Horror films are movies thatt strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from the viewers" Horror film plots frequently involve themes such as death, the supernatural and/or metal illness, many also have a central villain. Early horror films are based on the classic literature of gothic horror, there are many films that have portrade this, such as "Dracula", "Frankenstien", "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
But in contrast to this more recent horror filmsdraw insperation from the insecurites of life after World War II, there are three distinct sub-genres to this and they are; the horror of personality, an example of this is the film "Psycho", the horror of armageddon (armageddon being any catastrofically distructive battle, and/or the end of the world), an exmaple of a film where armageddon is being used is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and the last of the sub-genre's being the horror of the demonic, the best example of this would be the film "The Exorcist" which was bannedin 1986 under the Video recordings Act becuase it was said to be too scary for home viewing, especially because of the fact that it can be a very trying experience for young girls. The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of a white faced demonquickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters as it was deemed to be "too frightening". As well as this, The Government Censorship Board today has banned the American film "The Exorcist" on the grounds that it presents "unjustifed" propaganda (propaganda meaning information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause) in favour of the Christan comunity.
Horror is also an accient art form, as we have tried to terrify each other with tales which trigger the less logical parts of our imaginations for as long as we've told stories; from the ballads of the ancient world to the modern urban myths. Audiences will willingly offer themselvs up to sadistic storytellersto be scared witless, as well as being happy to pay for the privilege. There are many theories as to why this is so; from deriving the basic thrills from triggering the rush of adrenalion which fear brings, or because horror stories serve more of a moral purose, reinforcing the rules and the taboos of our society and showing the macabre fate of those who transgress? Horror movies have long served both these prepossess, delivering thrills by the hearseload, as well as telling stories of the dark, forbidden side of both life and death, and also providing a revaling morror image of the anxieties of the time in which the film was made, offering heart-rending images and echoeing great wars and epidemic fatalities. As well as reflecting the fear of the powerfil yet irresponsible elements of society, the seemingly impinitive behaviour of those people at the top and what lurks behind corners and in dark shadows.
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