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THE “LET’S WATCH SOMETHING ELSE” GENRE

[Title Here, up to 12 Words, on One to Two Lines]

John Dalton

Language & Literature Department, State College of Florida

ENC 1101: Written Communications I

Film Genre Essay

Professor Anastasia Bojanowski

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When it comes to depicting emotion, the horror genre does a great job of depriving all

good thoughts and turning them into hopelessness. The evil manifestations created by authors

and directors is impressive, like director James Wan making one want to leave the room. Camera

angles, terrifying sounds, and different settings all play into slowly gutting the brain (Wans,

2013). The horror genre usually “sets the groundwork” (Odell & Blanc, 2001, pg.8) for people

who do not know the nightmare one is about to live, or not. This build-up after the opening scene

makes or breaks the horror film, so directors have to depict it right. Growing tension in the

beginning also plays into how one perceives the monster later in the film. One of the leading

monsters in all horror films is demons. Demons are terrifying because of the possibility they are

sentient beings that roam the earth (Kawin, 2012, p.94). Monsters in theory, make the genre what

it is. Wither it be a supernatural force or a physical being, all scary movies have one thing in

common. The monster is terrifying. Horror films will go as far as using “sick fantasies” (Kawin,

2012, p.1), religion, and pain just to make something more real. Horror films “bring

uncomfortably close the worst that could ever happen— to a character or to ourselves” (Kawin,

2012, p.1). Films that perform all these attributes keep people up at night, especially this one.

The film, The conjuring (2013), is about the unfortunate, true story concerning the Perron

family who fell victim to a supernatural demon. James Wan (2013) does a great job of depicting

what went on in 1971. Despite the Perron’s having no other option, they decide to call the

Warrens who were highly reputable at the time for dealing with situations like this. The

paranormal events keep the viewers on the edge of their seats by showing the real power of the

demon.
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The conjuring follows a tradition of normal horror films and perfects the supernatural

phenomenon. It is easy to note this was not James’s first horror film, his use of violence and fear

creates that feeling in the stomach only people acquainted with the genre can possess (Wans,

2013). The film stays prevalent to this day by creating tension with potential harm, religious

influence, and human psychology; only demons from hell demonstrate this amount of hatred.

Further, the fear-inducing opening scene that all horror films demonstrate is important.

This is the key to all horror movies because it sets the tone for the whole film. In the first scene,

Ed Warren goes on to explain that the doll is a demon trying to take control of the prey. The

victim tried throwing the doll out because it was turning evil, but every time she tried the doll

would come back mysteriously. The supernatural demon is shown in its full glory when the

victim’s room is devastated with the message written in crayon “miss me”. This already creates a

very helpless impression for the film because every time they try to dispose of the doll, the doll

comes back. Setting up the film to later demonstrate the same problem. The intriguing thing

about this scene is instead of showing the demon at hand directly, viewers are shown what type

of demon is being demonstrated. This can be even scarier than directly seeing the predator

because people watching have no idea what the Perron’s are up against. The opening scene is

scary, and most would think it does a good job deceiving the viewer from knowing what they are

actually in store for. It almost seems like they want the demon to seem like there is an easy fix to

the problem. Later they find out, that is not the case. Demonstrating the first scare is pivotal for

all horror movies especially those fully dependent on how scary the monster is.

Thus, evil intentions and potential harm are like the glue of all horror movies. Brewing

potential conflict is great for keeping a viewer on the edge of their seat. This is usually done

through the actions of the monster and the perspective of the victim. The monster in a way likes
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to subtly show itself to the audience, previewing what the victim is up against. The demon

foreshadows its intentions when Ed and Lorraine visit the house for the first time. Lorraine said

she saw the demon three times while walking through the home. One when she walked in, two

when she met the girls, and three when she went out to the lake. Mr. Perron does a good job

explaining to Ed that there has been a foul smell and strange knocking. Ed goes onto say that is

how one knows there is a demon. The last inclination that the demon was out to cause some

trouble was when Mrs. Perron says she cannot keep the pictures of the family on the wall

because the demon knocks them all down. All these clues tie into the horrible intention of the

demon. This scene does a good job grouping together all the earlier criteria in the film. All the

past problems in the film are explained in one scene, clearly confirming that the family is

“screwed”. Without the potential danger explained in this scene the rest of the film would be

missing some needed context. Scary movies use potential harm consistently no matter what.

