Tuesday, May 08, 2007

What Makes a Monster... Fairy Tales vs. Horror Movies

I'm sure you have met the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and Shrek. We have also been introduced to Pinhead from Hellraiser, Michael Myers from Halloween, and Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street. All of these characters have been introduced to inflict an emotion on the viewer. The directors, producers, and actors want you to have the feeling in the pit of your stomach telling you that something is not right. However, through the meeting of these characters, the later group evokes more fear in the audience then the first group. The Wicked Witch of the West tries to thwart Dorothy's plans of returning home to Kansas and even threatens to kill Dorothy and all of her friends. The Beast is a lonely, selfish prince who is placed under a magic spell and turned into a hideous beast until he can find true love and have that love returned. Finally, Shrek, the Ogre who lives in an enchanted forest and likes to be alone. So what makes these characters so different from Pinhead, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger? The later were created to evoke art-horror in the viewers. Throughout the following paragraphs, we will determine what makes a monster and how these monsters of horror movies compare to those in fairy tales.
Pinhead, a character in Hellraiser was once human. After the war, he lead his life as an explorer of hidden treasures. His transformation to the Dark Prince of Pain comes through his opening of the Demonic Lament Configuration. His character creates the emotions of terror and disgust. In the movie, Kirsty bargains with Pinhead offering him more souls to spare hers. He tortures his victims, making their deaths long, drawn out and death does not end his victims sufferings. This character qualifies as a monster under Carroll's view because he is impure, his creation is outside of what science tells us, and he evokes the fear and disgust noted before.
As far as Michael Myers character goes, he defies death in every film. He seems to be unbeatable and when you finally think you have one, it turns out that he is not dead after all. His nature of cheating death makes him a mystery to science today. He is an impure character as seen in his love of killing and his yearning to kill his sister. His mere presence is terrifying because he has the tendency to be found in the background unseen by anyone and no matter how fast his victims run, he is always right behind them. His mask may not be the most terrifying mask out there, yet his large body and threatening demeanor made him into the terrifying monster he is today.Freddy Krueger has to be one of the most terrifying monsters to date. He would torture and kill the children from his neighborhood in the boiler room of the power plant where he worked. He had a special room in his basement with his torture devices and newspaper clippings from his crimes. His wife found his secret room and he killed her in front of their child for "snooping around in daddy's special work. He was arrested but because the search warrant was not signed correctly he was released. Parents of the murdered children found Freddy in his boiler room, trapped and killed him. Before he died, three dream demons appeared and gave Freddy the ability to "Be forever," and turn dreams into reality. His powers enabled him to inhibit the minds of his victims as they were dreaming. Any physical harm occurring in the dream world would transfer over into reality making it easy for him to commit multiple murders. His face is distorted from his death which immediately causes terror on sight. He is impure which is seen as he kills multiple people before and after death. His life after death and his special powers defy and knowledge of science to date. He is the classic monster exemplified by the emotions cast on the audience members.
On a lighter note, fairy tale monsters are not able to produce half the amount of fear that the horror movie monsters create. A character like pinhead would never be found in a fairy tale which is why fairy tale monsters are more endurable. The Wicked Witch of the West may be frightening to a young child but to the rest of us, her presence is more amusing. She has an impure nature, she defies science as we know it because she can fly on a broomstick and vanish into thin air, and in younger children instills in them a fear of disgust and terror. Children fear her for her threats and ability to do things no one else can understand. However, as children grow up and still watch the movie she becomes amusing because of her green face and hands and her strange voice and weird sayings like, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too."
The Beast from Beauty and the Beast may seem terrifying at first but as we get to know him we see a softer, lovable side. His creation is abnormal for he is transformed by a beautiful witch. He instills terror in children when we see his temper flair and his beastly form is enough to scare any child. In the beginning he has monster like qualities which change throughout the movie as he meets Belle and falls in love with her.
Finally, Shrek, the ogre who likes to be left alone and will do anything to keep it like that. He also starts out mean and scary, yet he can't even compare to the likes of the Wicked Witch of the West or the Beast. When he scares the people in the first part of the movie some are struck with a feeling of unease. However, this changes as we get to know him and he and Donkey start on their quest.
After meeting all of these "Monsters" it is easy to see where the separation of fairy tales and horror moves begins. Horror movies produce a monster that begins and ends as the monster. At the end of the movie, the feelings of distress are not lifted even if the monster is defeated. Fairy tales make lightheartedly of monsters. In the beginning of a fairy tale, we are introduced to the monster, yet in the end we have a different picture. The monster could be truly defeated, change into a handsome prince, or even show us his/her lovable side. Whatever happens in a fairy tale, there is always a happy ending where the feelings of dread and unease are lifted and the audience is happy.
We know that monsters come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in different types of movies. Carroll may not see the "Monster" in a fairy tale, but it is safe to say they are their and the only difference comes when we compare the actions of the monsters. In the end, we have to decide for ourselves. Are fairy tale monsters still monsters...


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