The term “monster” in history has come to be associated with creatures which do not resemble human beings and pose a threat to the existence of man. Monsters are capable of affecting people in a metaphorical sense by influencing the humaneness of humanity, such as the despotic acts of tyrants and the brutality of serial killers. In a literal sense, monsters assume the form of the fictive beats in horror stories or the anthropophagous predators in nature.
Sufficient ontological examination is necessary to determine whether monsters happen to be innately evil. But monstrosity is not limited to deviant appearances but extends to malice. Some creatures possessing uncommon appearances exhibit friendly behavior like Joseph Merrick, commonly referred to as the elephant man. Reports state that, beneath the monstrous exterior was a refined gentleman. The opposite may also be true. Charming appearances sometimes hide the vilest of creatures. The perfect example would be the radiant angelic figure of Lucifer who rapidly deteriorated into the supreme beast in Christianity.
Horror films are a thriving part of the film industry. Several consumers are willing to pay their hard-earned money in order to be scared out of their wits by films and even book and interactive computer games. A well-crafted horror movie can have a significant impact on the most obstinate crowd. Horror movies work in various ways. People are fascinated with the concept of monsters; they travel well through cultural borders and play on the salient culturally contingent anxieties of people. An evolutionary perspective happens to be quite useful to explain the appeal of horror movies.
Monsters that are real tend to provide the sense of visceral horror as opposed to imaginary film monsters like zombies, werewolves and vampires that appeal to the primal instincts of man. A prolonged process of evolution provided humans with minds that are always searching for certain types of dangers in the environment, dangers that are often hopelessly atavistic. The same method provided man with endlessly innovative imaginations and these two capacities work together to create numerous monsters in fiction. The main feature of a monster in fiction is to be salient. It is able to fulfill its responsibility by posing a threat since people are hard-wired to pay attention to dangerous agents. The unnaturalness of the monster makes it even more interesting.
The monsters that are found in myths, stories and artwork throughout the world appeal to humans but historical monster figures like Jack the Ripper stimulate the imagination of people to a greater extent. The monstrous archetype has been present in the artwork of every culture. Psychology helps to explain the fascination of humans with created misters as well as the underlying basis of monsters in the form of unnatural dangerous agents. The monsters seen in horror movies are usually supercharged predators possessing counter-intuitive traits, designed extremely well to capture and hold the attention of the viewers. The monsters in movies are tailored to offer a definite effect on the mind of humans and the main reason why they succeed is owing to the irregularities in the cognitive architecture of humans that make sense only when considered in the light of the human evolutionary history.
The presence of violence in horror movies with a realistic bent is intended to appeal to the penchant of the human mind for warfare and chaos. Humans are aware of their power to annihilate every living being around them by acts of terrorism, through the use of advanced weaponry. On the other hand, people go through with their daily lives and routines in normal fashion to hide their own intrinsic monstrous nature to avoid persecution from society.
Monsters have existed throughout literary history like Beowulf but recent additions made famous through movies include swamp creatures, werewolves, mummies, vampires and zombies. But they are unable to compete with the monsters in real-life. Zombies may be imaginary and they may pertain to the culture and history of a particular civilization but they are no match for real-life monsters which have been imparted a larger-than-life persona via the medium of films.
Monsters Depicted in Movies
In recent times, Hollywood has attempted to tackle the topic of monsters with more psychological connotations rather than supernatural evil. The 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Marcus Nispel is one such movie in particular which pays homage to the original. It contains enough gore and chills to fall into the genre of horror without explicitly showcasing paranormal events. The movie never tries to imitate the original; it establishes an individual, eerie world which is scarier and smarter than its predecessor.
The new film follows the original premise but the characters are more defined and the setting complements the gruesome set pieces. The locations help establish the feeling of dread – from the old gothic mansion to the rundown mill. The monster in the movie is Leatherface, a mute, chainsaw wielding deformed human, devoid of morals, deeply manic with a penchant for blood. His “family” is made up of psychotic cannibals who lure nearby hitchhikers/ travelers to their doom. There is no hint of the supernatural in the characters but they can be classified as “monsters”; they are both duplicitous and menacing and together they offer a menacing portrayal of the depths of human perversion and wickedness.
The movie, P2, takes place in an unusual setting – an underground parking garage. The plot of the movie is simple – the victims have been cut off totally from the external world and they must defend themselves against the monsters wishing them harm. The obsession of Thomas, the night security watchman, with his target, Angela, borders on the psychotic. He might present a non-threatening persona in the beginning of the film but when his victim resists his overtures and does not respond to his affections, we see his darker nature bubbling to the surface. The “monster” in the movie is an average man but his lust, immorality and wrath transform him from human to beast. Thomas possesses conventional fine looks and he hides his debased values behind a mask of good behavior. But when need arises, he can become rather intimidating and his comeuppance at the end of the movie seems proportional to his sins which make him a metaphorical “monster” instead of a literal one. Thomas reveals the same single, single minded ruthlessness that are common to monsters. He is brutal and takes pleasure in the helplessness of his victim. This possibly makes him more of a monster than even the conventional monsters.
John Carpenter’s Halloween is a classic of the horror film genre. He played on the social and psychological fears of humans to create one of the most viscerally terrifying motion pictures Even though the film was produced, written and filmed on a shoestring budget, it managed to blend perfectly themes of unrelenting horror and suspense. The film does not rely on violence to frighten; the murders are done in darkness and very little blood can be viewed. This artistically superior technique allows the imagination of the audience to fill in the blanks which is able to scare the individual viewers. The ability of film to send shivers down the spine arises from several different elements, most notably its suspenseful, doppelganger antagonist.
The name of the Halloween killer is Michael Myers. Michael was a boy who murdered his promiscuous older sister and his parents found him in a fugue state with the murder weapon clenched in his hands. He traversed the path to darkness and became something different from the usual “man in a mask”. He was no longer a psychotic serial killer but had become a creature removed from reality. In fact, his character in the credits is billed as “The Shape”. But Michael Myers is never over-the-top or supernatural. He is far removed from a reincarnated corpse or a deformed mutant; he is an ordinary human. But the manner in which he has been portrayed, unstoppable, invincible and relentless, makes the viewers question whether he is simply a man or a monster. What is most monstrous about Myers is that his brutal killings have no purpose. They are pointless, his victims are chosen at random. Unlike most psychopathic serial killers who have a criteria based on which they identify victims, Mysers kills anyone who happens to cross his path and that is what makes him exceptionally scary.
The villains in each of the three movies can be considered to be modern day monsters as they depict the same unnatural, inhuman behavior typical of monsters, even though they are human . Monsters, both fictional and real, are a fascinating topic. They become monsters by virtue of their behaviors and actions. Viewers wish to get into their heads, perhaps in a twisted attempt to assist others follow the right path. Movie monsters may have fascinating origins and behaviors but real life psychopaths and serial killers present a much more horrifying and monstrous figure since they are rooted in reality. They exhibit how morals and values become twisted in ordinary humans to breed truly horrifying sentient beings, capable of the darkest acts and the most gruesome perversions.
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