Additionally, Religion can have a big influence on the horror genre. Superstitions

concerning paranormal activity have been relevant since religion began if not older (Kawin,

2012, p.3). The scene that shows a direct battle with the demon and god is when Ed Warren

forcefully has to perform an exorcism himself. After Lorraine Warren brings the bible to Ed,

there is direct feedback with the demon and the words being spoken. The demon also reacts

horribly when the holy water is shed upon Mrs. Perron, it is evident that this wretched soul is not

happy with the religious ritual being displayed. All of these religious consistencies are

implemented to give the movie more “spice”. Religion has withstood the test of time dating back

longer than most can imagine. With something that has been so indulged with human behavior it

is now easy to see why horror films like to include religious traits. Without religion included in

the film, there would be a lot of more questionable motives as to why the demon wants to kill so
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instinctively. Horror is the only genre that makes you fearful in a spiritual aspect more so than

any other genre.

Moreover, the “forbidden aspects of human psychology” (Kawin, 2012, p.1) included

with the horror genre. The scene where Mrs. Perron is fully encompassed with the demon is a

great example of wear and tear on the human psyche. “Mrs. Perron” takes her two youngest

daughters back to the main house to murder them. She is stopped in her tracks, but the thought of

a loving mom deciding to kill her children is unsettling for anyone watching the film. Horror

films come up with the unthinkable. Usually, these ideas are heavily influenced by low morals

and violence, being called “dark beauty or sick fantasy” (Kawin, 2012, p.1). The reason this is

heavily used in the horror is that people don’t react to this nicely. All it does is strike fear,

anxiety, and depression in the viewer. This scene also does a good job showing you the true

intention of the mom before she flees to the house. Most can just tell by the lack of conversation

and facial expression that something bad is about to happen. The mind is given this horrible

manifestation and now the viewer does not know what to do with it except react accordingly.

The genre consistently digs at the viewer until one has to look away from the screen. That means

the film will go any length despite what is morally ok.

In essence, The conjuring perfects the film genre by demonstrating the truly evil

intentions of the supernatural. This continues the genre for a new audience because of the

naturally terrifying true story. Without the potential harm, religious influence, and human

psychology; this film would not be as terrifying as it was. Thankfully this film was added to the

genre because it follows the tradition of a natural horror film so well. This film has great

longevity because no matter when someone watches the movie, it will be just as terrifying as
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when it first came out. Once the film is burned into memory there is no forgetting and that is why

it is a horror masterpiece.
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Works Referenced

Kawin, B. F. (2012). Horror and the horror film. ProQuest Ebook

Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

"Movie Review: 'The Conjuring'." UWIRE Text, 22 July 2013, p. 1. Gale Academic

OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A446236835/AONE?

u=lincclin_mcc&sid=AONE&xid=839b8da4. Accessed 25 Oct. 2020.

Odell, C., & Le, B. M. (2001). Horror films. ProQuest Ebook

Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Salfran, S., Derosa-Grund, T., Cowan, R. (Producers) & Wans, J. (Director). (2013)

The conjuring. Warner Bros. Pictures. Amazon,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.2aa9f7a0-8455-ea60-

56a6-c2395760a919?

ref_=imdbref_tt_wbr_pvt_aiv&tag=imdbtag_tt_wbr_pvt_aiv-20

Wans, J. (2013, July 22). James Wan interview – The Conjuring [Interview by

FSinterviews]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KI8RI0V_B0
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