Horror essay

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Using two examples from the genre of horror examine what a „classic Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13

horror‟ film is.Examine the era of „Classic horror‟ films using two filmic Formatted: Left

examples from the period

The horror genre is one of the most popular genres and it could be saidwe may Comment [WU1]: The use of „we
may say‟ is too informal for an
academic essay.
say that it has started to develop almost practically immediately with the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
development of show business, and a free access of a wide audience to cinemas
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
and television. We can find a lot of the causes of the popularity of this genre, but it

is still not so easy to explain its phenomenon, namely why it is so attractive to
Comment [WU2]: This sentence did
not read properly, and „unreality‟ was
viewers despite being unrealisticfor people despite all its unreality. However, it not a suitable word.
would be incorrect a great mistake to say that horror movies are plain or even Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [WU3]: I felt this sentence
primitive. Naturally, there are some movies which fulfill this stereotype,are really was too long, and by changing
particular words and adding a full stop i
became more concise.
so stereotyped, and are unbearably plain, and absolutely thoughtless. But in my

opinion, it is simply an exclusion ofor films whichthat were created by specialists Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [WU4]: Writing from the
first person does not fit with an
who are far from realnot experienced in moviemaking. Tand they can therefore academic essay of this type.
create nothing but films of low quality regardless ofits genre. Also, I‟d say that as Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [WU5]: Poor sentence
with any other branch of art cinema there is has its genius and a its mediocre structure and use of wording.
majority because good films may be created only by a good crew, and the genre is Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [WU6]: This was a good
not so important of less importance. place to start a new paragraph and
distinguish between the introduction
and the main topic of the essay.
Among such genius of cinema I would name the crews that worked on two films

from the of horror genre, they are “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
Thing”. I said crews not because I do not want to agree to disagree with those
pt, Italic
who believe that Donald Siegel and John Carpenter were outstanding
Comment [WU7]: This wording is
more precise.
directors,directors; and highlight on the contrary I am glad that people who worked Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
on these two films were led by very such well-qualified professionals. So, it could
pt

2

be said we may say that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

classics of the horror genre and the best ones and some of the best examples of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
film making from the horror genre. This essay will But what I would like to analyze
pt
is the reason these films why they are treated as such and in which ways they are Comment [WU8]: This sentence
ended too abruptly and did not read
well.
similar or different. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Comment [WU9]: This summing up
Firstly of all, it is necessary to say point out that these two films were created at sentence is more formal and leads well
into the first points.

different times. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was created in the middle 1950s, Formatted: Font: 12 pt
more precisely in 1956, whereas “The Thing” was created in 1982. It seems that Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

such a time difference should make the films completely different but, strangely Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
Comment [WU10]: This was not
necessary and made the sentence
enough, they have a lot of share many common aspects. That is why to begin at long-winded.
the beginning I would like to dwell upon will investigate the similarities of both
Comment [WU11]: Grammatically
films. First of all, we may say that, to a certain extent, the theme is close similar. incorrect.
Both films focus on the problem of the invasion of human or barely just alive
Comment [WU12]: Obviously it‟s a
bodies by some aliens that tends to control the personality, the hosts actions problem this statement takes away from
the flow of the sentence.
judgments, etc actions and judgments of the host being. In the case of “Invasion of Formatted: Font: 12 pt
the Body Snatchers”, we deal with the creatures that “has to wait for the perfect Comment [WU13]: „etc‟ is informal
and results in poor sentence structure.
moment when the target is asleep), and spend the next few hours consuming and Formatted: Font: 12 pt
taking on that form. If the hosts wake up when the process is not complete, the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
whole procedure is a failure”1 (LeGacey 1978:288). On the other hand, “tThe Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
tThing” needs just a few minutes to do it because “it can assimilate the host while pt
pt, Italic
itsit‟s still conscious, against the host‟s will”2 (Landon 1993:39). Such changes are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
probably Probably such changes are caused by the changes of time or epoch. It is Comment [WU14]: Words read
better in a different order.
obvious that the rhythm of life in the 1980s was much faster than inthe 1950s, Formatted: Font: 12 pt

