Burton's theory states that psychological horror films portray protagonists coming to terms with the supernatural, depicting a battle between good and evil. The theory is demonstrated in films like The Blair Witch Project where students filming in the woods go missing, The Grudge where an American nurse encounters a deadly spirit in Tokyo, and The Sixth Sense where a child psychologist helps a boy who sees dead people. These films feature protagonists isolated in scary settings like woods or abandoned buildings, creating fear of the unknown and hope that the protagonists can overcome the supernatural threats they face.

1. Research Into Similar
Psychological Films
Good VS Evil

2. Burton’s theory
Burton stated that genres are separated by how protagonists are
portrayed, how certain plots or situations put in context the film,
what stock characters do for the film and how themes and setting
give the horror look and make it scary.
In films such as The Blair Witch Project, The Grudge, The Sixth Sense
Session 9 and The Ring Burton’s theory comes into effect as how the
protagonists or lead characters come to terms with the Supernatural.
This is called the Good vs. Evil.

3. The Blair Witch Project
In the Blair Witch Project three films
students travel to Maryland to make a
film about the Blair Witch. As they go on a
hike to find the Blair Witch, something
happened and they never came back, the
footage was rescued a year later and was
turned into a film.
With the setting, the wood connotes
isolation and a feeling of being alone since
its cut off from the city. It’s also very easy
to get lost and as you don’t know your
way round, it’s very scary and the fear
translates into hallucinations and
scenarios where things never go right.

4. In context with the theme and setting, the characters don’t know where they are as they
have never journeyed to Maryland and still keep on moving as they are recording. This gives
a sense of uncertainty. Also the fact that they do not know what the Blair Witch is, which
makes it far more effective as a Psychological horror as this begins to play with the
characters heads as the movie goes on. The unknown vs. the known, this applies as the
three characters are hiking, is seems natural and normal while they have a look at the
scenery but their views soon change in affect, changing the views of the viewer as well
because we get to feel how they’re feel with the uncertainty of what’s happening and
what’s going to happen.

5. The Grudge
With the grudge and American nurse moves to Tokyo and encounters a supernatural
spirit, before it possesses her, she must find a way to break the spell as horrifying and
mysterious deaths begin to occur.
A similar them, which appears, is the sense of ravel and not knowing where you are, this
brings the fear of the unknown in a society that seems perfectly ok and normal. The
supernatural spirit brings a sense of horror as it means outside if the normal natural world.
The main protagonist fight her fear by having hope that she will succeed, this is what
happens in most psychological films as the
main character must find some way to fight
the supernatural and hope is what keeps
them going and the fact that they will die.

6. The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is the perfect
example of a psychological
horror that goes with Burton’s
theory. It does this as a young
mother seeks help of a child
psychologist about her son
who in some effect sees dead
people.
If you apply Burton’s theory to this, you can see that the boy is the protagonist but a victim
at most and he is isolated and troubled from society and how he is alone as he is different
from others and the only person that can help it the Psychologist. Malcolm (the child
psychologist) is also a protagonist because he’s the only that can save the boy meaning
their shared knowledge on what’s happening is what keeps them together with the
psychologists interest in the subject and the boys fear of what’s happening.

7. Similar with the grudge and many other films, fear vs. hope applies here with the boys’
mother having lost all hope on her boy as she can’t do anything for him but feels that the
psychologist is her sons only hope as many have tried but he is still not ok or “normal”.

8. Session 9
The plot for this film is a asbestos removal crew are given the job on an old mental
asylum and as they discover old hypnotherapy sessions of a patient with multiple
personalities.
With this film the personal histories of the crew takes affect as the session tapes hunt them.
The abandoned mental asylum again shows somewhere where you do not feel k as it is
isolated from the city which
pragmatically tells us that its away
from reality where anything can
happen. With the mental asylum
being linked to crazy and lunatics,
it tells us that anything again can
happen and the sense of
discovery as the film goes on
suggests the unknown vs. the
known.

9. The Ring
A journalist investigates videotape
that might have killed four people,
one of the here nieces. There is an
urban legend about this tape
stating that after seven days of
watching the tape, you will die so
she is on a rush trying to save her
sons and her life.
The known vs. the unknown is
shown here as the protagonist
goes on a journey to save the
lives of her family by discovering
the unknown or the supernatural
which makes the film scary and
the supernatural playing with the
heads of the protagonist results
in the same effect on the
audience.