Confronting the Entity: The Implied Presence in Horror Cinema

Abstract

This dissertation examines three horror films from the late 1970's: John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Peter Medak's The Changeling (1980). The examination illustrates the importance of cinematographically-rendered negative space surrounding the films' villainous entities; the term this dissertation will propose in this context is the implied presence. The implied presence is key to not only establishing a distinction between terror (dread) and horror (revulsion), but also subverting the notion of a linear and finite path from terror to horror. The implied presence (that which is not seen on screen but implied) creates the opportunity for the viewer to create and engage with a more personal and individual confrontation with the villainous entity before it occurs visually on screen; this challenges and transcends the idea of subjectivity and the role of the voyeur for the viewer. This argument makes a critical connection between technical filmmaking practices and viewer participatory autonomy in the filmic experience that will show a higher level of intellectual and emotional/psychological control over how one views a horror or suspense film.

Michel Chion proposes the term "Audiovisual Contract" (Audio Vision, 1994) to explain how visual and sound in a film are separate cinematic elements temporarily working together, yet are accepted together by the viewer to be creating a sensory backdrop for a diegesis. In a similar way, the implied presence in both sound and image challenge the viewer to form a contract with the impending horror confrontation before it happens on-screen. This establishes the distinction between the notion of horror and the display of horror, which places the notion of horror more firmly in the psychological and emotional control of the viewer. In this way, the viewer becomes able to create an entity that is unique to each individual and not solely dictated by the screen.

This creates the platform for a pedagogical angle to this dissertation: learning how to watch a horror film, to understand why viewers fear them, can extend the medium's teaching value, and open the door for a larger and more comprehensive approach to cross-disciplined film study. This dissertation proposes a methodology for this approach in its study of technical filmic elements and narrative strategies. The three films examined were chosen because they best exemplify the catalysts for modern cinematic practice and expression. They encourage viewers to consider carefully the diegetic world but also the outside world that created them.