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Hollie Scales: Researcher

1

Using two examples from the genre of horror examine what a „classic Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13

horror‟ film is. Examine the features of classic horror, using two examples Formatted: Left

from the genre. Comment [U1]: I changed the title
the essay so it was structured more l
an essay question.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13

The horror genre is one of the most popular film genres and we may say it can be Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
argued that it has started to develop flourish practically immediately with the Double
Comment [U2]: The original senten
was too colloquial.
development of show business and a free access of wide audience to cinemas
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
and television. There are many reasons why this genre is popular, We can find a

lot of causes of the popularity of this genre but it is still not so easy to explain its

phenomenon, namely why it is so attractive for to people, despite all its unreality Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

the element of fantasy. „The horror genre is most recognisable by the emotional Comment [U3]: „Unreality‟ doesn‟t
properly into this sentence in terms o
making sense, and it doesn‟t sound
effect it tries to arouse. The horror film aims to shock, disgust, repel –in short, to academic enough when speaking ab
film.

horrify. This impulse is what shapes the genre‟s other conventions.‟… „The Formatted: Font: 12 pt

horrifying emotional effect, then, is usually created by a character convention: a

threatening unnatural monster.‟ (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010: 340-342) Comment [U4]: We added a releva
quote to back up his/her argument wi
academic evidence.
However, it would be a great mistake to say that horror movies are plain or even Formatted: Font: 12 pt
primitive. Naturally, there are some movies which that are really so stereotyped,

unbearably plain, and absolutely thoughtless. But in my opinion, it is simply a

minority exclusion or of films that were created by specialists, who are far from Comment [U5]: „Exclusion‟ didn‟t
make sense in this sentence so I
changed it to 'minority'.
reputable real moviemaking moviemakers and they can create nothing but films Formatted: Font: 12 pt
of low quality regardless of its their genre. Also I‟d say that as aAny other branch
Comment [U6]: 'Real' wasnt used i
of art cinema has its genius and its mediocre majority because good films may be the right way when describing the
moviemakers, so I changed it to
'reputable'.
created only by a good crew and therefore the genre is not so important as

significant. „In some cases, films may seem to straddle two genre Formatted: Font: 12 pt
classifications….War of the Worlds combines horror, science fiction, and family Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
melodrama‟. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010: 329)This can be seen in the films,

2

“Invasion of Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Among such genius of cinema I Comment [U7]: We added a quote
back up his/her argument with resear
we had found.
would name the crews that worked on the two films, of horror genre, they are Formatted: Font: 12 pt
“Invasion of Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”,. among such geniuses of cinema,
pt, Italic
in particular of the horror genre. I said crews not because I do not want to agree Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
with those who believe that Donald Siegel and John Carpenter were outstanding pt, Italic
directors, on the contrary I am glad that people and the crews who worked on Comment [U8]: From our research
we found that the director is called D
these two films were led by such well-qualified professionals. So, we may say that Siegel, and the person writing this
essay has just assumed that he/she
can write Donald, so I changed it
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are classics of the horror genre. back.
and the best ones. But what I would like to analyze is the reason why they are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [U9]: I put the titles of th
films in italics, as that it the academic
treated as such and in which what ways they are similar or different. way to write when speaking about
books or films, so as it is easier to rea
and understand.

Firstly, of all, it is necessary to say that these two films were created at different Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
times,. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was created in the middle 1950s, more
pt, Italic
precisely in 1956 whereas “The Thing” was created in 1982. It seems that such a
time difference should make the films completely different but, strangely enough,

they also have a lot of common aspects. That is why at the beginning I would like Formatted: Line spacing: Double
pt, Italic
to dwell upon similarities of both films. First of all, wWe may say that, to a certain

extent, the themes are similar. is close. Both films focus on the problem of the

human invasion by invasion of human or just alive bodies by some aliens that

tends to control the personality;, the hosts, actions, judgments, etc. In the case of

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, , we deal with creatures that “haves to wait for Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

the perfect moment when the target is asleep), and spend the next few hours Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
consuming and taking on that form. If the host wakes up when the process is not

complete, the whole procedure is a failure” (LeGacey 1978:288). On the other

hand, the thing alien needs just a few minutes to do it consume because “it can

assimilate the host while its still conscious, against the host‟s will” (Landon Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

3

19932:39). Probably sSuch changes adaptations are probably caused by the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

changes of time. or epoch. It is obvious that the rhythm of life in the 1980s was

much faster than in the 1950s;, certainly it found its expression in the perception

of the idea of possible alien assault. or attempts to invade human minds.

