This essay will analyse the written text of the movie Paranormal activity 2 utilizing the theory of genre and compare it with a the older version of the same movie Paranormal Activities, and also The Abandoned 2006, to reach a conclusion about which genre is most ideal for this text and just why.
Genres are being used to categorize films according to their elements and have set convections. There are many different types of genres like sci-fi, romantic, western, horror, comedy, etc. Within this research I am analyzing the film Paranormal activity 2 using the theory of genre analysis by its major elements and icons like sounds, camera view, colours, background, objects and location. For example if we see flying UFOs in a movie that probably means this can be a Science fiction movie of the sci-fi genre. Some films have components of several genre, this is named hybrid genre. I've divided my research essay into several parts, you start with explaining the theory and approach of genre. Genres are also sub categorized according with their special qualities, for example in horror genre, sub-categories are The Gothic, Supernatural, Occult, Ghost Films, Psychological Horror, Monster Movies, Slashers, Body horror, Splatter, Gore Films, Exploitation Cinema, Video Nasties and so many more (Cherry, 2009, p. 5).
Genre theory is utilized in the analysis and making of films to be able to categorize the films. Genre is the type of a film or it is based on a theme; for example horror, thriller, western, romance and so many more. Films are ascribed to particular genre in different ways also, such as narrative, actors and director. By using genre theory we can describe the type of film (Film Studies essay on Genre, 2006). When audiences take into account the western genre they know that in this particular film category they could be prepared to see gun fights, horses and cowboys. Another example would be horror films where in fact the audience knows everyone will die except one. The audiences who go to those films be prepared to see zombies, werewolves plus more. They also expect certain content and a certain style of film making; therefore genre is a way of colouring the film on the basis of varying elements and themes (Wetjen, Deshotels, 2005).
In this part of the essay I'll analyze the movie Paranormal activity 2 based on theory of genre. Within the movie Paranormal Activity 2 the name speaks the genre itself; paranormal activities were never proved as they are supernatural and can't be proved. Paranormal means not in accordance with scientific laws, unnatural or something which is not normal (Coraor, 2008).
The movie Paranormal activity 2 was directed by Tod Williams and written by Oren Peli who has been a writer and director in lots of films. He is definitely more enthusiastic about writing horror and documentary. Paranormal activity 2 is a remake of the movie Paranormal activity in 2007 that was written and directed by Oren Peli. The exact same storyline has been used to remake this movie (Doc Films, 2007). The actors have the same name as the characters in the movie, Katie and Micah, These actors weren't celebrities, and they're plotted in the movie to provide a generalised and realistic feel. There is. . . , no supervening celebrity identity, no star persona, to yank us out of the fiction, to remind us by just gravitational necessity that there must be a reality outside the fiction (Rehak, 2010).
In the storyline of the movie we see there's a couple. Micah and Katie who just moved into stay together in San Diego. Beginning with the first day Katie notices some spooky things happening in their home when they sleep. Micah takes it as though Katie is merely joking, however when he himself notices weird things happening in their house, he buys a helpful camera to really know what happens when each goes to sleep. The 1st night he doesn t get anything in the recording but on the second day he perceives that the entranceway opened itself at 03:00 A. M when these were asleep. He sets the camera on recording every night and observes new things happening every night, but on the random night he noticed Katie got up, stood by the entranceway for 3 hours then went back to bed. The things kept happening in their home and finally Katie made a decision to call a demonologist, who wasn t able to help them. In the end of the film there is a scene where Katie wakes up and goes down to the lounge, and soon after a couple of seconds she screams, Micah runs down and notices that Katie was overruled by the evil and within the last scene she hits Micah on the camera, the hit was so quick which it actually fills the viewer with more fear. Micah dies and Katie went missing (Bundy, 2009), (Follett, 2009).
