The Validity of Genre
In thinking about the concept of genre in cinema, what first comes to mind is a sense of filmic identity. We know genre for film to be a sort of classification system that is usually determined by the consistency in a set of narrative, aesthetic or technical components. Additionally, a film can be genre-fluid, meaning that it combines the conventions of more than one genre. However, the argument exists that genre in film as a means of categorisation does not truly exist, that the perceived genre of a film is defined by the audience, not the product itself. The Uses and Gratifications theory by Blumler and Katz suggests that “media users play an active role in choosing and using the media”, posing the question “what do people do with media?” rather than “what does media do to people?” (Katz, 1959). This belongs to the same school of thought that the codes and conventions that audiences perceive to be signifiers of a particular genre are merely a set of decisions based on the director’s personal style/motivation for that filmic product.
I would argue though that similarities in culturally and historically different films of the same genre prove its validity, citing the Horror genre as an example. Through a critical analysis of two films differentiated by continent and nearly a century, I’ll be discussing how some similarities in these films fit them into the horror genre, under the context of some aesthetic, technical and narrative elements.
The Babadook is a 2014 Australian horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent, about a single mother, Amelia and her son who become entrapped in a series of bizarre and supernatural events when a strange children’s book shows up at their home. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene, about a hypnotist by the name of Dr Caligari, whose sideshow act features a somnambulist, Cesare that he claims to be clairvoyant. He (Dr Caligari) becomes an object of investigation when he is suspected of using Cesare to commit a number of murders.
Both films explore tropes very specific to the horror genre, but are more specifically classified under psychological horror as a subgenre.
Theme
One of the most conspicuous signifiers of the horror genre is the themes at play. Themes of violence, creatures and monsters, gore, danger, death, good vs. evil etc. are rampant in horror films, these two being no exception. In The Babadook, we first get a strong motif of the supernatural in Samuel’s childish obsession with monsters. This is justified later by the manifestation of the book and the main antagonist, the monster- the Babadook. Underlying themes of grief, resentment, death and depression add to the grim feel of the film.
On the other hand, The Cabinet Dr Caligari toys with themes of murder and insanity, the latter being more specific to Psychological Horror. The hypnotist Dr Caligari fits the stereotypical role of the “mad scientist” and the aura of his somnambulist Cesare bears a strong semblance to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Another recurring theme specific to the psychological horror subgenre is the concept of perception vs. reality.
Perception vs. Reality
The Psychological Horror subgenre typically tends to play on the fear of the main protagonist, on feelings of guilt, paranoia, distrust or emotional instability. Therefore, a common trope in psychological horror is the notion of the unreliable narrator. Often a connection is drawn between the antagonist and the psychological/emotional struggles of a character, the “monster” serving as a metaphor for the character’s inner turmoil. We see this play out firstly in The Babadook- burdened with grief, stress and depression, in the wake of a string of bizarre occurrences, Amelia begins to question her own sanity even though she doesn’t believe in monsters. This in turn makes the viewer distrust her perspective of the story. Furthermore, the opening scene of the film shows Amelia caught in a nightmare, re-living the gruesome accident that took the life of her son’s father.
The conflict is immediately spelled out. Her inability to let go is her weakness and what the Babadook eventually uses to taunt her. She cannot get rid of this evil until she’s able to completely overcome her own demons, her deep grief. This is evidenced at the climax of the film, when the Babadook manifests itself as a vision of Amelia’s late husband and torments her with a grisly imitation of his death. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. It’s not until she reaches this point, her weakest point, that she is able to gather the strength and courage to oppose the Babadook and ultimately defeat it.
In The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the story is told from the point of view of Francis, a main character in the plot who by the end of the film is revealed to be mentally insane. This plot twist immediately renders Francis’s recount of the story untrustworthy and makes it plausible also that the kooky, abstract visualisation of the village of Holstenwall is not a reflection of the world as it is, but through the mind of a madman. In his book A Critical History of German Film, film historian Stephen Brockmann described this theme as “the destabilized contrast between insanity and sanity, and hence the destabilization of the very notion of sanity itself”. One of the touchstones of the psychological horror genre is this reinvention of the mundane good vs. evil theme as perception vs. reality.
Camera work
The horror genre heavily employs the use of clever camerawork to build tension, a sense of eeriness or discomfort. This is usually executed through camera movement, angles and specific kinds of shots. In the aforementioned attempted murder scene in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Wiene captures the entire situation in a single, long shot. Both Jane and Cesare are in full view throughout the shot, however there is an element of dramatic irony as the audience is aware of what is about to happen but cannot do anything about it, yet the character is fast asleep, completely oblivious to her impending doom. This only amplifies the tension as the audience anticipates Jane’s murder.
In The Babadook, a particularly long shot near the beginning of the film sees Amelia reading a book in bed. While she focuses on the book, we notice the camera slowly pull towards her. However, as soon as she looks up, the motion stops. When she resumes reading, the camera continues to move towards her, until she hears a strange noise that distracts her and halts the camera’s motion again. The length of and camera movement in this shot creates a heightened sense of suspense, particularly favouring the psychological aspects of the film by highlighting themes of paranoia and stalking. The audience is made to expect an impending threat.
VISUAL STYLE
The visual style of a film refers to its general visual aesthetic. Several factors such as setting, lighting and colour contribute at large to the visual style of a film. The setting of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is one of its most definitive elements in terms of the genre of horror. Wiene uses expressionistic hand-drawn backgrounds with uneven perspectives, crooked lines and jagged angles to depict this truly surreal, nightmarish world in which the characters exist. This visual style continues throughout the film and is one of the techniques Wiene used to establish fear, unfamiliarity or discomfort in the audience.
The Babadook adopts a more subdued, albeit distinct visual style. Dull, desaturated hues, and a prevalence of dark colours and low-key lighting especially inside the house, create the atmosphere of dread and danger, and underscore the grief and sorrow that Amelia struggles with.
CONCLUSION
Horror movies, at the most fundamental level are simply intended to elicit a negative emotional reaction from the audience- fear, disgust,etc.
Despite being from two different continents and over 90 years apart, these films share similarities, codes they both follow that lend them to the horror genre- the psychological horror subgenre specifically and they do a good job at the execution of it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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MA Visual Effects 