Psycho analysis- Mother's reveal

This scene in Psycho comes near the end of the film and has Lila Crane, Marion’s sister, exploring the Bates Mansion. She stumbles into the cellar and discovers the corpse of Norma Bates; “Mother”. This is a close up shot with the corpse being composed in the centre of the shot denoting it’s the main focus of attention in the shot.

The smile on the corpse’s face is wide and shows the teeth to be bared in a grin. This connotes happiness and laughter which represents the fact that Mother is enjoying the events and murders that are happening, as when she was alive she was protective of Norman and didn’t want him near women. This part of her personality ideologically lives on in Norman’s head and makes him kill.

 The lighting in this scene is not only low key and motivated by a light bulb on the ceiling but is also a moving light source which casts huge moving shadows across the corpse’s face and the room. The shadows illuminate her face in different ways and almost animate the corpse so that it looks like it’s laughing and rocking back and forth which further reinforces the representation of the corpse enjoying the events taking place, especially as another women was about to be killed who interfered with Norman.

The corpse is a direct historical context to Ed Gein and inspired the actions of Norman and “Mother”. Ed Gein was a serial killer in the 1950’s who famously killed and raped women before cannibalising them. He kept his Mother’s corpse too and would perform necrophilia. This was due to the emotional link Gein had to his mother though an Oedipal Complex; which is loving your mother but hating your father. Gein was also schizophrenic and would use this emotional link to embody his mother and the ideals he was brought up with from her. This would also result in him killing other women if he became attracted to them as the “Mother” part of his brain forced him to not have sexual urges that would pose a threat to the relationship of Gein and herself.

Using Thomas Schatz’s “Genre Theory” we can see how this scene links into the horror genre. In this scene we not only see the old corpse of Norma Bates, but we also see the psycho killer, low key and motivated lighting, phallic weapon, final girl and male hero; all of which are conventions of the horror genre and present in Psycho.

Psycho analysis- Mother kills Arbogast

This scene from Psycho is the second, and last, murder of Arbogast, the private detective. It takes place in the Bates mansion and has Arbogast climbing the stairs slowly to then be greeted by “Mother” (Norman) and killed by falling down the stairs and being stabbed. This is a top down wide shot and is composed with Arbogast on the left of the frame and Mother on the right which can be seen with the rule of thirds grid. Stereotypically villains are portrayed on the left hand side of the frame but here Arbogast, who’s trying to find Marion, is composed on the left. This connotes that Arbogast is being portrayed as a villain which in turn represents he’s intruding on Mother/Norman and as Norman can be seen as schizophrenic with a childish nature it would give an ideology that Norman sees Arbogast’s intervention as a threat and decides to act to defend himself.

At the time of Psycho’s production in 1960 Hitchcock was limited by the Hays Code as it stated that violence, blood, murder, sex and things outside the cultural dominant ideology were not allowed to be showed on film. He pushed the boundaries as far as he could by having Arbogast’s face slashed and a little blood come out, along with the fall backwards down the stairs. This was drastically changed in the 1998 remake of Psycho where Arbogast gets 3 slashes across his face and a more brutal death. This was because the institutional context had changed and body horror had become more relaxed.

The knife that kills Arbogast is a phallic weapon and asserts Mother's dominating power over Arbogast and implies a sexual perspective to Mother/Normans murders as he’s lonely. This can be linked to the historical context of Ed Gein, who Norman Bates is based from, and the fact that they were both dominated by a dead mother figure in a schizophrenic manner and would kill people as the ‘Mother’ commanded it in his head.

The scene features low key lighting and motivated lighting from the bedroom behind Norman/Mother and casts long shadows in multiple directions across the hall. This represents Norman’s split personality as the light only hits him and sends his shadows down the hall to where Norman’s room is. This connotes his childish and true nature and another being cast over Arbogast connoting his immediate death. Another shadow is also on the door frame of Mother’s room connoting that Mother and that room is an important part of Norman too.

