The article THE CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND “THE MARVELOUS” talks about the importance of surrealism to film and the impact film had on the movement. I talked about surrealism during the Nightmare class, but I think it's worth bringing back up, because I think it is the most effective way to make a film feel scary. I found it really interesting when they started to talk about film hop, and trying to connect it into one story. They did this to show the power of disorientation. Distortion makes you feel lost and confused, and also makes it much harder to be able to pick and make logical conclusions. I think this is really important when trying to construct a horror film, and I think it is the most effective way to make someone feel scared or on edge while watching a movie.
The Evil Dead, while a well constructed movie and well paced movie fails to be scary in my opinion. The main reason being that the demons curse. I don’t know what ancient evil swearing is, but it cracks me up any time it happens, and completely takes me out of the movie. It kind of stinks because without that I’d probably find the movie scary. A lot of the possession stuff is really unnerving, and everything seems to slowly decay and get worse as the movie progresses. I really like how demon Mia just peers out from the trap door just to laugh and tease people. I think it’s what really sells the uneasy tension in the movie. I think another strength of the movie is how violent it gets. Stuff like Natalie arm getting cut off and the stuff with the nail gun are more grounded for a splatter film. By that I mean they aren't too over the top or bloody. It’s a more realistic depiction and it makes it more painful to watch.
I’m not even going to pretend to fully understand what was going on in Tetsuo the Iron Man. The movie is very disorientating. Just as soon as I thought I knew what was going on I’d be thrown back into confusion.The way the movie cut between scene so frequently add a lot to the distorted feel to the movie. I think the movie being in black in white also helps in this regard. It adds a level of distortion that makes everything seem a little fuzzy and blurred together.This makes all the effects look a little bit more real and gruesome. Another great part of the film is the sound effects. They are probably the best sound effect we’ve seen yet in the class. There’s just something so gross and unsettling about them. That is What really makes the movie such an uncomfortable experience.