Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Sub-Genres of Horror
Supernatural: can include ghosts, monsters, dark forces, zombies, or pretty much any creepy thing that can’t be found in the real world.
Dark Fantasy: contains fantasy elements with a horror twist, or horror with a distinctly fantastical setting, like Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
Sci-fi Horror: mash-up of science fiction and horror, usually where the sci-fic aspects (aliens, robots, space travel) are used to precipitate the overriding horror. Like in the movieAlien.
Psychological Horror: driven by characters’ fears and focused more on psychological dread than on murder, mutilation, and gore. Could be supernatural, but is more often associated with those twists where the protagonist turns out to be insane.
Lovecraftian Horror: yeah, Lovecraft is so awesome he gets his own genre. Includes stories of a dinstinct aesthetic involving either Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythology or similar ideas and situations: i.e., ancient secrets, giant monsters/aliens in the bowels of the earth, and a profoundly unsympathetic universe. Could also be called cosmic or atheistic horror.
Gothic: involves psychological terror in historically romantic settings, usually including mysteries, ghosts, castles, decay, madness, hereditary curses, and death. Pretty much dominated by Edgar Allan Poe.
Splatterpunk/ Slasher: the horror extreme, with graphic and gory violence intended to gross you out. Includes cinema’s torture porn category, in movies like Hostel.
Satanic/Religious/Occult: horror derived from certain belief systems and the evil aspects that they fight against. Usually involves demonic possessions, exorcisms, or explorations of the darker side of pagan religions and the use of ”left hand” magic. The Exorcism is a stand-out example.
Erotic Horror/Paranormal Romance: for some reason that I can’t fathom, sex and horror seem to go hand in hand. There’s plenty of erotica involving horrifying situations/the supernatural, and (unfortunately) paranormal romance (which I’m not even going to consider a genre of horror, because it’s NOT) has gotten huge among the tweenieboppers with the unfortunate success of drivel like Twilight.
Suspense/Thriller: does not involve any supernatural or otherworldly aspects, instead relying on real-life situations to generate horror through serial killers, deadly situations, natural disasters, and psycopaths. Good film examples are Se7en and Jaws (even though it’s pretty unrealistic that a shark gets so hung up on eating people).
Weird Fiction: a primarily historical term for fiction of the 1930s, it predates genre fiction and blended the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific into stories that were ultimately strange, uncanny, or unreal in nature. The term is popularized by Weird Tales magazine.
Speculative Fiction: not a subgenre but an umbrella term encompassing science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero fiction, utopian/dystopian fiction, apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history literature. For a story that doesn’t necessarily fit into one genre, or blends several (maybe a post-apocalyptic horror/sci-fi piece with elves?), you can always just call it speculative fiction, since these genres often overlap.
Supernatural: can include ghosts, monsters, dark forces, zombies, or pretty much any creepy thing that can’t be found in the real world.
Dark Fantasy: contains fantasy elements with a horror twist, or horror with a distinctly fantastical setting, like Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
Sci-fi Horror: mash-up of science fiction and horror, usually where the sci-fic aspects (aliens, robots, space travel) are used to precipitate the overriding horror. Like in the movieAlien.
Psychological Horror: driven by characters’ fears and focused more on psychological dread than on murder, mutilation, and gore. Could be supernatural, but is more often associated with those twists where the protagonist turns out to be insane.
Lovecraftian Horror: yeah, Lovecraft is so awesome he gets his own genre. Includes stories of a dinstinct aesthetic involving either Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythology or similar ideas and situations: i.e., ancient secrets, giant monsters/aliens in the bowels of the earth, and a profoundly unsympathetic universe. Could also be called cosmic or atheistic horror.
Gothic: involves psychological terror in historically romantic settings, usually including mysteries, ghosts, castles, decay, madness, hereditary curses, and death. Pretty much dominated by Edgar Allan Poe.
Splatterpunk/ Slasher: the horror extreme, with graphic and gory violence intended to gross you out. Includes cinema’s torture porn category, in movies like Hostel.
Satanic/Religious/Occult: horror derived from certain belief systems and the evil aspects that they fight against. Usually involves demonic possessions, exorcisms, or explorations of the darker side of pagan religions and the use of ”left hand” magic. The Exorcism is a stand-out example.
Erotic Horror/Paranormal Romance: for some reason that I can’t fathom, sex and horror seem to go hand in hand. There’s plenty of erotica involving horrifying situations/the supernatural, and (unfortunately) paranormal romance (which I’m not even going to consider a genre of horror, because it’s NOT) has gotten huge among the tweenieboppers with the unfortunate success of drivel like Twilight.
Suspense/Thriller: does not involve any supernatural or otherworldly aspects, instead relying on real-life situations to generate horror through serial killers, deadly situations, natural disasters, and psycopaths. Good film examples are Se7en and Jaws (even though it’s pretty unrealistic that a shark gets so hung up on eating people).
