In present day horror films, producers and directors are
having a hard time finding ways to scare the audience. The audience has been
exposed to so many of the same tactics used in horror films, that they can tell
when something is going to happen. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960, American horror film, Psycho, is still remembered as one of
the greatest horror films in history.
Throughout the movie, I believe only three scenes scared the
audience. The first scene, is the moments leading up before the shower scene,
when the curtain is ripped off and she is stabbed. The second is when Aborgast,
enters the house, walks up the stairs, and out of nowhere gets stabbed. The final
scene is when Lila finds the corps of the mother in the cellar, and Norman
comes behind her with the knife. During all three of these scenes, a tactic called
jump scare is used. A jump scare is a tactic when something happens unexpectedly
and suddenly, usually something popping out of nowhere, to scare the audience.
Although this is a cheap method, it works.
All three of the jump scare scenes, include intense music
that leads up to a one second scare. This builds up suspense and allows the
audience to expect something soon.
The jump scare, along with the intense music leading up to
it, is what makes a horror film scary.
I agree with you that the best way to scare an audience is by using Jump Scare. As a viewer, I can tell you first hand that the Jump scare tactic always scares the s@#t out of me. I think Jump scare has everything to do with the elements. If the music is similar to those of a high screech of a violin, like the one in Phsyco that makes everything even more scary. Something I find directors always use is the use of mirrors. You see it in a movie like Prom Night when she closes the vanity and he is standing right behind her. With something like that, and all of the elements working well together, you are bound to be scared. Jump scare is the best way to scare anyone, no matter what age.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the jump scare is without a doubt the best way to scare an audience in the moment, I think it can also be used to create a lasting, unsettling fear that follows audiences home to their everyday lives. This is something Psycho does incredibly well. By placing its jump scares in everyday situations, and having them committed by a seemingly normal man, audiences left the theater wondering if someone who is seemingly normal might "jump scare" them in real life.
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