screen scare week | the m0vie blog

Was Jennifer’s Body A Feminist Slasher Movie?

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Darren

If there was one horror movie that was the centre of much focus and discussion this autumn, it was probably Paranormal Activity. If there was another one, it was Jennifer’s Body. Written by the Oscar-nominated writer of Juno and starring ‘it’ girl of the moment Megan Fox, the movie sparked a whole host of interesting debates from its initial conception through to its underwhelming box office debut. The centre concept was an intriguing gender reversal on the traditional slasher movie dynamic: a college girl randomly murders promiscuous boys. That, and the fact that she is a demon. So, is the movie a feminist slasher flick, and does that go someway towards explaining its somewhat poor box office figures?

Do you want to see more of Jennifer's Body?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: diablo cody, feminist, femism, horror, jennifers body, megan fox, Movies, screen scare week, slasher | Leave a comment »

Why Do We Watch Scary Films?

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Darren

Horror films are scary. And scary isn’t an emotion we’re intended to experience regularly. It’s evolutionary purpose is to tell us that something really bad is going down right now and we really need to cop ourselves on in order to deal with it. It’s meant to make our adrenaline flow, and our hair stand up – it’s meant to keep us on the edge and stop us feeling comfortable. So, why do we take such great joy in experiencing that abstract terror, the suspense and the horror of scary movies? Surely it’s contrary to our evolutionary logic, right? C'mon, it's not THAT scary... Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: emotions, fear, horror, horror films, movie genres, psychology, scared, screen scare week | Leave a comment »

Are Zombies the Monster of the 21st Century?

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Darren

They say that horror movies and (before that) ghost stories reflect the unconscious fears of the time. So, for example, vampires allayed the fear of burying members of the community alive – if there were scratch marks on the inside of their coffins, it was because they were monsters, not because your doctor made a mistake. Or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was a cautionary tale for a society just on the cusp of the age of reason – a warning not to dive too far into that pool labelled ‘scientific progress’. Monster stories and ghost stories allow us to put aside our fears even for a moment by expressing them in their most ridiculous forms – I don’t think that facet of human nature has disappeared over the past century or so. If we accept this line of reasoning, are zombies the current expression of our deeply buried fears? And, if so, of what?

At least they are taking good care of their teeth...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: cinema, fears, film, horror, horror movies, individuality, metaphor, monster movies, monsters, Movies, screen scare week, subconscious, zombie, zombieland, zombies | Leave a comment »

It’s Screen Scare Week!

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Darren

In the lead up to Halloween, we’ll be taking a look at some the horror genre. Check back nightly at 3am (the witching hour!) for a new article each night on the weird and the wonderful of cinema, looking at:

Plus, check out some articles from earlier in the month, like: