Fears & Monsters in Film

 To analyse how to scare an audience with my own films, I wrote down: Things that may scare an individual person, (common phobias that affect themselves), and things that scare society/large populations of people because that 'thing' affects them all.

Things that may scare an individual (common phobias):

- Animals

- Being trapped

- Being alone

- The 'Unknown' (eg. a dark place, the future, etc.)

- Catching a disease

- Death

Things that scare society:

- Financial crisis

- Terrorism

-  Apocalypse

Monsters in Film

Monsters are entities that represent common phobias that people have. If a monster represents a viewer's fear, it makes it easier for the filmmaker to scare the viewer with this monster, because the viewer can relate this entity to something that they are scared of in real life, reminding themselves of their own fears after they see this monster. 

Here are some examples of famous movie monsters, and what common fears they represent:

GODZILLA

(Thomas, 2019)

Fears the entity represents:

- Nuclear War

- Beings that can kill

- The power of superpowers (states)

DRACULA

(Mellor, 2020)

Fears the entity represents:

- Exploitation of women by men

- Exploitation of the poor by the rich

- Using high status and power to corrupt

- Disease (specifically sexually transmitted)

ZOMBIE

(Navarro, 2020)

Fears the entity represents:

- Disease

- Old Age

- Loneliness

- Death

- Invasion 

- Apocalypse

THE ALIEN (XENOMORPH)

(Dietsch, 2021)

Fears the entity represents:

- Outer Space

- The Unknown

- Beings that can kill

THE QUEEN SAND-GOBBLER

(Squires, 2020)

Fears the entity represents:

- Science experiment gone wrong

- Insects

- Beings that can kill

- Radiation

Bibliography

• Thomas, L., 2019. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters review: fantastic beasts, ridiculous plot. [online] Den of Geek. Available at: <https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters-review-fantastic-beasts-ridiculous-plot/> [Accessed 26 Oct. 2021].

• Mellor, L., 2020. Dracula episode 1 review: a comic retelling with gusto and scares. [online] Den of Geek. Available at: <https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/dracula-episode-1-review-a-comic-retelling-with-gusto-and-scares/> [Accessed 26 Oct. 2021].

• Navarro, M., 2020. Evolution of the Undead: A Brief History of Zombies in Horror. [online] Bloody Disgusting! Available at: <https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3601617/evolution-undead-brief-history-zombies-horror/> [Accessed 26 Oct. 2021].

• Dietsch, D., 2021. Exclusive: The Next Alien Movie Will Change Their Color. [online] GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT. Available at: <https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/exclusive-alien.html> [Accessed 26 Oct. 2021].

• Squires, J., 2020. [Review] Delightful Monster Mash “Love and Monsters” Embraces the Comedy-Horror Spirit of “Zombieland.” [online] Bloody Disgusting! Available at: <https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3637249/review-delightful-monster-mash-love-monsters-embraces-comedy-horror-spirit-zombieland/> [Accessed 26 Oct. 2021].