3. Prom Night
In Bridgeport, the deranged high school teacher
Richard Fenton is obsessed by the teenager student
Donna Keppel; she witnesses him murder her family to
stay with her, but Richard is arrested and sent to
prison for life. Three years later, the traumatized
Donna is feeling better but is still under psychological
treatment and taking pills. On her prom night, she
goes with her boyfriend Bobby and two couples of
friends to the Pacific Grad Hotel for the party. But the
psychopath Richard has escaped from prison and is
lodged in the same floor in the hotel chasing
Donna, stabbing her friends and staff of the hotel that
cross his path.
4. My Bloody Valentine 3D
In the mining town of Harmony, a drilling accident is caused by
the son of the owner, Tom Hanniger. The mine collapses, burying
six miners alive. The rescue team finds only Harry Warden alive,
but in coma, and the other miners murdered by his pickax, and
they conclude that Harry killed them to save oxygen for himself.
On Valentine's Day, Harry awakes from his coma in the local
hospital, and he kills twenty-two people, including a group of
teenagers that are partying in the mine. Harry is killed by the
deputy, but the only survivors are Tom Hanniger, his girlfriend
Sarah, their friend Axel Palmer and his girlfriend Irene. Ten years
later, Tom returns to Harmony after the death of his father. Tom
has decided to sell the Hanniger Mine, and finds that Sarah has
married Axel, who is now the local sheriff, and they have a son
named Noah. On Valentine's Day, Harry Warden also returns,
seeking revenge against those that had escaped his pickax in the
past, and Tom is accused by Axel and other locals, who in turn
makes accusations against Axel.
5. House of Wax
A group of friends (Carly Jones, Nick Jones, Paige Edwards,
Wade, Dalton Chapman, and Blake) are on their way to an
important football game, while along the way, they decide
to camp in some woods. The next day Wade's car
experiences car troubles with a broken fan belt. Carly and
Wade decide to go to the nearest town to get a new fan
belt while the rest of the group attempts to go to the game.
When an unbelievably slow traffic jam stops Paige, Dalton,
Blake, and Nick, they decide to go back to get Wade and
Carly. One by one, the entire group ends up falling prey to
two murderous brothers, the creators of the town's local
'House of Wax'. They must escape before they become the
House of Wax's main exhibit.
6. Freddy vs. Jason
Four years after being killed by his daughter, Freddy
Krueger rests in Hell. He depends on the dreams of
those in Springwood to fuel his existence. But when
the town covers up his existence in an attempt to
make people forget, Freddy is left powerless. In a last
ditch effort he springs Jason Voorhees from his own
personal Hell and sends him to Elm Street, determined
to strike fear in the hearts of Springwood teens. But
when Jason won't stop killing Freddy's "children,"
Krueger decides it's time to take Voorhees out. Caught
in the cross-fire are Lori and Will, both of whom
feature a history with Freddy.
7. Burton’s Theory
In my research, it is proven that Burton’s theory works. The evidence for
this is seen constantly and methodologically over the years. Films of the
horror genre always take quite a simplistic setting, then proceed to twist
it. A town may have been deserted for years or a remote getaway or
basic journeys that include a detour. This excluded journey or area
makes it easier to put a killer in these environments; they may be the
outsiders of the community. The use of settings like this make it easier
to understand the protagonists vulnerability
Themes are also consistent in horror films such as survival or
death, there are also binary opposites which Levi Strauss explores.
Burton’s stock situations are also quite common, despite each film being
unique. They are normally a collective at some sort of event, gathering
or journey . Something occurs within the group that changes the
dynamics, this is where the past may occur or reappear. In other
situations the group may split up, however these stock situations get the
ball rolling when it comes to their death.
Stock characters lend themselves greatly to this genre and are always
seen.
8. How this effects my own
ideas
I want to use areas of Burton’s theory, such as a stock situation, the
importance of stock characters and the isolated setting as it has
worked well over the years and would be a firm ground for my film
to stand on as I will be challenging other conventions within the film
so I don’t want to make it so different that nobody wants to view it,
there needs to be a sense of familiarity within the film or stock
characters.
The one thing I may change about the conventional stock situation is
the idea that they must always be heading to an event or on a
journey, although I want to keep them together within the film, with
them being slowly picked off one by one.
