Holiday Homework Posted by Ryan

Horror Conventions:
-Supernatural/Surreal -Violence
-Evil -Villain
-Monsters -Victims (usually young)
-Blood -Storms
-Ghosts -Chase Sequences
-Killing -Haunted Houses
-Screams -Isolated Settings
-Death -Darkness
-Gore -Weapons (shank weapons, not guns)


Conventions of a Horror Film Teaser Trailer:


-Jumpy and Gore Scenes -Fast Shots (emphasises the tension and suspense)
-Snippets of infliction or pain to attract and ensure the horror representation is implied
-Little amount of clarity (leaves viewer in suspense)
-Music (tension) -Language
-NVC (facial expressions & body language)


Horror Films

The Evil Dead is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi. The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker in which five college students go on a vacation in an isolated cabin in a wooded area. The vacation then becomes gruesome when they find an audiotape that releases evil spirits.

When the film was premiered in Michigan on October 15, 1981, the film was under public disagreement for its graphic terror, violence, and gore. The film was turned down by almost all U.S. film distributors until a European company finally bought it in the Cannes Film Festival marketplace in May 1982. The film was a moderate success at the box office, grossing a total of $2,400,000 in the U.S upon its initial release against a budget of approximately no more than $400,000. Regardless of the film getting mixed reviews by critics at the time, it has since developed a cult following. The film spawned two sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, and also a stage musical. Work on a script for another film has started, however it was announced on July 13, 2011 that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell would now focus on a remake of the original film.

Children of the Corn (also known as Stephen King's Children of the Corn) is a 1984 horror film directed by Fritz Kiersch, starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Set in the surreal rural town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the story of a demonic entity referred to as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" which entices the children of the town to ritualistically murder all the adults to ensure a successful corn harvest. A couple driving cross-country hit a child and drive to the nearest town to report it (Gatlin) and find themselves trapped with little chance of getting out alive. Stephen King wrote the original draft of the screenplay which focused more on the characters of Burt and Vicky and depicted more back-story on the uprising of the children in Gatlin. However, this script was disregarded in favour of George Goldsmith's screenplay which featured more violence and a more conventional narrative structure. Filming took place mainly in Iowa, but also California. Seven sequels and a television remake have been produced.

Brain Dead is a 1990 horror/psychological thriller starring Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton and George Kennedy written by Charles Beaumont. Bill Pullman plays a neurosurgeon, Dr. Rex Martin, who is active in studying brain malfunctions that cause mental illnesses. High school friend Jim Reston, a successful businessman at Eunice, requires Dr. Martin's aid in reaching the mind of John Halsey, a former genius mathematician who once worked for the company and is now a paranoid psychotic at a nearby asylum. Dr. Martin's surgery is intended to successfully alter the patient's mental attitude, unlocking the secrets within Halsey's brain or leaving him unable to accidentally share them with anyone else. As Martin begins the surgical procedure, he starts to experience the same paranoid dreams as Halsey. The episodes grow in intensity until it becomes unclear whether Martin is a doctor imagining he's the patient, or a mental patient who succumbed to the delusion that he was a brain surgeon. Martin floats further and further from reality, caught between his loyalty to his business colleagues and his own humanity.

James Wan

James Wan (born on 27 February 1977) is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film “Saw” and creating Billy the puppet. He has also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.

Before becoming popular in the film industry, James Wan made his first feature film Stygian with Shannon Young, which won 'Best Guerrilla Film' at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival in 2000. He then met future business partner, Leigh Whannell, while studying at RMIT. James Wan then went on to co-create and direct the 2003 horror film (and franchise), Saw, with the help of Leigh Whannell, who wrote the script. Wan and Whannell made a short version of the film to showcase the script. Whannell played the role of David in the short film, and the leading role of Adam in the feature film. The three producers who saw the short film and read Whannell's screenplay agreed to produce the film before Wan and Whannell even landed in Los Angeles. Wan and Whannell decided to forgo upfront salary in return for gross profits. Shot for a low $1.2 million budget, the producers had a straight-to-DVD release in mind. However, Saw was to become a surprise record breaking theatrical horror franchise, earning Wan and Whannell much more than they had originally predicted.