Classic Horror Directors

Alfred Hitchcock - The master of suspense

Many believe that Alfred Hitchcock films are at the top of the 'best movies ever made' list, may it be of the horror genre or any other. Hitchcock takes in our worst fears and turns them into something which feels realer than a movie should. The 'villains' or 'antagonists' are believable and feel like they could really exist in parts of everyday life e.g. a creepy next door neighbours. Suspense thrillers like 'Psycho' 'Rear Window' and 'Vertigo' prove its possible to scare just through anticipation and mental disintegration built up through music, off kilter camera angles and playful misdirection.

James Whale - Gothic horror

James Whale was recognised for his work on 'Frankenstein' notable for its sympathetic presentation of the monster and elements of German expressionism to 'The invisible man' and 'The bride of Frankenstein' recognised for the humour in horror.

Eli Roth -

Eli Roth is an American director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for directing the sequel of 'Hostel' (2006, 2007) The genre of horror includes explicitly violent and bloody films

Title Sequence Timeline

Title sequences often come in a certain order....
The production company always comes first



Then the director is shown, this could be as a sort of peacock-esque strut of the 'mastermind' behind the movie to be shown. Almost like an animal urinating on their territory.

(Disclaimer: John Hughes is a mastermind.)

 

The director is often followed by the Title of the film, to tell the audience what they're watching and then the titles proceed the list of actors starring in the film.

 

Purpose of a Title Sequence

Title sequences can be extremely useful to the overall film in a number of ways. Most people think title sequences are just to show off the fancy names directing and producing the film.



However, besides being a runway for obnoxious directors to strut their reputation, title sequences can also be used to foreshadow the narrative of the film ahead and allude ot the some of the themes to be explored in the next 2 hours.

Additionally, title sequences can even kickstart the narrative and introduce characters and construct the atmosphere/genre for the film.

Conventions in Horror

Conventionsin horror from Matthew Brown

Se7en: Title Sequence Analysis

Se7en from Matthew Brown

A brief history of the Horror Genre

THE SILENT ERA

-Germany became a part of the international film industry.

-Germany expressionism 1920's-1930's.

-Horror film production raised from 24 films to 130 within four years.

MONSTERS AND MAD SCIENTISTS

Having monsters in the early years horror raised the popularity for this genre,in this era were for example Dracula, Frankenstein, mad scientists were introduced to horror films the decade for example invisible man.  

THE PRIMAL ANIMAL WITHIN

In the early 1940's animals were introduced to horror movies and were often seen as half humans/half animal, one of the most famous and successful examples is ''The wolf man'' which became one of the main factors.

MUTANTS AND MONSTERS

When it came to 1950's the style of horror movies has turnt into scifi horrors and unknown, a lot of the time aliens and other non existing creatures were used. Example- ''The Blob - 1958''

GHOSTS ,SATANISM AND BODY HORROR

Horror films got much better and real around the 1970's, ghosts and demons came on the scene around these times. The most popular of this was ''Ghost stories''. In the 1980's body horror, blood and brutality came into cinemas.

Valley of the Dolls: Title Sequence Analysis

"You've got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls. It's a brutal climb to reach that peak. You stand there, waiting for the rush of exhilaration, but it doesn't come. You're alone. And the feeling of loneliness is overpowering."

The film Valley of the Dolls (1967) opens with a shot of four figures looking statuesque and poised... like dolls, which relates to the title of the film as it foreshadows to the audience some of the story of the film ahead: the 'dolls' shown in the title sequence could represent the characters being manipulated and poised like statues without emotion or humanity. The lack of emotion is furthered by the use of a grey, minimalist background as grey has connotations or apathy.

The shot then changes and the statues are seen as the shadows of three different coloured people. These figures represent the three main characters of the film and are pictured in yellow, blue and red to show the different personalities and journeys the women will go through in the film ahead as each one of them ascends to fame/success (climbs up mount everest to reach the valley of the dolls) and their decline....

The three people then become pills (or 'dolls' another reference to the film title) showing that after the women achieve their success (reach the peak) they then fall into addiction to pills (fall into the 'valley of the dolls') and how the pills/dolls take over their life and all their humanity as the human figures become only pills.

The three pill capsules then topple over, powder spilling everywhere. This foreshadows the eventual demise of the three women as they struggle to deal with the problems in their life brought after achieving their "success".

The film then begins as the title of the film is shown. Overall, the title sequence summarises the whole story to the audience before the film has actually began, setting up the atmosphere for the movie including elements of fame, addiction and loss of control.