Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Three Types of Boogey Men

There are a world of horror movies out there but it takes a certain style to become a cult classic. By far the three biggest franchises in Slasher Horror world are Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Hellraiser. Each demonstrating a completely different take on the main bad guy.


This character is seen as a villain that should be feared and hated. With a past history of child abuse and severely disfigured face he is everything you should fear about a creepy neighbourhood boogey man. But through the series they have added more and more humour to his antics, he often jokes and torments his victims indulging in a lot of dialogue before any eventual kill is made. This funnier side is provided as light relief to the viewer and stops them from being too imersed in the scare or horror of the film. The other aspect is that he is no longer a physical form and manifests himself through the subconscious of his victims, firstly entering their minds through their dreams. This means that he needs to indulge a dialogue and build fear before he has enough energy to physically harm his victims.


A lot of people say that children are not born evil but are raised that way, Michael Myers is pure evil. As a child he takes his first victim and then remains mute as he murders eat of his victims. The lack of reasoning and emotion in Michael Myers in spite of attempts by Dr Loomis. The silent and slow nature of Michael sometimes makes him come across as dumb, and looking at his back story he would clearly not have been well educated. His only consideration is murder and the evil that controls him gives him powers beyond the normal human.


Referred to as Pinhead, due to his appearance, but in fact never referred to with this name in the movies till the third in the series. He is an articulate and thoughtful master of darkness and pain. A complete switch from tradition, Pinhead is a serious and calculating leader of the cenobites who orchestrates the suffering and pain of those who cross his path or indeed open the Box. The beauty of Pinhead is that he has a normal back story and could be like anyone had they been subjected to torture over such a sustained period of time. His intelligence is his power and he adds suspense with his calculated dialogue.

From these main franchises you will have seen many horror films try to emulate the fear that they evoke in viewers but with little success. The originality of a Horror film is key and whilst many have attempted real life bad guys they lack the longevity of the supernatural. So whether you like comedy, silence or intelligence these three franchises show you how to do it.

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