Genre Research: Horror

Horror Genre Research on Saw II

 

Textual analysis of Saw II Saw 2 (Saw II) is a horror film that falls into the torture porn sub-genre. Conventionally a scene begins with an anonymous person that the audience identifies as the protagonist, waking up in a strange place with a device fitted to them or a trap set up around them. A disfigured puppet man appears on a TV and identifies the person and what they have done to be worthy of the treatment he is giving. They are then told how to avoid the trap or device being set off, however it usually involves the protagonist having to harm the part of the body that they used to commit their “crime”. This is a convention that the Saw series created very early on, as with the audience having an expectation of what to expect, minimal development of the scene’s background is needed. This lead saw to become the revolutionary contender in the sub-genre of torture porn horror films. Propp’s character theory can be applied in a roundabout way as there is usually a single protagonist attempting to combat the plan of the villain. However it is presented in slanted way as the character is given the means in which to defeat him, it just depends on how powerful their own will to survive is in order to perform the necessary deed. Todarov’s theory can also be loosely applied as from the audiences’ perspective, the protagonist is immediately thrown into the state of conflict with no prior equilibrium being shown. As soon as the character has been given the necessary information they begin the attempt to repair. The resolution is if they should escape the predicament. The ideology is portrayed through the Jigsaw (the puppet), as he is playing god by deciding that he is of authority to discern whether someone should live or die. There is also the idea that the Jigsaw is “good” and that is simply cleansing “evil”. However for the viewers this ideology is turned on its head as we empathise with the protagonist and want them to succeed in their endeavour to escape, as opposed to being punished for whatever “crime” they have committed. The audience that the film is aimed at would most likely be males who are between 18 and 30 years old. The lower number is defined by the age certificate of the film itself it recommends that viewers should be at least 18. The film is designed to create discussion amongst its audience as during the scene, we empathise with the protagonist in their predicament and are lead to ask ourselves what we would do in the same situation. The audience is compelled to do this because there is no way to relate to the villain, he is presented as a puppet with disproportionate features and a low distorted voice.

My response to the media brief

Response to the brief

The brief me and my group have decided to go for is the short clip that defines the opening to a film. The genre in which we wish to place our opening will be a hybrid of both action films and horror films so obviously is important for us to clearly understand the conventions that define each of these two genres before we try to combine them in our media text.

The range of ages we are aiming to entertain is between 12 and 18 years old, as we are going to be using most conventions of action films and an entry level range of horror film conventions. This is because we want the film opening to be appropriate for the very bottom of the age range we are targeting, meaning that we will not be using any kind of gore as we have seen in horror films such as the Saw series. However we are hoping to incorporate the tense and atmospheric aspect of the horror film genre.

Normal conventions for the action film genre would be the protagonist performing a variety of stunts that defy the laws of physics but create a visually stunning spectacle. Another would be having some kind of plot goal such as a damsel in distress or some kind of catastrophic event that needs to be prevented.

Normal conventions for a film of the horror genre would include; blood, gore, some kind of overhanging threat that the protagonist/s need to attempt to escape from or destroy.

Convergence between these two genres would mean that we can have a film opening that incorporates typical horror aspects such as tension while maintaining an action based narrative as it would not be just limited to the protagonist being in danger throughout.