Theory of scary films

Aristotle

Believe in Catharsis

-       a release of suppressed emotions

-       We are attracted to what scares us to purge emotions

Excitation Theory (Zolf Zillman)

-       Negative emotions gained from violent/scary imagery “INTENSIFY” the positive

-       We enjoy seeing evil vanquished

Glenn D Walters

What makes a film scary?

1.    Tension – suspense built up with filming techniques

2.    Relevance – The fear generated has to be be relevant and believed by the audience

3.    Unrealism – We have to know there is no real threat. This is safe space to explore and experiment.

Basis of