By the way, I think that bBoth films express the trend that took place in the society

when the idea of total control of a human mind became more and more widely

spread. „The horror film has sustained an audience for over 30 years, and its

longevity has set scholars looking for cultural explanations. Many critics suggest

that the 1970‟s subgenre of family horror films, such as The Exorcist and

Poltergeist, reflects social concerns about the breakup of American families.

Others suggest that the genres questioning of normality and traditional categories

is in tune with both the post-Vietnam and the post-Cold War eras: viewers may be

uncertain of their fundamental beliefs about the world and their place in it.‟

(Bordwell and Thompson, 2010:340-342). It means that symbolically by aliens Comment [U10]: We found this qu
during our research and thought it wa
appropriate at this part of the essay t
This meant that by using the symbol of the alien, creators of the films tried to back up what the perosn was writing
about.

imply portray those powers either politically or economically. that by different Formatted: Font: 12 pt

means It is aimed at the total control of public conscious through the invasion of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

the mind of a separate individual. It was quite actual if we take into account iIf we

take into consideration the time when both films were released;, 1952 it was the

year of the beginning of the cold war when the tension between the well-

developed democratic world and the communistic Soviet Union grew. and tThe

governments of many countries, including the most democratic, had started to

struggle for the control of public opinion and even each particular individual. At the

same time, 1982 it was a period when the cold war reached new levels of
Comment [U11]: I changed this
sentence as the original was too
intensity, that year being achieved its apologe and the world was on the eve of the confusing and didn't really make sens

4

Reagan‟s declaration of the war on the „empire of evil‟ when the situation very Formatted: Font: 12 pt
much resembled was very resembling to that of the early 1950s. Furthermore, the

degree of surveillance grew and specialists began to speak spoke about the total

control of certain organizations over people. In such a situation the people

transformed in pods in the horror films I‟ve just named Both films look like a

prophecy and warning against such dangerous practice.
One more thing that makes Another feature that makes “Invasion of the Body pt, Italic
Snatchers” and “The Thing” quite different to eachother is the degree of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
combination of reality and sense of fantasy. unreality as I would call it. In my Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
opinion, aAt this point “The Thing” is a much more radical thing film in the sense Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
that it the film is full of fantastic elements and the state of paranoia overwhelms Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
the audience and keeps people in such a state during throughout the whole film. pt, Italic
On the other hand, in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” it is quite difficult to Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

distinguish whether what we see is real or unreal fictional. Personally, when I Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [U12]: 'Unreal' isn't
academic enough to use when writing
watched both films I had a permanent doubt in For example, it is hard to about film so I changed it to 'fictional'
distinguish if the mental health of its the main characters is it was quite difficult to Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Comment [U13]: You can‟t use
say whether it was something really unusual, extraordinary things that happen to personal opinion in an essay.
people in the city or it was a simple hallucination, illusion, or just a nightmare. and Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
oOnly at the end it becomes clear that the whole city was really transformed in

pods people. Whereas in “The Thaing,”, it is evident practically from the very Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
beginning. Everyone realizes that the characters act in a fictional an unreal

situation; they really confronting some aliens that intend to control their bodies Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
and their minds. Probably, tThe cause of such a difference lies in the history of the

origin of the films. For we know that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
significantly influenced by preoceeding films noir that tended to externalised the

