The Exorcist

During the release of the exorcist there was a lot of serious incidents that were reported, whether it had been by the media or personal experience. There were reports that people were so disturbed by the movie that they were coming out of the cinema and throwing up or fainting. It had got to the point that cinema's were providing sick bags to people that chose to go and see the movie.

The British Board Of Film Classification is the board that decides whether  film is suitable for general viewing. In earlier times films were banned for nudity and revolutionary politics, but now the board may have much less of a say whether a film is okay for viewing, although they do have a strong view on sexual violence, more so that they did 30 odd years ago.

Films that are made nowadays can be pretty horrific, i don't think that there should be really strict regulations on these films unless they completely cross the line, but there should be a more strict regulation on the ages of people that are allowed to watch the films, because films along with music and other things contribute to the way children and young adults behave and the way they act in general.

The Shining (Roman Polanski – 1980)

The film has a strong structure yet simple, it has the usual beginning middle and end or exposition climax and resolution, with complications throughout, exposition to establish all the characters and what they are like and so you can get to know them, climax is where "Jack" would be frozen in the snow or when the Jack puts an axe into the chef and the resolution is when the wife and the kid escape away from the hotel. Simple transitions are used to let you know what day it is or how far into the film you are such as "2 weeks later" and "Wednesday" for example. There is a lot of still camera shots and over the shoulder shots, using mise en scene to help establish everything in the shot and set a sort of scene. Lots of magmuffins are used to try and distract you from the actual film and the main narrative, such as the animal blowjob scene, these dont generally mean anything and may have no influence on the film but are a way of keeping attention.

Flashbacks are used during the film using the little boy "Danny", it shows you things that he has already seen which are yet to appear but happen later on in the film, this keeps interest up as you may want to see how it happens or what actually happens, an example of this is the blood flowing round the corner, later on in the film this actually happens, by doing this when you see it as a flashback you may wonder whether it has anything to do with the film, but when it happens it might be part of the story. Deus ex machina is used to keep you guessing, in the photo at the end it shows Jack from a past year, this could suggest that he may have been the caretaker all along, even before he was appointed as it to write his novel. Then it makes you think whether it was all in his head or if he was actually part of the hotel for all those years.

Stanley Kubricks style of film making, i would say would be, simple, lots of non-complicated camera shots, lots of tracking shots, over the shoulder and establishing shots, using the environment and props to create tension among the viewers. This is present when "Danny" is on his little sit down bike driving round the hall ways, going on and off the wooden floor and the carpets, as he turns corners tension builds up as you dont know what may be round the next one. The sound from the wheels alone makes tension build up, and the noise creates a kind of realistic soundtrack to the scene. He uses symmetry to give you a wake up call during the film, so you can realize that you have seen it before, this is present when danny is going through the hallways on his bike, either side of him is the same layout, which also makes you concentrate more on danny than being distracted with unnecessary props in the shot. He allows actors to improvise during filming so that they can create a character that they want and that is in their comfort zone. He uses the narrative concept but if he creates a complicated ending that leaves you hanging, he will leave it and not take much notice that he has done it, its part of his unique style. The sound is important in the film, the soundtrack is not really music, its just a low humming noise, but the sound of the axe and the wife screaming almost add to the sound to give an overall mood of fear and strong emotion.

The scene where "Jack" is trying to axe his way int the bathroom, has a lot of tension in it. It begins with both the wife and "Danny" in the bathroom, but "Danny" escapes just leaving the mother seemingly to her death as he axes further and further through the door as she screams. But as "Jack" hears the sound of a vehicle pull up outside, not wanting to get caught he flees and kills the hotel chef as he comes to inspect. As "Jack" axes his way in he seems calm and is trying to have a genuine conversation with his wife while she screams, this adds a bit of comedy to the crazed character and the use of innocent concepts creates fear, such as the nursery rhyme he starts to mutter as he is attempting to murder his family. During the shots used it keeps showing the little window and the mother trying to escape through it, as she is to big and wont fit, it seems as if her death is imminant until the arrival of the chef. When he is axing into the room, the camera thrashes from side to side and follows the axe, this creates a feeling of intensity during the scene. The colors used create a contrast, inside it seems warm with the use of dark wood colors, red and orange, but when the camera flashes to outside, it looks cold, dark and unpleasant.

The actor chosen to play "jack" Jack Nicholson, was a predictable person to play the part. He had previously played a man in the film "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest" where he descended into complete madness. Seeing that he was then playing a man, alone in a hotel with his wife and kid, the rest was kind of predictable, but due to the actor in this case Jack Nicholson's stature, you are still drawn to the film and enticed into viewing it. Knowing what he has done before and his high reputation says to you that if you have seen a Jack Nicholson film before then you may want to see this as well.

The use of the steadicam was one of the first to be used in a film. It made all the camera shots smoother and less jittery, such as in the hall way scenes with danny on the bike he could walk behind danny and there would be no wobble on the camera, this wouldn't be possible with a dolly track as the track would be in the way and would be present in the shot. It meant that emotion could be established easier with a more maneuverable camera. The effects of horror could be more present and easier to see.

The Wicker Man (1973)

A deeply religious Police Sergeant, Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) has information that a young girl has gone missing. This is told in an anonymous letter from Summerisle, a remote island off the coast of Scotland. The Sergeant flies to Summerisle to investigate.

He shows a photo of the missing girl to the locals, but they deny her existence. Howie starts noticing the islander's bizarre behavior and lifestyle with increasing anguish. Eventually, he meets Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), who explains that they are all practicing Pagans. Howie is deeply offended, and accuses them of murdering the girl as part of some sort of bizarre ritual. He then attempts to leave the island in order to report his suspicions to the chief constable, but finds that his plane has been tampered with.

Cleverly attempting to catch the islanders at whatever strange game they are playing with the girl who is to be sacrificed, Howie is instead fooled by the islanders. They imprison him in a giant "Wicker Man" and light it afire. It is their belief that his virginal, Christian life will appease their Pagan gods, and bring bounty to the next harvest.

I thought the film was very strange, i am not religious so i didn't really understand the beliefs behind some of the activity, i wouldn't say that i enjoyed the film, in parts it was fairly captivating but most i found tedious and its not the sort of film that i would sit down at home and watch.

I think that some parts of the film would fit into the genre of horror, mainly the bit at the end where he is imprisoned in the huge man, although this was the main part and plot, the suspense that the directors created while making the movie is enough for it to fit into the genre of horror. It is a very cultural movie and to people heavily involved with that sort of thing it would seem appealing and not generally scary, but to people unaware to these sorts of happenings it is not so much easy viewing, you may spend your time wandering what is going on and find some parts of the film disturbing.

The attempt to remake the film was not so good in my opinion, mainly because i didn't like the original. People who liked the first film and then watch the remake may have developed a following for this sort of film, making them see it again, it strikes m as a kind of hippy cultural following film.