Weird Fiction: a primarily historical term for fiction of the 1930s, it predates genre fiction and blended the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific into stories that were ultimately strange, uncanny, or unreal in nature. The term is popularized by Weird Tales magazine.
Speculative Fiction: not a subgenre but an umbrella term encompassing science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero fiction, utopian/dystopian fiction, apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history literature. For a story that doesn’t necessarily fit into one genre, or blends several (maybe a post-apocalyptic horror/sci-fi piece with elves?), you can always just call it speculative fiction, since these genres often overlap.
Script
Through the hand held camera the screen starts off black as Joely is trying to get the camera to work.
Screen remains black
Joely: oh c’mon work, please work! (Crying)
She continues to hit the camera with her hand until the screen goes fuzzy and it turns on. Camera is facing up towards her face and it’s shaking because she is scared, we see that she is distressed and confused.
Joely: Thank God (whispers) Bruce! (Whispers three times)
Camera pans down to see the glove on the floor
Joely: Bruce! (Shouting)
There is a rustling noise and she begins to run, camera still in her hands.
The camera switches when she hears the rustling noise, this shows Joely from another perspective. The camera then switches back to handy cam when she first starts to run.
… After running for a while she trips over a branch on the floor, cuts her leg and the camera falls to the woodland floor.
Once the camera has dropped the handy cam switches to the main camera.
Joely: Shit (annoyed)
She picks the camera back up, camera change to handy cam. She hits the camera to try to get it to work, it turns on and she uses the light to try to see the wound on her leg in the dark.
Joely: (in pain) ooow! Crap! (noises under her breath)
Camera pans up towards her face.
Joely: (terrified in a state of hysterics, crying) …if anyone finds this…get out while you can…it’s not safe (trembling) If you’ve seen the lights already…it’s too late.
Her face turns to the side and a faint light shines on the side of her face, she then turns back to the camera, her face in panic… scared to say anything…she then continues to run again.
The camera is shallow focus, on a close up of a tree branch, we hear a sound getting louder then we briefly see Joely run past really fast which disrupts the branch leave and the camera stays focused on the branch until it settles again.
She suddenly drops the camera and it falls to the floor sideways, we see her legs getting dragged away.
Joely: (screaming in terror) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Screen fades fuzzy, we hear the fuzzy noise from the camera
Whilst the opening credits come up we hear the radio over.
Radio presenter: There have been sighted reports of strange lights in the sky, officials have warned to stay inside at night time while they continue to investigate the cause.
Fades black.
Through the hand held camera the screen starts off black as Joely is trying to get the camera to work.
Screen remains black
Joely: oh c’mon work, please work! (Crying)
She continues to hit the camera with her hand until the screen goes fuzzy and it turns on. Camera is facing up towards her face and it’s shaking because she is scared, we see that she is distressed and confused.
Joely: Thank God (whispers) Bruce! (Whispers three times)
Camera pans down to see the glove on the floor
Joely: Bruce! (Shouting)
There is a rustling noise and she begins to run, camera still in her hands.
The camera switches when she hears the rustling noise, this shows Joely from another perspective. The camera then switches back to handy cam when she first starts to run.
… After running for a while she trips over a branch on the floor, cuts her leg and the camera falls to the woodland floor.
Once the camera has dropped the handy cam switches to the main camera.
Joely: Shit (annoyed)
She picks the camera back up, camera change to handy cam. She hits the camera to try to get it to work, it turns on and she uses the light to try to see the wound on her leg in the dark.
Joely: (in pain) ooow! Crap! (noises under her breath)
Camera pans up towards her face.
Joely: (terrified in a state of hysterics, crying) …if anyone finds this…get out while you can…it’s not safe (trembling) If you’ve seen the lights already…it’s too late.
Her face turns to the side and a faint light shines on the side of her face, she then turns back to the camera, her face in panic… scared to say anything…she then continues to run again.
The camera is shallow focus, on a close up of a tree branch, we hear a sound getting louder then we briefly see Joely run past really fast which disrupts the branch leave and the camera stays focused on the branch until it settles again.
She suddenly drops the camera and it falls to the floor sideways, we see her legs getting dragged away.
Joely: (screaming in terror) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Screen fades fuzzy, we hear the fuzzy noise from the camera
Whilst the opening credits come up we hear the radio over.
Radio presenter: There have been sighted reports of strange lights in the sky, officials have warned to stay inside at night time while they continue to investigate the cause.
Fades black.
After reports of alien sightings and strange lights in the sky, a group of teenagers become intrigued and are thrust into a struggle for survival as an unbelievable event becomes a terrifying reality. It is not known how many have fallen before, but an abandoned camera left in the woods gives an insight into the dreadful events that took place that evening.