There are some major horror elements seen in the movie which proves the horror genre approach. Firstly I am going to discuss the sounds in the movie. Inside the movie audio is the major element. There are several different sounds which relate it to the horror genre. These sounds are used for creating real-time feelings. The sounds found in movies for special effects or dubbing are called Foleys. Foleys used in this movie are hitting sounds, heavy footsteps, screaming, musical cues plus some classical horror music. The footsteps and other unexpected sounds are mostly used showing someone s presence, but when we find out there is certainly no one around, it accumulates fear. Same is the truth of hitting sound or crash, these are mostly used to break the viewer s attention and create fear. The reason is when someone watches a suspense or a horror sequence they get a lot involved involved with it that their eyes doesn t allow any type of interference, the role of hitting sound is to break the concentration which will keep on increasing fear in viewers. The hitting sound is mostly used showing that something happened which is not before our eyes. The Music in the horror films are sounds that almost all of the audience recognize. An extended eerie musical made using strings or horns as the victim approaches a closed door (for example), followed by a violent orchestral hit as the victim opens the entranceway to face whatever is hidden behind it. That is a type of musical cue that is quite common in horror films. Whenever the audience hears this build-up, it knows that something will happen (H binette, 1999). The other major element of the horror genre noticed was a screaming sound, which generates a believe that something harmful happened. The Screaming challenges the horror movie genre s damsel in distress by inverting the energy dynamics and charging the scream with a potency that overcomes any would-be menace (McDonald, 2010)
Most of the paranormal activities in the movie occurred in the night. Darkness can be an important factor of the horror genre and is often used in horror films. Darkness can be used in horror films to sustain the fear and creates the feeling to be isolated. Within the darkness, things are hardly visible, so if one cannot see anything, it'll create tension and fear in their mind Mortals fear Night chiefly because she brings darkness, and with it inability to observe that is frustrating and terrifying (Simone).
A basic convenient camera has been used to give it a more personalised feel. Most of the shots in the movie were perspective shots (POV). POV shots are being used to help make the viewer feel like they are looking off their own eyes; make them feel part of the film and to show as though the viewer is looking through the eyes of a particular character. A sequence that is shot as if the viewer were looking through the eyes of a particular character. The shot is a common trick of the horror film: that is, we have been placed in the position of the killer who is slowly sneaking up on a victim. Note that horror directors sometimes "cheat" with this product; that is, after having a building of suspense, additionally, it may turn out that we weren't in the positioning of the killer in the end (Dino, 2002).
Most of the film has been shot in a bedroom to provide it a more personal feel. As in an article Peli said. But if you setup the setting for all your horrific things in someone s bedroom then that s what you re going to be considering when you re lying during intercourse trying to drift off (Anjos, 2009). This makes a person believe that it might happen when they sleep. The entranceway in the movie is used as the medium of tension, as we can easily see that the entranceway has been placed as a border between the evil and the characters. All the activities in the movie happen in relation with the entranceway even if it is around of within. Over both weeks of recordings, the demonic occurrence becomes stronger every night, ranging from the doors moving and footsteps to even more scream-inducing moments (Ryder, 2009).
The movie comes under the sub genre Supernatural, occult and ghost film even as can notice occurrence of evil in the movie which means it is related to supernatural elements like evils, etc. Films which involves interventions of spirits, ghosts, witchcrafts, devils and other entities in to the real world, often featuring uncanny elements (Cherry, 2009, p. 5).
The conclusion is that genres are categories of films predicated on different elements and theme. The genre approach is employed to analyse a movie using the genre theory. Using genre approach this research proves that locations, darkness, hitting sound, screaming, dark colours are elements of horror genre. Each one of these elements together create tension, suspense and fear. The actions happen in the house were supernatural as they have a relation with evil spirits and so it come under the sub-genre Supernatural, occult and ghost film. Thus the research proves that the movie Paranormal Activity 2 is a Horror film with supernatural activities. Within this research I have learned that all these elements together give a greater impact and complete the convention of horror genre.
