 List as many Gothic films as you can think of?  What are the traits of Gothic film?  Are there any different traits between Gothic film and Gothic literature?

 Macbre, phantasmagorical settings  Brooding and dark  How we see this in the movies:  Low-key and indirect lighting  Using plenty of shadows  Young Frankenstein  Setting in ancient castles/ labyrinths  Labyrinth castle in Dracula  Grotesque parallel universes  Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas  Dismemberment of bodies, dolls, etc.  Isolated environment that makes the protagonist feel vulnerable

 Troubled nature of main characters reflected by the dark atmosphere  Protagonists must wrestle with their own weaknesses, dark pasts, and/or insecurities while dealing with an external crisis  How we see this in the movies:  Monologues, internal dialogue, questioning, extremes of emotion, destroying things  Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein– Victor Frankenstein’s monologues

 Usually an external force brings out internal issues  How we see this in movies:  The chase scenes– great for creating suspense– draw these out with “near misses”/ hiding and seeking/ using “jump” scenes  Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demonic spirits, savage beasts, zombies, serial killers, psychotic beings

 Standard, stock characters that have been placed in the movie only to be killed/ builds tension with the threat of what could happen to the protagonist  Jurassic Park  Prom Night  Texas Chainsaw Massacre  Can you think of any more??

 Death as the cause of action  How we see this in the movies:  Flashbacks  The death of Batman’s parents  Prophecies & Foreshadowing  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari– prophesy of Alan’s death the next day  Obsessed characters  Extremes of behavior as a result of prior death or impending death

 Grotesque imagery– HORROR GENRE  How we see this in the movies:  Bloodsucking scenes  Dracula, Interview with a Vampire  Bleeding scenes & dismemberment  Saw  Physical harm– threat or real  Texas Chainsaw Massacre  Transformations into scary monsters, animals, insects, etc.  The Fly– starring Jeff Goldblum

 How we see this in the movies:  Sudden loud bangs  Unlikely falling objects  A darting animal or monster  Chopping of body parts  Squeaky door/ stairs– creates nice tension  Silence followed by loud sounds or “jump scenes”  Musical score-- usually simple and repetitive at tense moments  low notes/ foreboding/ Jaws  high notes or strings/ impending doom/ Psycho

 Gothic films create moments of tension and release  Each scene is a miniature plot– exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution  In this way, a film is much like a roller coaster ride of emotions, constantly manipulating us through the threat of “steep descents” and then taking us down them, letting us rest and then look up to see the next hill ahead… they are relentless!

 I. Threat is introduced/ possible “monster fodder” depending upon the film  II. Confrontation with the threat  III. Protagonist either solves the problem by destroying or evading the threat OR the protagonist is destroyed by the threat and loses.

 Binary opposites:  Known vs. unknown  Life vs. death  Natural vs. unnatural  Human normality vs. the unconscious self  Social order vs. disorder  Sanity vs. insanity  Health vs. disease