Horror TextsTheoretical Approaches

Mark Kermode

William Friedkin [director of The Exorcist] once said that there [are] only really three reasons for making movies: to scare people; to make them laugh; or to turn them on. And that means there [are] only three genres of movie. I actually think that as far as horror movies are concerned, they are the sump from which all great cinema comes...

One Size Fits All?

Dont expect to be able to apply a single theoretical approach to all horror texts.

Its better to be armed with a number of different approaches.

Texts always work on several levels and the horror genre is no different.

1. The Parasite

Weve looked at Michel Serres theory of the parasite, which looks at social relations as well as communications.

We looked at how supernatural forces in J-horror films often uses a medium (e.g. water, television static) to invade the human world.

http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/michel-serres

2. Genre Theory

Genre theory asks the fundamental question: are genres out there in the world, or are they artificially constructed after the fact?

Genres can be identified by their themes, or by their iconography. Iconography tends to take precedence.

In the case of horror, however, psychological fears are often more important than the appearance of things.

http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/understanding-genre

3. Audience Theory

Perhaps more than any other genre, horror texts attract an audience which pursues the genre with passion.

Given its psychological nature, the reception of horror texts by their audiences is of crucial importance.

Many film critics become critics simply because of their love of horror.

Enthusiasts often start their own zines or web sites (e.g.: http://finalgirl.blogspot.com)

4. The Uncanny Although Freuds essay on The

Uncanny is almost 100 years old, there is still some mileage in it.

Freud links the uncanny with repressed childhood memories and primitive human experience.

The return of the repressed can be seen as a theme of many horror films.

http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/the-uncanny-presentation

5. Disenchantment

According to sociologist Max Weber, the concept of disenchantment refers to the devaluation of mysticism.

Put another way, the repression of magic or the supernatural.

Weber described modern, secular society (in which scientific understanding is more valued than belief) as disenchanted.

Disenchantment (continued) In many horror texts, reason/

rationality comes under specific attack by paranormal forces.

Its the return of the repressed aspects of society (primitive experience/beliefs), which leak back into our disenchanted world.

Who wins? This depends on the cultural context. In these millennial times, religious fundamentalism (a form of mysticism) has made a comeback!

Disenchantment (continued)

We can link Webers idea of disenchantment to Freuds idea of the uncanny quite easily.

The return of repressed childhood memories often refers specifically to the experience of disenchantment in childhood loss of innocence, or buried memories.

Things that scare us as adults, often scared us as children, too!

6. Angels

When we discussed Michel Serres, we also mentioned his work on angels.

Serres links the past to the present using the idea of the angel-as-messenger.

This is another example of the return of something we thought we had left behind (or repressed).

Serres argues that we humans are, in fact, more ancient than modern those primitive impulses are not far below the surface.

7. Abjection

The idea of originated in the works of feminist psychoanalyst and critic Julia Kristeva.

To be abject is to be cast off or degraded the lowest of the low.

In critical theory, the term abjection is used to describe the state of marginalised/peripheral groups those excluded from the mainstream.

The abject is that which does not respect borders, positions, [and] rules.

Abjection (continued)

In horror texts, we frequently encounter the abject usually in the form of body horror. Its often what makes us turn away from the screen.

In the slasher sub-genre, the abject is represented by extreme gore and blood.

Weve often discussed how some things in horror films are just not right, whether its a precocious child or something that looks wrong when it moves - like the girl climbing from the well in Ringu.

Joined-up Thinking

Again, abjection can be linked to Michel Serres ideas about the parasite (and/or angels).

Abjection is concerned with borders and the space between, just as parasites and angels are. (The space between is, of course, the medium through which messages pass.)

The excluded third that Serres writes about in The Parasite could be described as the abject.

In horror texts, the abject is also the repressed thing that returns to wreak havoc on the disenchanted, rational world.

8. Purity and Danger

The idea of the abject also relates to anthropologist Mary Douglas work on Purity and Danger.

Just as human beings have an urge to narrate, they have a need to sort into categories: that which is safe/pure and that which is dangerous/impure.

Again, many horror texts are concerned with categories: human/inhuman; good/evil; alive/dead etc.

The scariest things are those which fail to fit a category: the abject, the undead, the not-human.