MWA 2: Literary Analysis

Eliana Trujillo

Gwyneth Henke

ENGL 1120

26 March 2023

Horror Genre

When I think of genre my mind automatically shifts to a novel, when I think longer, I realize genre is around and applies to things more than I think. While googling, “what is the definition of genre”, many things came up, but the one definition I chose is from Merriam-Webster. Three definitions came up on the website, “a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content”, “KIND, SORT”, and “painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically”. With this being stated, there are many things genre applies to such as media, books, music, movies, and games, to indicate their style, tone, theme, and audience. The genre I decided to analyze was horror films. The two films I chose were Smile and Mama. Encyclopedia Britannica states that, when it comes to the horror genre, the focus is to create a feeling of fear. One thing that I found the most interesting while reading information from Encyclopedia Britannica, is that some horror tales are of ancient origin and form a substantial part of the body of folk literature. The literary began to emerge in the 18th-century pre-Romantic era with the Gothic novel and has continued since with advances. While continuing my research I came across another interesting fact about genre, genre creates an expectation in the minds of its audience and may fail or succeed depending on if that expectation is met or not. Just like any other genre, horror has the expectation of suspenseful soundtracks, jump-scares and darkness for visual elements, some sort of evil or supernatural for the plot, and the narrative style being straightforward.

The first film example I’ll be analyzing is Parker Finn’s screenplay Smile. Smile is about Dr. Rose Cotter who is a therapist. She examines a female patient with frightening experiences that are not explainable. Eventually, the same frightening experiences happen to Dr. Rose Cotter and after looking into how to explain her now unexplainable, to survive she must confront her troubling past.

Growing up I have always enjoyed horror movies, so I always want to watch the newest horror film coming out. The one thing that reassures me to want to see horror films are the trailers and the still. For this film, I did not even need to watch the trailer, I saw the still and just knew it would be good, I also heard opposing opinions, so that made me want to make my own decision. For example, my brother and his friend had gone to see it before me and after doing so, did not seem like fans. On the still, there are luring things stated such as, “ONCE YOU SEE IT IT’S TOO LATE”, “ONLY IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 30”, and “GET TICKETS NOW”. Not only that but the still itself looks super creepy. This was the type of movie where I was scared for it to end and for it to become a reality for us humans. When it first started, it was not very scary, but as it continued it became creepier. What happened between Dr. Rose Cotter and her patient was unexpected. The ending of the film was confusing for me. For some reason, this film Is one film I would not care to watch again. It met the expectations of being a horror film. The sound effects, sounds, goriness, etc. One of the many examples that prove it has met the horror expectations that appear more than once throughout the film is when those cursed with the “smile” end up killing themselves in front of another person to pass it on. Compared to the other horror films I have seen; I feel comfortable enough recommending It because I found its plot unique.

 The second film example I’ll be analyzing is Mama by Andres Muschietti, Barbra Muschietti, and Neil Cross. Mama is about two young toddler girls who sadly lose both parents, one unexplainably. The way they lose their father leaves them stuck in the woods. Their uncle and aunt go on the look for them and 5 years later find them. The girls are then welcomed into their uncle and aunt’s home when the aunt realizes something, or someone has their attention and obedience.

 This horror movie was probably the first intense horror movie I had seen growing up. I remember I was 7 and I begged my parents to take me to the theater and to watch it with me. They were a bit iffy but ended up sitting each on my side watching the film with me eating popcorn. Since it has been a while, I do not remember my exact feelings toward it but I re-watched it and did not find it scary but rather creepy. I do recall watching the trailer with my parents. I am assuming it seemed watchable for someone my age if my parents agreed to take me. Looking at the still now, I do not find it very creepy, if anything it just creates curiosity within me, and this is me looking at the still forgetting I have watched it before. Compared to SMILE, this is a film I would re-watch more than 2 times. I do think this film met expectations of it being a horror film with the effects, sounds, jump scares, etc. Some of the films back then and today have a significant difference and that is the extent of the goriness. This film did not have much gore at all and that is something I liked. My favorite thing about horror films are the jump scares and that is one thing I have not been able to find lately. Horror is the one genre of film I cannot and will not watch alone.

There are all sorts of genres out there, horror just being one of the many. We humans are entitled to our opinions and preferences, so having more than one genre is something I appreciate. Imagine not having more than one genre. Life would be so stale. Fear is the most important element when it comes to the genre. The reason some humans enjoy horror films is because of the adrenaline rush they are meant to create. Horror films are more complex than we think, people study people’s fear responses to see what techniques can terrify audiences. The two films I discussed and compared are just one of the many examples of the horror genre. The main thing that matters in genre is that the basic and expected expectations are met.

Works Cited

“Genre Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/genre.

“Horror Story.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story.