HORROR FILMS INGREDIENTS

SUSPENSE

1. Who's the director of this movie Psycho?

Alfred Hitchock.

2. What type of characters did he often use in horror films?

Film critic Robin Wood and director Francois Truffaut are among those who have noted that the James Bond films, for example, are copies of North by Northwest. A suave and unflappable hero, outlandish dangers, beautiful predatory women — all are elements found in Hitchcock, although the Bond films often revel in titillation and vicarious violence.

3. What technique did he use with the camera?

Perhaps Hitchcock’s most important contribution to horror films was his frequent use of the subjective camera to reveal a character’s vision, as in Psycho when Norman Bates peeps through a hole at Marion, or when “Mother” slashes Marion in the shower. As film critic Roger Ebert has complained, this subjective technique — shooting from the killer’s point of view — has been used to the point of overuse in recent slasher films.



COMIC RELIEF 

1. What is the comic relief?

Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in the middle of serious or tragic elements in a drama.

2. Why is it often used in horror films?

It is often used in horror films to relieve the tension after a dramatic, tragic or tense moment.

3. Do you remember laughing in horror films? Can you think of an example?

Yes, I remember laughing in more than one horror film because I was watching them with friends, and they were commenting the film saying funny things, I guess because that relieves the tension, similar to a comic relieve. For example in The Exorcist film, we laugh in several moments although we were all scary.