Using Andrew Sarris’ theory of Auteur theory we can see how Psycho fits into Hitchcock’s Auteur style. As the “Master of Suspense” this scene and the film in general fits the thriller aspects of murder and intrigue and having slow paced editing contrasted with scenes of quick paced montages for the action in the film.

Psycho analysis- Norman Bates and the birds

This scene from Psycho is the first major dialogue between Norman and Marion, after she arrives and settles in at Bates Motel and takes place in Norman’s office behind the reception. Norman is composed on the right hand third of the frame in a low expressionist angle to connote his power and represent that he’s dominating over Marion, like how ‘Mother’ dominates Norman.

Present in the mise-en-scene behind Norman there are stuffed owls. These birds of prey represent Norman’s inner vicious nature and give the ideology that he’s an aggressive predator. Like Norman they're framed from a low expressionist angle, giving more menacing and fearful connotations. The owl is a predator, seemingly swooping in for the kill. This gives us the ideology that Norman is also tracking Marion “Crane,” prey for an owl and also prey for Norman.

The lighting in this shot is low key and motivated by the lamp to the bottom left of the frame and creates long shadows that appear long the frame. The most notable shadow belongs to the owl on the back wall and it reinforces the connotations given by its framing in the shot. The lighting also illuminates one half on Norman’s face giving him connotations of being half good and half bad. This also reinforces the ideology of Norman’s mental state being schizophrenic with one half being good and the other bad.

The scene also features parallel music that reflects the mood of the conversation. The conversation itself was about the idea of “personal traps” and links to how Marion ran away from her life to be with her lover Sam, a divorced man, which puts them outside of the cultural dominant ideology (CDI) as he’s divorced and she’s in love with him. As they’re outside the CDI it gives the conversation creepy and unsettling connotations for the context of the time.

Using Todorov’s Narrative Theory on this scene it takes place during the disruption period with Norman posing a threat to Marion as she came to Bates Motel and has to deal with Norman’s “Mother” alter ego.  Applying Propp’s character theory we can see that Norman takes on the “psycho killer” archetype and Marion takes on the Female Victim archetype with Norman having conventions like being quite shy and likeable and schizophrenic whilst Marion has conventions like being blonde, committing a crime (stealing money) and having sex with Sam at the start of the film.

Horror magazine cover analysis- Paracinema

The masthead of the magazine is portrayed in a big yellow font in the top third of the magazine in order to catch the eye and the attention of the target audience members. The yellow font is darker around the edges giving it connotations of grime, and when linked with the main image, connotations of eerie sickness as well. The title helps to reinforce the representation of Regan from The Exorcist along with making the magazine represent an eerie, supernatural horror.

The magazine has a yellow, brown and, white and black colour scheme and they help to signify different representations to the target audience. On the image of the girl her skin is a pale yellow and brown which connotes sickness, death and disease. This, combined with the wide, disturbing smile and wild sickly eyes this all comes together to give the girl a representation of a sick evil, and seeming as she’s from The Exorcist it fits into the ideology of the film that she is sick from an evil supernatural possession.

The white and yellow are also used for text and coverlines with the white font denoting a title and the yellow font denoting information about the article. They made the font stand out by making it big and boldly coloured so to attract the attention of the target audience.

The information for The Exorcist article reflects the angry and anarchical nature of the film’s villain by mentioning “shitty gender roles” and “pissed off daughters”.

“The woman’s issue” is an interesting coverline as it reflects women’s power in the horror genre.  “All articles written by women” connotes a degree of power and can be used to represent the female gender in the horror genre. The power women have in horror films comes from the “final girl” theory where the surviving character is an innocent girl and portrays an ideology where women are stronger than men as they survive.  The fact that “all articles [are] written by women” represents that females have extensive knowledge of horror films and are able to use this to inform the target audience. 

Horror magazine cover analysis- The A-Z Of Horror

The masthead of the magazine is in block red capitals and has splatters and dribbles running across the cover. These denotations all connote blood and the gory conventions shown in horror films. This means the blood red capitals represent horror, and more specifically slashers which can be linked to the appearance of iconic slasher villain’s, on the front cover. Blood is used on the cover to help amplify this genre convention making it a motif of the magazine.

