MEST4 Coursework Blog

“Why are evil characters always children or targeting children.[1]”

Why are children in horror presented as evil?

Horror films show many negative stereotypes within males and females but in this specific HORROR text, what is most significant about this text is that its ‘children’. This is predominantly clear in Scott Derrickson’s highly successful film, Sinister (2012). In Derrickson’s film, children are presented as the villain/devil in most horror movies. It is shown that Sinister shows a negative typecast for children rather than the typical stereotype of children which appears to be the children being harmful and loving. We can also see this in historical, successful Horror films such as IT, the others and the children. “When watching horror films there seems to be nothing scarier than the little kid who just pops up on screen and you know is about to do something so crazy or witness an event that will change their personality for the rest of the film.[2]” This essay will discover the negative stereotypes of children in Horror films and how this influences other upcoming movies and the audience who are watching. 1896 was the first horror movie to be released.

In this first section I am going to be speaking about a specific scene in the sinister movie which shows a great understanding of how the children are being represented in sinister movie. “These films play upon the fear of evil within your own family or inside your own home. Your children are either in danger or have turned against you.[3]” This video clip is from the First Sinister movie by Scott Derrickson which was released in October 2012. The beginning of the video clip is someone turning ON the switch to the operator. The camera movement then slowly moves to the protagonist’s face who is the dad in the movie; there is then a close up of his face looking at the big projector. The setting is that the man is shown to be sitting in a big dark room which shows to have low key lighting. He has put on old videos that he found from the previous family who loved in the same house as him, the camera then moves back to the man face and the lighting had become more of low key so it looks quite dark. The sound in the background is quite spooky and demanding which connotes that something bad is about to happen.

The video footage shows a family handing on a tree with a rope tied around their necks and their faces are covered with bags, suddenly the man spots something. The young girl from the previous family is climbing back down from the same tree her family is hanging down from, the little girl then walks up to one of the bodies and starts swinging off it pretending she is at the park swinging on a climbing frame, this automatically suggests that the little girl could be possessed in some sort of way as this is shown not to be normal behaviour. The girl then skips towards the camera and stands there with her finger covering her mouth (the sign saying shhh) the man then recognises the girl by saying her name in shock then she suddenly disappears from the screen. The next shot is of a car on fire with chains around it... then a young boy comes in front looking directly at the screen, doing the same gesture as the girl, (shhh) the camera goes back to the low key lighting and colours are very dark and dull. The man then looks confused at the child and then the boy disappears again. Throughout the video clips there are different tragic deaths that have happened and a child has appeared on the screen doing the same gesture, this shows that the children are the ones who are killing people and the gesture (shhh) is being repeated by all the children which shows that some demon could be possessing them to be doing this and they know what they are doing isn’t right so they do the particular gesture to sort of show that it is a secret and they don't want to tell anyone.

Orphan is another great example which shows that the main child who is evil in the movie. The movie was released on 22^nd July 2009.[4] The main movie trailer starts off slowly, letting the audience know that this family was going to adopt a child, called Esther. Then towards the middle of the film trailer we begin to find out that this child is troubled, and there is something wrong. Then, the climax appears and we receive a visual montage of the different types of torment that Esther puts this mother and family through. The structure allows the audience to know what the general narrative of the film is about, but doesn’t give too much away which allows the audience to remain intrigued. For example, we see the other children in the film being used to get to the mother, e.g. when the little girl gets pushed in front of the car, etc. But we never get to see the outcome, or what happens to the child. An enigma is set up too; we know something is wrong with Esther, but what? When watching this trailer, I realised that the mood and the target audiences understanding of the film trailer is created through mise-en-scene elements such as lighting, body language, setting and so on. “Don't let the trailer fool you into thinking this is just another "evil kid" movie. It’s really much more than that.[5]”

Settings/ backgrounds are used throughout this trailer to create realism. The typical conventions that we see in any psychological horror film are also shown in this film trailer which will appeal and attract to the correct target audience. For example, schools are a common convention of a psychological horror film and in this film trailer; we see two different schools in different locations. This could be because of the fact that the killer has had a bad childhood and wants to seek revenge on other children/ teenagers, for example. Also, the main setting is in the family’s home which is the most common setting for any horror film of any sub-genre. This could be because the audience are therefore able to picture themselves in this situation and would therefore be more thrilling and un-nerving. We see a hospital, a park and so on, and these types of setting simply create realism. In one scene in the park, where Esther spots the girl that bullied her about the way she dressed, we see her follow the girl up to the top of one of the play instruments where she appears to push her off.

