Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Psychological horror

Psychological Horror
  • Sub-genre of horror fiction
  • Relies on characters fears and emotional instability to build tension
  • Focus is the characters mind
  • The audience is positioned with the unstable character, even if they are the villain we are forced to relate with them.
  • Other horror genres focus on fantastical situations such as attacks by stylized monsters, psychological horror generally involves situations based on artistic realism. 
  • Characters face 'adult fears' which attack the audiences psychological safety and security. For example kidnapping, home invasion and sexual assault. 
  • Creates overwhelming discomfort by exposing  emotional vulnerabilities and fears like  the repressed parts of the human psyche, such as the capabilities of human kind (everyone has the ability to kill).
  • Plot twists are a device that is often used, they often include internal battles. "Subconscious desires such as romantic lust and the desire for petty revenge".
  • It is a  genre that is easier for an audience to relate with than genres such as splatter fiction or torture porn, which focus on bizarre and distasteful themes. 



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