The top of the magazine features a “free gifts” area which can act as a USP for the target audience to be attracted to, and thus attract more target audience members. The font is in block and bold capitals so that it attracts the audience’s attention and is also placed on a red background which fits into the magazine motif of blood representing horror.

The magazine cover follows a predominately brown, red, white, yellow and black colour scheme with the brown being used for the main image of iconic horror characters, and the red, white, black and yellow being used for coverlines, boxes and text in general.

The brown image has a sepia tone denotation which gives it connotations of old age, nostalgia and dirt making the iconic horror characters have representations of timeless iconography; as if they’ve been around since the beginning of the genre.

The main coverline continues the blood red splatter motif shown on the masthead as splatters of blood cover the title and help to reinforce the slasher genre conventions.

The title is in big, white and bold font which draws the eye of the audience. It also dominates the bottom third of the magazine cover enabling it to be easily seen by the target audience.

This magazine actually has a BBFC, British Board of Film Classification, age rating representing the fact that it’s aimed at an older target audience and is not intended for children.

Horror magazine cover analysis- Scream

The masthead of the magazine is inspired by the iconic horror film “Scream” and can also be based off of an audience convention of the horror film genre. The title font has denotations of being red and having drips giving it connotations of blood and gory horror which the target audience will look for in the magazine as it has also been established on the main strapline.

The main strapline shown here above the title reads “Blood, Guts, Gore & More” which gives a representation of what’ll be covered in the magazine due to the fact they’re all conventions of the horror genre and it’ll appeal to the target audience of horror movie fans.

The main coverline, “Hatchet Horror”, has denotations of being bold, white and a blood splattered look on the side of the hatchet. The blood splatter denotation stands out as you’d generically expect the font to be red and represent blood, however it’s white and has unnatural, unnerving and out of place connotations giving the font a supernatural, inhuman and unconventional representation which fits into the ideology of the genre that this film, Hatchet, comes from; slasher/ supernatural horror.

The image on the front cover follows a predominately white, blue and black colour scheme which gives the image connotations of being cold and grim and gives the image an empty and haunting representation.

This can also be linked to denotations of coldness, death and an unnatural or supernatural feeling, from the man, resulting in connotations of emptiness and a lack of emotion, especially from the eyes, giving the man representations of fear, heartlessness and brutality which are iconic genre conventions for a slasher villain.

Horror post analysis- Godzilla

The title of the film is in thick, red text to stand out and help connote fear along with the name of the film itself. The red gives connotations of fear, danger and evil, representing Godzilla to be the villain of the narrative. “Godzilla” can be broken down to “God” and “Zilla” giving it connotations of power, strength, fear and monstrosity.

Godzilla itself is Japan’s reaction to the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan at the end of WW2 by the Americans. Godzilla has connotations of horror, destruction, rage and power which in turn represents the idea of the bombings being horrible and destructive and keeps the ideology of nuclear weapons being powerful and bad in the wrong hands.

Using Todorov’s theory of Narrative we can see that with Godzilla destroying Japan and the people looking up scared, we are in stage 2 of the narrative; Disruption. Shown on all of the posters analysed stage 2, disruption, or stage 4, fixing the disruption, seem to be shown representing that the posters advertise the most intense moments of the film to draw in the target audience members.

If we apply Male Gaze theory we can see that the girl is fully clothed and takes a position in the arms of the male connoting she’s looking to him for protection.  We can also apply Final Girl theory to her as she’s the only girl shown on the poster, and she’s in a position to be defended it connotes that she is quite innocent and not “bad” by horror movie conventions representing she’s the “final girl”.

The main human actors are shown at the bottom of the poster looking up to him from a low angle, signifying fear and horror at Godzilla and giving him powerful connotations that help reinforce the ideology of Godzilla representing nuclear warfare and it’s horrifying consequences.