5

moral conflict of the detective story. Such films inhabit “shadow worlds and hover

without resolve between the supernatural and mundane rationalism. In the same

sense “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the other alien takeover films…

psychologically externalised the central conflict of the alien invader film – they

were less films about aliens than they were about alienation” i (Bisking Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Biskind,1983 PP.139). However, the director tries to keep us in suspense for a pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
while and inrushes fills the film with rationalism and realism but however, when
Comment [U14]: We didn't think
'inrushes' was a word so I changed it
the nightmare becomes the reality he widely uses film noir techniques such as 'fills' to help the sentence make more
sense.

shots down tight corridors, silhouettes running against streetlights, close ups on Formatted: Font: 12 pt
sweaty faces,and tilted angles. Though Although, he does not forget about

classical horror films scenes such as “shots up from under the plank, under which Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

McCarthy and Winter hide, with the pod people crossing calmly assuring them

there is nothing to fear, the wide-angled shots out of the office window down onto

the public square, which becomes inexplicably frightening the moment all visitors

are cleared and the bustle of everyday chaos suddenly turns into something

ordered and people start organizing the pods to be distributed about the country”

(Baskind 1983:141). Whereas in “The Thing” its creators used the experience of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

past works in the field of horror films, and I would say this film is „pure‟r horror in Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic, Not Superscript/ Subscript
the sense that the psychological tension here is weakened by a certain pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript

simplification. due to which we We should not guess whether it is a kind of due to

the psychological problems of the characters or a paranormal phenomenon. for

the latter is quite obvious. Also, I want to add that “The Thing” is much richer in Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

special effects, particularly when we see the victims of aliens who “transform into Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

twisted versions of themselves, complete with claws, spider-like limbs, teeth and

lots of flailing tentacles” (Landon 19923:36). And again I think that This is the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

6

result of time changes because in the 1980s, due to the development of computer

technologies and more sophisticated technical equipment, impressive special

effects became an essential part of any good successful horror film. pretending to

be interesting and popular. Whereas, in the 1950s not only were the technical
Comment [U15]: We added this
opportunities were not so good, but the tradition of film shooting was a bit quote to add more academic researc
into the essay.

different. „Heavy makeup is usually prominent in the iconography of horror. A furry Formatted: Font: 12 pt
face and hands can signal transformation into a werewolf, while shrivelled skin pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
indicated a mummy.. More recently, computer special effects have supplemented pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
makeup in transforming actors into monsters.‟ (Bordwell and Thompson, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

2010:340-342). More attention was usually given to psychological side aspects Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
Double
and could only be enforced by special effects. which were not very „special‟ pt, Italic, Not Superscript/ Subscript
though in comparison with 1980s. pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
As for some more similarities of both In terms of similarities between the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

two films, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”, we may find Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
not only are alike in their themes and probably the ideas used in both of pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
the films can also be compared. There is also a noticeable link in but pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
also the atmosphere in both of these films. pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript

As I have already said these films deals with the The idea of alien Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
intrusion is emphasized with the invasion into human life, into human pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
body, mind and consciousness. These films also may may also serve as pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
a warning about the danger of such a situation,; of a total control of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
human consciousness when people become pods but not thinking Formatted: Justified, Right: 2.11 c
Line spacing: Double
beings. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

7

It is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension, even paranoia that Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

makes us forget about the unreality fantasy of the events and deep into Formatted

Formatted
the action. It is obvious that the creators of these films had similar aims.
Formatted
Formatted
Finally, I would like to add a few words about the way occurance of alien
Formatted

invasion. is important in both films. This is because it it may be a bit Formatted
Formatted
different by its in form but the principle of such an invasion remains Formatted
Formatted
similar, whilst the aliens in both films. What I mean is the fact that Formatted
Formatted
certainly aliens in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” act
Formatted
Formatted
differently,; I have already mentioned that the latter act rapidly without
Formatted

human will and they can act in it any time, while the former are quite long Formatted
Comment [U16]: The original
reacted beings,; they cannot attack mencan only attack men if they are Formatted
not asleep.awake. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Formatted
Formatted
But we see that there is one common principle in that the aliens in these this films
Formatted
Formatted
attack from the inside,; I mean they want to invade human bodies and minds but
Formatted

