Eliciting Fear in Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978) and The Shining (1980)

Abstract

Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978) and The Shining (1980) are seminal films that have been instrumental in both shaping the horror genre and eliciting the emotional response of fear in the viewer. Their respective directors, Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter and Stanley Kubrick, each employed and developed specific techniques for producing fear. This research identifies those techniques by close analyses of the formal elements of each film and considers why the they effective. A common core of techniques is shared by all three films: the primary technique for inducing fear is the employment of the subjective camera. Freud’s notion of the uncanny is also significant and each film takes considerable measures to arouse ‘uncanny’ sensations in the viewer through a variety of cinematic techniques. Both Carpenter and Kubrick built on Hitchcock as well as developed new techniques, with the aid of new technology, in order to keep up with changing audience perceptions and expectations.