Story Structure and Genre

Story Structure and Genre

Genre: Horror

            Something about mysterious phone calls, psycho killers, and old curses seem to interest me, along with many other horror movie viewers. I find horror movies to be the best genre and that is why I chose my favorite horror movies to analyze. The three films I re-watched are When A Stranger Calls, The Grudge 2, and Saw 2. I think, to different audiences, these films could be categorized under either the act structure or the story structure. Personally, I think all three films fall under the story structure. All three of these horror stories have an inciting accident that leads to a bigger problem or situation, and there are many turning points throughout the story but ultimately the initial problem is resolved.

            This structure is most obviously presented in my favorite movie, When A Stranger Calls. When A Stranger Calls tells the tale of a young high school girl who innocently takes on a babysitting job. While at this house, she begins receiving mysterious phone calls. In the beginning of the movie we are told about a bonfire for all the seniors being held at a local lake. This sets up the young high school girl to believe they are just pranks calls from her friends. When one of her friends, whom she was earlier arguing with shows up at the house and calms the girl down for a moment. After she leaves, all seems to be going well and the phone calls become less frequent. Another turning point is placed in the film when the young girl finds her friend murdered in the guest bathroom. From here things get worse and worse as she tries to escape a killer. In the end, it is resolved when the police take the man into custody and the young girl is taken to the hospital. Yet, when you think she’s safe, another turning point hits again as she shows signs of post-traumatic stress. Similarly, The Grudge 2 and Saw 2 have plot lines where things appear to be okay, but soon enough mishaps and suspense is used to keep the viewer entertained and to continue watching. Although, with these two movies, they continue from previous films and the story takes pieces from the prequels. Unlike When A Stranger Calls, these movies also don’t get completely resolved in preparation for sequels. Yet, they still do follow a story structure.

            Overall, these three films take the story structure and use it in a way to grasp audience attention. With these story structures, the films can use many turning points to create suspense and drama. This keeps the audience guessing and alive along with the movie. There are many aesthetic techniques used to pull at viewers’ emotions in horror movies. Methods that involve scaring the audience and creating anxiety, even for short movements, are frequently used throughout horror films. This gives them their genre title. Ultimately, this makes the story structure the best set up for this genre.