A shot is then shown of Esther at the top, looking powerful and like it was her kingdom, her domain, due to the low angle of the shot. Other mise-en-scene elements add to the effect. Esther’s dark, old-fashioned costume and the shape of her hat give her a witch-like appearance that directly leads us to see her as evil, sinister and a danger to innocent children. “Fails to deliver in every way” “too long, repetitive and not that scary[6]”

Audience pleasures of horror are to excite and creates anxiety towards the audience. “One of the major reasons we go to scary movies is to be scared.[7] ” This causes more excitement for the audience to this particular topic as children are involved which is quite unique to the typical horror genre as it mainly focuses on adults or a type of ghost of demon. ‘It is argued that these attempts at posing general explanations of the appeal of horror are, at worst, inappropriately reductive and, at best, insufficiently specific, failing to distinguish the diverse pleasures that heterogeneous horror audiences take from their active involvement in the genre.[8]’

“Older people have stimulation fatigue. Life’s [real] horrors scare them, or they don’t find them entertaining any more or interesting.[9]”

“It is suggested that the former, active and particularistic conception is to be preferred and that this necessitates a renewed attempt to grasp the diversity of what is, after all, a heterogeneous audience capable of taking diverse pleasures from their favoured genre.[10]” That may explain another peculiarity of the genre: horror movies are popular for date films. “Teenage boys enjoyed a horror film significantly more when the female companion... expressed fright, whereas teenage girls enjoyed the film more when the male companion... showed a sense of mastery and control.[11]” Horror films are popular because it makes everything look so real and normal which gives a sense of fear to the audience, and the knowledge that we are all doomed. “You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one. Do not, under any circumstances, take children to see it.”[12]

“Audience participation for both screenings I went to were very high.[13]

The first every horror movie was called the house of the devil “Le manoir du disble” which was released in 1896! The main plot is about a creature comes into a castle and conjures a young girl. This is evidence to show that even the first ever horror movie produced was related to children. Gradually motive producers progressed over the years and introduced children more in to horror which is that makes the movies more successful. Another historical text of horror is the Exorcist. This movie was released on the 16^th March 1973. This movie is one of the most well-known successful horror movie there is. IMDB has rated it 8. The movie was famous for being the first released horror film about possession. “The Exorcist is one of the best movies to come out of the 70's[14]” This movie is about a teenage girl who gets possessed by a mysterious entity and her mother seeks of help from 2 priests to help save her. In my opinion I think the horror genre became more noticed and more popular after this movie had been released and one of the reasons why this movie became to popular was probably because of the main possessed character seemed to be a teenager which creates more tension for the audience and makes them determined to watch more “An intense and very terrifying movie that will make you sleep with the bible a few nights in a row[15]” as it would be a little boring is main character was an older person who got possessed. It wouldn’t create more excitement and fear towards the audience. “In later decades, other low budget film makers were drawn to the genre. Horror became a staple of the 1960's U.S. independent production, with many films targeted at the teenage market.[16]” Also another historical text of horror is ‘The children’ which was released in 2008.

Looking at the horror genre in wider context, this particular topic can have an impact towards audiences and society. This can have a huge impact on children as they would be watching these types of movies and watch their similar age group do dangerous things, "Children who kill[17]" such as using dangerous weapons, fighting, and even killing. These particular representations are dangerous as children in this society will see them and would want to imitate on their violent behaviour. A real life example of this is the Childs Play 3 and James Bulger murder that happened in the 1990’s. “It is not for me to pass judgment on their upbringing, but I suspect exposure to violent video films may in part be an explanation.[18]”—Mr Justice Morland, Trial Judge. This tragic incident happened by 2 young children aged 10 (Jon Venables and Robert Thompson) The boys had been seen by 38 people. Bulger had a bump on his forehead and was crying, but most of the people who saw did nothing to interfere, thinking that he was a younger brother to Jon and Robert. Two people challenged the older boys, but they claimed that Bulger was a younger brother or that he was lost and they were taking him to the local police station. The boys then took him to the “village of Walton, and with Walton Lane police station across the road facing them, they hesitated and led Bulger up a steep bank to a railway line near the disused Walton & Anfield railway station, close to Anfield Cemetery, where they began torturing him.[19]”

At the trial it was recognised that at this location, one of the boys threw blue “Humbrol[20]” modelling paint, which they had shoplifted earlier, into Bulger's left eye. They kicked and stomped on him, and threw bricks and stones at him. Batteries were placed in Bulger's mouth. Police believed some batteries may have been inserted into his anus, although none were found there. Finally, a 22-pound 10.0 kg iron bar, described in court as a railway fishplate, was dropped on him. The case's pathologist, stated that “Bulger suffered so many injuries[21]”

The case against the film, though never really proven, led to new legislation. The Child's Play sequence of movies follows the exploits of evil doll Chucky, in his various reincarnations. The series has provided an excuse for lots of doll jokes, lots of violent murders made to seem funny because they are being committed by a doll. “The resulting shock causes Cochran to suffer a fatal heart attack.[22]” But it was the third payment that forever became tangled with the panic surrounding the Bulger case. Could Child's Play 3 be blamed for a completely horrific murder? Despite the lack of direct evidence, the UK media certainly seemed to think so. As time went by the conclusion by authorities seemed to be that this was a case of two disturbed individuals acting on dark instincts, rather than the end of development as we know it. Venables and Thompson were tried (aged 11) as adults, an, although they were originally sentenced to detention without limits, they were released after eight years, with new identities. Venables offended again, and was re-imprisoned in July 2010 on charges of handling child pornography: the moral panic surrounding the original case was renewed across tabloid front pages. Therefore all of this happened because two children saw aggressive and disturbing footage and then got influenced by those actions and resulted in killing an innocent child. “However, these “evil children” movie genuinely affect some people.[23]”