1
LeGacy, Arthur, 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties'
2
Landon, Brooks, 'The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction Classic

3

certainly it found its expression in the perception of and it‟s expression was found Comment [WU15]: The sentence
repeated itself to a degree and could be
made more precise.
in the idea of possible alien assault or attempts to invade human minds. Formatted: Font: 12 pt

By the way, I think that both films express the trend that took place in the society Comment [WU16]: This beginning to
the paragraph is too informal.
when the idea of total control of a human mind became more and more widely
pt
spread spread more widely. It means that symbolically by aliens creators of the

films used aliens symbolically tried to imply represent those powers either political

or economical powers. that by These powers use different means aimed at the

total control of public conscious, through the invasion of the mind of a separate

individual. It was quite actual fairly representative if we take into account if we Comment [WU17]: This sentence
was long winded and poorly structured.
The words work better when
take into consideration the time when both films were released., 1952 it was the rearranged and made more precise.
Comment [WU18]: This phrase is a
repetition.
year of the beginning of the cold war when the tension between the well-

developed democratic world and the communistic Soviet Union grew. and tThe Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
governments of many countries, including the most democratic, had started to Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

struggle for the control of public opinion and even each particular individual. At the

same time, Also, 1982 it was a period when the cold war achieved its height

apologe and the world was on the eve of the Reagan‟s declaration of the war on

the „empire of evil‟, when the situation was greatly resembled very resembling to Comment [WU19]: Incorrect
grammar.

that of the early 1950s. Furthermore, the degree of surveillance grew and Formatted: Font: 12 pt
pt
specialists began to speak spoke about the total control of certain organizations
Comment [WU20]: Too informal.

over people. In such a situation the themes people transformed in pods in the Formatted: Font: 12 pt
horror films previously mentioned I‟ve just named look like a prophecy and Comment [WU21]: New paragraph to
separate points.

warning against such dangerous practice. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Afurther pointOne more thing that makes “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and pt, Italic
“The Thing” quite different is the degree to which reality and unreality are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
pt

4

combined. of combination of reality and unreality as I would call it. In my opinion,

at this point “The Thing” is much more radical thing in the sense that the film is full

of fantastical elements which keep people in a state of paranoia throughout the

film and the state of paranoia overwhelms audience and keeps people in such a Comment [WU22]: A change to the
grammar makes the sentence read
better.
state during the whole film. On the other hand, in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Formatted: Font: 12 pt
it is quite difficult to distinguish decide whether what we see is real or unreal.
pt, Italic
Personally, when I watched both films I had a permanent doubted in the mental Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
health of its main characters it was quite making it difficult to say whether what

occurred it was something really unusual and, extraordinary things that happen to Comment [WU23]: The structure of
the sentence was muddled and made
the point confused.
people in the city. Alternatively it may have been or it was a simple hallucination, Formatted: Font: 12 pt
illusion, or just a nightmare and only at the end does it become it becomes clear pt

that the whole city was really transformed into pods people. Whereas iIn “The

Thiang” it is evident practically from the very beginning. Everyone realizes It is Comment [WU24]: Too informal and
does not make the correct point.

clear that when the characters act in an unreal situation they really confront some Formatted: Font: 12 pt

aliens that intend to control their bodies and their minds.

Probably, the cause of The cause of such a difference probably lies in the history Comment [WU25]: Grammatically
incorrect.
of the origin of the films. For we know that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was
pt
significantly influenced by proceedingpreceding films noir that tended to Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
externalised the moral conflict of the detective story. Such films inhabit “shadow

worlds and hover without resolve between the supernatural and mundane

rationalism. In the same sense “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the other Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

alien takeover films… psychologically externalised the central conflict of the alien Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

invader film – they were less films about aliens than they were about alienation”3i Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
(Bisking 1983 PP.139). However the director tries to keep us the viewer in pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript

