Horror Film Throughout the Course

Horror Film

Throughout the course we have learned that horror can be defined a multitude of ways. Among the films we have watched are the Wolf Man (1941), Cutter's Way (1981), and Jacob's Ladder (1990). Each of these films presents a different perspective of horror from classic monster horror to suspense to psychological.

The Wolf Man is representative of the classic monster movie. Directed and produced by George Waggner, the film stars Lon Chaney, Jr. As Larry Talbot/the Wolf Man, a man who has recently traveled to Wales to reunite with his estranged father after his brother's death; Evelyn Ankers as Gwen Conliffe, a woman who works in an antique shop and sells Larry a walking stick mounted with a silver werewolf's head, and who introduces Larry to the myth of the werewolf; and Bela Lugosi as Bela, as the son of a gypsy fortuneteller and werewolf who is killed by Larry and his werewolf walking stick, but only after he manages to bite Larry and infect him with/pass on his lycanthropy. This film has an identifiable monster that is the object of people's fears, a werewolf. This type of monster helps to emphasize the dualities Freud mentioned in the Uncanny. Dualities in this film are the monster and the man, and night and day. As with many classic horror films, normalcy is restored when the monster is defeated. In the Wolf Man, the monster is defeated twice; the first time the monster is defeated is when Larry unknowingly kills Bela with the silver walking stick after seeing him attack an innocent bystander, and the second instance occurs when Larry's father kills him with the same walking stick after he attacks Gwen.

On the other hand, Cutter's Way approaches horror from a realistic and psychological perspective through a suspenseful and thrilling narrative. Cutter's Way revolves around Richard Bone and Alex Cutter, played by Jeff Bridges and John Heard, respectively, as they try to figure out who killed a young girl and dumped her car in an alley; Bone was detained in connection with the murder because his car was found in the same alley and he later realizes he witnessed who dumped the body. Cutter, in an attempt to vindicate the young woman, and also to clear Bone's name, develops a conspiracy theory that fingers J.J. Cord, a prominent businessman, as the murderer. While many people dismiss Cutter's theory as being a delusion, he is proven to be correct at the end of the film. Cutter's Way falls under the category of horror because of the suspense that is built up throughout the film. The audience, like many of the characters, is lead to believe that Cutter is delusional and it is only until the end that they realize he was right all along, and that Cord orchestrated the murders of other people as well. This film is especially successful in emphasizing man as monster.