In conclusion, sinister has shown that it has gone against the traditional stereotype of children as children are supposed to be kind and UN harmful. Sinister has recently made a second part to the movie as the first movie had become quite successful. The second part had been released on the 21^st August 2015, this goes in more depth about my investigation about children being evil, the main protagonist is been influenced by other dead children who are forcing and encouraging the little boy to make a video of him killing his brother and parents. The second movie shows more of the children being portrayed as evil than in the first part. “The answer lies in the demographic which these movies are targeting: Women and families. [24]“ Also, the new paranormal activity is followed by this sequence too when the little girl in the family is friends with the ghost, therefore this is ended with the mother being killed by the ghost and the little girl goes off with it.

Word Count: 2,588

Work Cited

Books

Georgieva, M. C. (2013). The Gothic Child. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jackson, K. (n.d.). Technology, monstrosity, and reproduction in twenty-first century horror.

King, S. (1986). It. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Viking.

Olson, D. C., & Scahill, A. (2012). Lost and othered children in contemporary cinema. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Westfahl, G., & Slusser, G. E. (1999). Nursery realms: Children in the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

Web

Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies - The Daily Beast

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html

Orphan Film Review – The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/aug/07/orphan-film-review

Academic texts

Bierly, M. (1988). Chucky.

Calhoun, J. (2009, December). Childhood end: let the right one in and other deaths in innocence.

Cantor, J. (2004, February). Development differences and responses to horror.

Cohen, D. S. (2009, march). Coraline.

Gutierrez, P. (n.d.). When fear is fun.

Jackson, P. (2010, April 2). Little, violent: the bad and the matter of children.

Landreth, J. (2009, march 24). HK heat of Nanking!

Maddin, G. (1927, may 5). To the lighthouse.

Pitman, R. (1960, December 7). Village of the damned/children of the damned.

Stables, K. (n.d.). Children's film foundation collection: scary stories.

Steel, J. (2012, may 31). Doggy's got teeth... Lots of teeth: representation of children and the canine in horror film and fiction.

Moving Image Texts

Orphan – Trailer

https://youtu.be/WgxVIB2WuHU

Sinister (Extended Cut Endings)

https://youtu.be/-UMTzmm_sKs

Work Consulted

Web

The Pleasure of Horror – Beth A. Kettleman (2009)

https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cul/summary/v071/71.kattelman.html

[1] Howe, R. (2013)

[2] Ibid

[3] No Name – (2009)

[4] Roger, R. (2009)

[5] IMDB

[6] ibid

[7] The Daily Beast (2011)

[8] Shoard, C. - The Guardian (2009)

[9] ibid

[10] Tandfoline

[11] The Daily Beast (2011)

[12] Roger, R. (2009)

[13] IMDB

[14] ibid

[15] ibid

[16] ibid

[17] Shoard, C. - The Guardian (2009)

[18] Mediaknowall

[19] Wikipedia

[20] ibid

[21] ibid

[22] ibid

[23] No Name (2009)

[24] ibid

Intro: This is very close to an excellent introduction – the basic ingredients are there. Put the initial quote about the title, re-write your title to include your primary text and then work on that opening sentence. I would take out the repeated references to gender in the introduction as I think it is misleading and not part of your main investigation. Also proof-read for clarity and errors! 250 words.

Section 1: Primary text – Sinister. Textual analysis of key scenes, exploring representation of children. Link to theory and quotes throughout this section. 500 words.

Section 2: Secondary text – Orphan. Don’t mention trailer – it just makes it look like you haven’t watched the film! You can still use those scenes to analyse though. More textual analysis here, link to the points you’re making with Sinister and further quotes/theory. Explore the other side of the argument here too – criticisms and how using children as scary characters can backfire. 400 words.

Section 3: Genre – horror audience pleasures and how and why evil children can fit into this. Research and quote driven section – get all your BFI research in here and link back to the texts you’ve already mentioned. 500 words.

Section 4: Historical context – trace these audience pleasures and evil children right back to the beginning of cinema. I’d consider adding another historical text between 1896 and 2000s – Exorcist would seem an obvious choice. More textual analysis and quotes please! 400 words.

Section 5: Wider context – the impact horror genre can have on audiences and society. Are these representations dangerous in society – Child’s Play 3 and James Bulger murder in 1990s. Effects theory – hypodermic needle etc. http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/mediaviolence/violence.php?pageID=child 350 words.

Conclusion: Perhaps look to see if there are any sequels or new horror films coming out next year that continue this long tradition of evil children in horror (new Paranormal Activity?) This could be a good opening to your conclusion. 200 words.

Next steps… update/finish your plan based on this tutorial. You don’t need to stick to the above by any means but hopefully it has at least clarified your thinking and provided a potential structure that will be easy to follow.

This essay has great potential – it could be SERIOUSLY good! Remain focused on the question throughout – don’t drift to gender (although this would be fine to explore in one paragraph).

Publish this tutorial to your blog with your next steps as usual.

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