3
Biskind, Peter, 'The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the paranoid style in
American Movies'

5

suspense for a while and fills inrushes the film with rationalism and realism, but

when the nightmare becomes the reality he widely uses film noir techniques. such

as These include shots down tight corridors, silhouettes running against Comment [WU26]: Splitting this
sentence into 2 improved the flow and
structure
streetlights, close ups on sweaty faces, and tilted angles. Though he does not Formatted: Font: 12 pt
forget about classical horror films scenes scenes from classical horror films such
Comment [WU27]: Restructuring the
word pattern helps the sentence make
as “shots up from under the plank under which McCarthy and Winter hide, with the more sense and develop a point.
pod people crossing calmly assuring them there is nothing to fear, the wide-angled Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt

shots out of the office window down onto the public square, which becomes

inexplicably frightening the moment all visitors are cleared and the bustle of

everyday chaos suddenly turns into something ordered and people start

organizing the pods to be distributed about the country”4 (Baskin 1983:141). Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

Whereas Alternatively in “The Thing” its creators used the experience of past Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

works in the field of horror films. and I would say this film is purer horror in the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt

sense that the psychological tension here is weakened by a certain simplification,

due toas a result whichof which we should not guess whether it is the a kind of

psychological problems of the characters or a paranormal phenomenon, for the

latter is quite obvious. Also I want Comment [WU28]: This beginning to
a sentence is too informal and not an
academic statement.
It is important to add that “The Thing” is much richer in special effects, particularly
pt
when we see victims of aliens who “transform into twisted versions of themselves, pt, Italic
complete with claws, spider-like limbs, teeth and lots of flailing tentacles”5 (Landon

1993:36). And aAgain I thinkfeel that is the result of time changes changes in time

because in the 1980s due to the development of computer technologies and more

sophisticated technical equipment, impressive special effects became an essential Comment [WU29]: This sentence
needed to be split to improve flow, and
ensure the point was not laboured.
4
Biskind, Peter, 'The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the paranoid style in
American Movies'
5
Landon, Brooks, 'The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction Classic

6

part of any good horror film pretending aspiring to be interesting and popular.

Whereas, in the 1950s not only were technical opportunities were not so good but

the tradition of film shooting was slightly a bit different. More attention was usually Comment [WU30]: Not academic.
given to psychological aspects side and could only be enforced by special effects Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
which were not very „special‟ though in comparison with the 1980s.

As for some more similarities of both “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”

and “The Thing”, we may find not only theme and probably idea of the film

but also the atmosphere of films.

Further similarities of the films “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Comment [WU31]: This is a good
place to start a new paragraph and
begin a new point.
Thing” include theme, atmosphere and probably basic ideas. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
As I have already said these films deals with the alien intrusion into pt, Italic
human life, into human body, mind and consciousness. These films also pt
Formatted: Right: 2.11 cm, Line
spacing: Double
may serve as a warning about the danger of such a situation, of a total

control of human consciousness when people become pods, but not

thinking beings.

It is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension, even paranoia that Comment [WU32]: This should be
included into one paragraph to give a
better structure.
makes us forget about the unreality of the events and deep into become Formatted: Font: 12 pt
involved in the action. It is obvious that creators of these films had similar

aims.

Finally, I would like to add a few words about the way regarding the process of Formatted: Line spacing: Double

alien invasion.

7

It may be a bit different by its slightly different in form but the principles of such

invasion remains similar.