A teenage girl is attempting to restart a camera, the immediate area is pitch black and strange noises can be heard from the undergrowth. She is extremely distressed and confused as she tries to escape from an unknown creature that silently stalks her through the woods.
In her attempt to escape she falls over a fallen branch and injures her knee; looking down she can see wound she hears a unusual noise so she begins to run again.
She points the camera at herself attempting to explain the events of that night however she is disrupted by the creature who drags her away screaming into the depths of the forest.
Reports on the radio warn people in the town of the strange lights and to stay inside at night while investigations take place into the disappearance of a group of teenage friends. A few days pass and a group of six teenagers decide to venture into the secluded woods of Saint Reathams by breaking and entering. Not knowing about the reported sightings of strange lights in the area; they decide to go deeper into the woods with their crate of beer and camping equipment.
A teenage girl is attempting to restart a camera, the immediate area is pitch black and strange noises can be heard from the undergrowth. She is extremely distressed and confused as she tries to escape from an unknown creature that silently stalks her through the woods.
In her attempt to escape she falls over a fallen branch and injures her knee; looking down she can see wound she hears a unusual noise so she begins to run again.
She points the camera at herself attempting to explain the events of that night however she is disrupted by the creature who drags her away screaming into the depths of the forest.
Reports on the radio warn people in the town of the strange lights and to stay inside at night while investigations take place into the disappearance of a group of teenage friends. A few days pass and a group of six teenagers decide to venture into the secluded woods of Saint Reathams by breaking and entering. Not knowing about the reported sightings of strange lights in the area; they decide to go deeper into the woods with their crate of beer and camping equipment.
This is the first draft of our synopsis.
A girl is seen running through the woods holding a camera. She drops it and gets dragged off (apparently killed).
A group then comes into the woods the next day, they have nothing to do with the last group. They then find the camera from the last group, they then start looking into the disappearences they have seen on the camera. Early evening they get lost. One by one they get picked off. There is only one left at the end and they have to sacrifice their friends for the rest of humanity.
A girl is seen running through the woods holding a camera. She drops it and gets dragged off (apparently killed).
A group then comes into the woods the next day, they have nothing to do with the last group. They then find the camera from the last group, they then start looking into the disappearences they have seen on the camera. Early evening they get lost. One by one they get picked off. There is only one left at the end and they have to sacrifice their friends for the rest of humanity.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Synopsis Research
I found a few synopsis' from other films which are similar to our film to help us and give us ideas as to how we should write ours.
This is the synopsis from The Blair Witch Project:
In October of 1994, three student filmmakers hike out to the woods of Blair, hoping to find evidence of a local legend "The Blair Witch". At first, they find nothing except a pile of stones arranged by hand. As the sun goes down, they realize they are lost, but there is little panic. They camp out, and in the middle of the night they see and hear things, things that are not normal. When they awake, they find wooden dolls in cross-like formations. They were not there that night. Then one of the students, Josh, is separated from the group. The other two finally realize that they are in a very serious situation, and that they are being stalked, stalked by something that may be the very thing they were looking for...
This is the synopsis from the film Super 8:
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
This is the synopsis from the film Monsters(2010):
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"...... Our story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.
This is the synopsis for the film Scream 4:
Sidney Prescott returns home to Woodsboro on her last book tour stop. But, when she arrives, everything is not all great reuniting with Gale and Dewey as Ghostface lurks in town as well. When Sidney's cousin Jill's life is threatened, and her friends are being picked off one by one, Sidney, Gale and Dewey need to figure out who's reinventing the deadly game before it becomes too late.
I found a few synopsis' from other films which are similar to our film to help us and give us ideas as to how we should write ours.
This is the synopsis from The Blair Witch Project:
In October of 1994, three student filmmakers hike out to the woods of Blair, hoping to find evidence of a local legend "The Blair Witch". At first, they find nothing except a pile of stones arranged by hand. As the sun goes down, they realize they are lost, but there is little panic. They camp out, and in the middle of the night they see and hear things, things that are not normal. When they awake, they find wooden dolls in cross-like formations. They were not there that night. Then one of the students, Josh, is separated from the group. The other two finally realize that they are in a very serious situation, and that they are being stalked, stalked by something that may be the very thing they were looking for...
This is the synopsis from the film Super 8:
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
This is the synopsis from the film Monsters(2010):
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"...... Our story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.
This is the synopsis for the film Scream 4:
Sidney Prescott returns home to Woodsboro on her last book tour stop. But, when she arrives, everything is not all great reuniting with Gale and Dewey as Ghostface lurks in town as well. When Sidney's cousin Jill's life is threatened, and her friends are being picked off one by one, Sidney, Gale and Dewey need to figure out who's reinventing the deadly game before it becomes too late.
Friday, 10 February 2012
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