Horror poster analysis- Alien

The denotation of “Alien” connotes strange, mysterious and frightening representing that the “Alien” will be scary and inhuman, making it completely different to the humans in the crew. As the name connotes fear and aliens are stereotypical of the sci-fi genre this makes it belong to the Sci-fi-Horror sub-genre. Whilst it wasn't the first Sci-fi-Horror it broke the conventions of the sub-genre by not having many shots of the Alien at all.

The Alien egg is placed in the middle of the poster, so by dividing it up by the rule of thirds, we can see that it represents that it’s key to the narrative of the film. It also further reinforces the connotations from the films’ title as the egg has a green light emerging from it, stereotypically linked to aliens that also connote mystery. The egg also looks like a planet, connoting that whatever lives on the planet is alien, and with the green light, could represent that it’s also evil.

As the poster doesn't show any characters, especially the female ones, from the film, the “Male Gaze” and “Final Girl” theories can’t be applied which represents the fact that all the characters might die, including a strong female protagonist.

In terms of narrative, if we apply Todorov, we can see the narrative is at stage 2: Disruption. This is down to connotations of the cracked egg and “In space no-one can hear you scream” strapline suggesting that the egg results in screaming and a disruption in the equilibrium of the narrative.

The strapline of the film, “In space no-one can hear you scream”, connotes that the film is set in space, and can be reinforced by the black background, and that the film will make you screaming representing that the horror genre conventions will be significantly shown in the film.

Horror poster analysis- Shaun of the Dead

The genre of the film is established at the top of the poster in short sentences to connote the blunt, sarcastic comedic value of the film and also, as the “With Zombies” line is second it could connote they aren’t as important, representing that the zombies pose as a plot device and aren’t the main motivation behind the continuation of the narrative, instead of focusing on the love story narrative.

The denotations of the characters poses are strong, brave and determined, connoting that they are ready to face the zombie threat which can also be reinforced by the weapons they hold. Shaun is also holding a bunch of flowers representing that he’s try to save his relationship along with his life

If we apply Male Gaze theory, by Laura Mulvey, we can see that the girl, Liz, is fully clothed and takes a position behind the main character connoting she’s not there for male purpose. We can also apply Final Girl theory to her as she’s the only girl shown on the poster, she’s armed and not in a relationship and doesn't do anything “bad” representing that she’s the “final girl”.

If we apply Propp's theory of characters, the characters on the poster are the helper, hero, and princess going from left to right. The hero seeks to correct the disruption of the narrative, the helper helps the hero achieve his goal and the princess is awaiting rescue from the villain or threat. These character types are all shown in Shaun’s master plan to rescue Liz and go “The Winchester” pub.

The colour design of the poster shows the background of the main characters to be red, to show the outline of the zombies and connote blood and danger representing that the zombies are dangerous and a main threat to the heroes of the narrative.

The history of the horror genre- 1990-2000

The 1990's started with the continuation of many sub-genre's and ideological themes that had been present in the 1980's. Slashers were still in the mainstream for audiences and many iconic films from that time period, like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween saw sequels throughout the decade but were mostly panned by critics and fans.

The 1990's also saw the emergence of a new horror sub-genre: Metafiction, with each film linking itself to the real world and the world of the narrative through the use of plot of subconsciously breaking the 4th wall by having the film tell the story of it's own production. Famous films in this new sub-genre include Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and Candyman (1992).

However the horror genre had a number of problems at this time; namely that it'd had worn itself out with the endless number of sequels and similar films in the slasher genre during the 1980's, A Nightmare on Elm Street  having 4 sequels alone during the decade. The 1990's also saw that the target audience of horror films had grown up and weren't captivated by the low budget and tacky looking practical effects of body horror as they'd recently been exposed to the CGI of sci-fi and action films, like Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991). However the horror genre adapted and soon started using it for films like Species (1995), Anaconda (1997) and House on the Haunted Hill (1999). 

The late 1990's also saw the introduction of a new sub-genre to try and attract audiences; the found-footage genre, with the first notable entry being The Blair Witch Project (1999). This genre 

really picked up in the 2000's with films like Paranormal Activity (2007) and even continues into the 2010's with films like Grave Encounters (2011).

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