What I mean is the fact that cCertainly aliens in “Invasion of the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” act differently, as I have already Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
mentioned that the latter act rapidly without human will and they pt, Italic
pt
can act in any time. whileHowever the former are quite long

reacted beings, they cannot attack men only if they are not asleep. Comment [WU33]: This paragraph
needed to be restructured in order to
read correctly. Also some of the
wording did not make sense.
But Nonetheless we see that there is one common principle in that aliens in these Formatted: Font: 12 pt
this films attack from inside., I mMeaning they want to invade human bodies and

minds but not their land, or property, thereforey do not threatening directly to their

physical wealth. It seems that human inner world is much more important to for

them than anything else because they try to control the human‟s memory, and
Comment [WU34]: Use of the first
person is not correct in this instance.
consequently their our feelings, emotions, our state of mind, perception of the Formatted: Font: 12 pt
world, ourtheir present and ourtheir past. Moreover, they “‟have access to the pt
Comment [WU35]: This is a mistake
in structure and should not be
being‟s memories, allowing them to blend in almost perfectly without being segmented.
detected by future target hosts who may know the person who has now been Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
replaced by these horrible alien creatures‟”6ii. pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
pt
Thus, we see that unlike many other films about alien invasion “Invasion of the pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
pt, Italic, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” pay much more attention to the inner world of
pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
people, implying the spiritual emptiness that threatens to the people of the 20th
pt, Italic, Not Superscript/ Subscript
century. because iIn my opinion the aliens symbolize all those complicated Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
processes that took place in our society in the 20th century, and still continues to Comment [WU36]: This sentence
was long and required punctuation,
making the point more concise.
6
Charles, Gregory, 'The pod society versus the rugged individualists' Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt

8

exist and that lead to moral degradation of people to their transformation into

pods.

Taking into account all that has been mentioned previously above mentioned, I

can come have reachedto the conclusion that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Comment [WU37]: Changing of the
wording of this sentence makes it more
academic and conclusive.
and “The Thing” are real masterpieces of the horror genre. and wWe havecan Formatted: Font: 12 pt
perceive them not only in the proper sense but we should also realize what the pt
pt, Italic
creators of these films implied. In my paperthis essay I have named a lot of things Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
that are either similar or different in these films but what is the most important is pt, Italic
the fact that they both were and remain extremely popular. and the film that would

be better than them can be hardly imaginedIt is hard to imagine a film in this genre Comment [WU38]: This sentence is
confused and grammatically incorrect
and editing it makes a good summing
which would be superior. One of the eEvidences of mythis idea is the fact that up point.
there are numerous remakes of these films that, in its turn, tells us about the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

actuality of the plot, themes and ideas conveyed with the help of “Invasion of the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Thus,To conclude, I can say that both films Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt
should be regarded as classics of the horror genre and their traditions should be pt, Italic
continued but not blindly copied, that would leading to the development and

prosperous future of this genre.

Reference:
Biskin, Peter. “The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the
Paranoid Style in American Movies.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Holliwood
Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. New York: Pantheon, 1983.

Biskin, Peter. “The Russians Are Coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Thing, and the
Extremists from Beyond the Center.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Holliwood
Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. Pantheon; NY:, 1983.

Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The
Journal of Popular Film 1. Winter 1972.

9

Landon, B. „The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction Classic.‟
Chapter 2 of The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Film in
the Age of Electronic (Re)production. Greenwood Press Westport, CT:, 1993.

LeGacy, Arthur. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties.”
Literature/Film Quarterly 6.2, 1978.

Bibliography

Biskind, Peter, 'The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the

paranoid style in American Movies',in Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught Us Formatted: Font: Italic

to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (New York: Pantheon, 1983) pp. 139

Biskind, Peter, 'The Russians are Coming, Aren't They? Them! The Thing, and the

Extremeists from Beyond the Center', in Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught Formatted: Font: Italic

Us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (New York: Pantheon, 1983) pp. 123 - 36

Charles, Gregory, 'The pod society versus the rugged individualists', The Journal of Formatted: Font: Italic

Popular Film, no. 3/4 (Winter 1972), 122-3

Landon, Brooks, 'The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction

Classic' Chapter 2 of The Aesthetics of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Formatted: Font: Italic

Film in the Age of Electronic (Re)production, (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993),

pp. 27-44

LeGacy, Arthur, 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties'

Literature/Film Quarterly, no. 6/3 (1978), 285-91 Formatted: Font: Italic

10

i
Bisking 1983 PP.139
ii
Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The Journal of Popular Film
1. Winter 1972.

11

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