”.
everybodyknowsthese iconicfilmsandthe charactersinthem.
- Thescriptistoo long. Needsto be simplerandmorecondensed.Finaldraftnext time. -