Study Task 4

In my essay I intend to ask the question of "Why is stop motion so effective as a horror medium." So far i have researched the roots of the horror genre in general, but am changing this research to more suit the topic of stop-motion horror. So far i have found out that quite a few people agree that stop-motion is creepy, and have found articles which make it clearer to me why and present others viewpoints. Among these are the fact that stop-motion is essentially reanimating objects which shouldnt be moving to begin with. I also have researched about the theory of the uncanny and how this might be applied to stop-motion animation and why it is unnerving. Below are some of my references and what i intend to research further.
-Ladislas Starevich
-roots of horror genre- english gothic novels- frankenstein, dracula etc
-nosferatu, the cabinet of dr caligari
-german expressionism
- horror cinema becoming prevalent in the 70s- King, The exorcist
-stop motion in live action horror
-why is horror such a popular genre
-ray harryhausen
-the uncanny
-visceral feelings

animations- the Sandman, Coraline, alice, the thing, it

Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear

By Thomas M. Sipos


Horror cinema book

Why Horror Seduces

By Mathias Clasen

The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation by Angela Tinwell

Study Task 3- Images and theory

Below are some images i have collected which i intend to research further approaching my essay. In particular i want to base my project around stop motion as a horror medium, and why it has such a creepy feel. The following images are mostly from animations which i feel support what my argument will be about, however i also intend to look at horror cinema itself with Nosferatu, and other horror films which use stop-motion as a special effect.

The Sandman

After having decided that my theme will be horror based, and in particular based around stop motion and why it strikes me as so creepy, i have begun researching a few horror stop-motions. One of the favourites i found, linked below, is The Sandman by Paul Berry. I found it very unsettling, the character, set design and audio all link together to create a really creepy experience. I also find the jerky motion of the sandman as he lurches up the stairs to be disconcerting. At this point my essay focus is aiming at why stop-motion is so effective at telling horror stories, with perhaps a particular focus on the way stop-motion characters move. My inspiration for this project is the Wombles, because it terrified me as a child.

                                                                                                                             

Context of Horror- Study Task 2

-Horror cinema has its roots in English Gothic novels of the 18th and 19th Centuries, such as Frankenstein, Dracula etc.
-The very first horror films were based off these novels. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was first produced in 1908.
- German Expressionist cinema- The cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919) Nosferatu (1922)
-Horror began largely as silent films in the 1920s - villain almost always supernatural in early films
-Sci fi horror became popular in the 1950s
-Evolution of the villain in the 1960s - human and psychologically real- villains in Psycho and Peeping Tom. These killers seemed normal on the surface but were driven to commit murder-mostly against sexually transgressive women
- The Exorcist (1973) demonic possession horror explored
- the Shining (1980) haunted house conventions used to explore real life horrors - alcoholism, child abuse, domestic violence.
- The 90s brought about more creative, charismatic serial killer horrors- Se7en, Silence of the Lambs