not their land, or property,. they They do not threat directly to their physical Formatted
Formatted
wealth. It seems that the human inner world is much more important for to them Formatted
Formatted
than anything else, because they try to control human‟s memory, and Formatted
Formatted
consequently our feelings, emotions, our state of mind, perception of the world, Formatted
Formatted
our present and our past. Moreover, they “have access to the being‟s memories,
Comment [U17]: Two different type
allowing them to blend in almost perfectly without being detected by future target
Formatted

hosts who may know the person who has now been replaced by these horrible Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted
alien creatures”ii. Thus, we see that unlike many other films about alien invasion, Formatted
Formatted
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” pay much more attention to the Formatted
Formatted
inner world of people, implying that the spiritual emptiness that threatens to the
Formatted
Formatted

8

people of the 20th century. because in my opinion This is because the aliens Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

symbolize all those complicated processes that took place in our society in the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

20th century and still continues to exist, and that lead leading to moral Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
degradation of people to symbolized by their transformation into pods. pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Taking into account all above mentioned above, I can come to the conclusion that Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are real masterpieces of the pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
horror genre and we have can perceive them not only in the proper sense but we pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
should also realize what the creators of these films implied. In my paper I have pt, Italic, Not Superscript/ Subscript
named a lot of things that are either similar or different in these films There are
many similarities and differences between the films, but what is the most
important is the fact that they both were and remain extremely popular. and the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
film that would be better than them can be hardly imagined. One of the evidences Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

of my idea is the fact that there There are numerous remakes of these films that, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
in their its turn, tells us about the actuality of the plot, themes and ideas, conveyed pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
with the help of in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Thus, I can pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
say that it could be argued that both films should be regarded as classics of the pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
horror genre and their traditions should be continued, but not blindly copied that pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
would lead leading to the development and prosperous future of this genre.
Formatted
Reference:
Formatted
Formatted
Biskin, Peter. “The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the
Formatted

Paranoid Style in American Movies.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Holliwood Formatted
Formatted
Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. New York: Pantheon, 1983. Formatted
Formatted
Formatted
Biskin, Peter. “The Russians Are Coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Thing, and the
Formatted

9

Extremists from Beyond the Center.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Holliwood

Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. Pantheon; NY:, 1983. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12


Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The

Journal of Popular Film 1. Winter 1972. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12


Landon, B. „The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction Classic.‟

Chapter 2 of The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Film in

the Age of Electronic (Re)production. Greenwood Press Westport, CT:, 1993. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12


LeGacy, Arthur. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties.”

Literature/Film Quarterly 6.2, 1978. Comment [U18]: Firstly, it was title
'Reference' instead of 'Bibliography',
and even though it was in alphabetic
order, there were too many mistakes
included, so we just deleted it and
typed up a new bibliography.

i
Bisking 1983 PP.139 Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
ii
Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The Journal Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Not
Superscript/ Subscript
of Popular Film 1. Winter 1972. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Formatted: Not Superscript/ Subscr
Bibliography Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

Bordwell, David, Thompson, Kristen, Film Art: An Introduction, 9th edn (New York,

Mcgraw-Hill Companies, 2010) p329-342

10

Formatted: Line spacing: Double

Biskind, Peter, „The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12

Paranoid Style in American Movies‟, in Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught

us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (New York, Patheon Books, 1983)

Biskind, Peter, „The Russians are coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Thing, and the

Extremists from Beyond the Centre‟, in Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught

us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (New York, Patheon Books, 1983)

Gregory, Charles, T, „The Pod Society Vs. the Rugged Individualists‟, in The Journal

of Popular Film and Television, Volume 1 (winter,1972) 3-14

Landon, Brooks, „The Thing In All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction

Classic‟ in The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Film in the

Age of Electronic (Re)production, (Westport CT, Greenwood Press, 1992)

LeGacy, Arthur „Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties‟ in

Literature/Film Quarterly, Volume 6.3 (Summer, 1978)


11

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