FORMAL FILM STUDY: Horror

For my Formal Film Study I watched three horror movies, Nosferatu (1922), The Exorcist (1973), and The Ring (2002). I wanted to view three movies from different time periods to see how the style, technology, cinematography, etc. of these horror movies changed over time. I believe that horror movies have become less and less about developing a good plot, and more on the "shock factor." Modern Horror films seem to focus more on making the audiences jump than on making audiences think about the movie and be frightened.
Nosferatu is about a man named Tomas Hutter, who goes Transylvania to visit Count Orlok to try and sell him a home in Bremen, Germany. After a few strange experiences in the Count's castle, Thomas learns that Orlok is a vampire and tries to hurry home to save his home city of Bremen from being attacked by the Count. This film was made in 1922 and is a silent, black and white film, yet even without sound they were able to create a creepy plot with eery scenes. The music added a creepiness to the movie and whenever the music sped up you knew something bad was about to happen. There was also one scene where the camera was aimed down a hallway behind Thomas, and you could see Count Orlok appear down the hallway and he slowly gets closer and closer to Thomas.  There was also another scene where Count Orlok was slowly creeping up to a bedroom door to attack Thomas' girlfriend, and all you could see was his shadow, and his long, pointy fingers reaching for the door handle. Due to the early time period in which this movie was created, the technology and special effects were not near what they are today, but the eery music, camerawork and creepy appearance of the Count, combined with the overall plot of the movie made for a good horror movie.
The Exorcist has been considered one of the scariest movies of all time due to its frightening story and terrifying scenes. This movie is about a girl named Regan who seems to have become possessed by the devil. She continues to act weirder and weirder and her mother becomes very worried that something is seriously wrong with her. She is visited by several priests, doctors, psychiatrists, etc. and they have a difficult time figuring out exactly what is wrong. They later determine that an exorcism is necessary to save her. The combination of the horrifying plot with the alarming scenes in which Regan is either throwing up on the priests, or spinning her head completely around make this largely considered one of the scariest movies of all time. The technology and effects improved a lot between the time when this movie was made and the 1920's when Nosferatu was made and it helped make this movie even more frightening. The deep voice used when Regan is talking in her "possessed voice" and the effects used to make Regan levitate were chilling. There is one scene where you hear someone walking around upstairs and then the camera aims towards the staircase and Regan crawls down the stairs on her hands and feet while upside down. I thought this was one of the creepiest scenes in the movie.

The Ring, also considered one of the scariest movies of all time, focuses on a video tape that people watch, which then prompts a phone call that says, "you're going to die in seven days." The video is of a young girl who was killed by her mother and thrown into a well. This girl continues to haunt the world, and in one scene crawls out of a TV to attack a man who is watching the video. The story in this film is  very grim and the main character, Rachel, tries to figure out what exactly the video tape is about and why people keep dying after watching it. Samara, the girl that was killed that is in the video tape, has a very gruesome and ominous appearance. The scene when she crawls out of the TV is definitely one of the best scenes I have seen in any horror film. The special effects were clearly much better in this movie compared to the other movies. The appearance of Samara was traumatic. The complete silence every time someone received a phone call also added to the suspense and the voice on the phone was harrowing.

http://www.ramcigar.com/entertainment/horror-movies-throughout-decades-have-constantly-reinvented-genre-1.2852148#.UTVp3KVho-0
http://www.mhsuproar.com/entertainment/2011/11/02/how-horror-has-changed/
These websites both state that many horror films today just go for the "make you jump of out of your seat." The Ring is one of the better modern horror films because it has a very creative and creepy idea behind it, and it stands out from the other new horror films. Other movies today like Paranormal Activity, just aim for the unexpected jump in front of the screen to scare audiences. Older films such as Nosferatu, Psycho, and the Exorcist developed creepy plots to scare their audiences because the technology was not good enough to make horror movies like they do today. Horror movies should be about thought provoking ideas and plots, not making you jump because of an unexpected loud noise or sudden flash on the screen.