Effectiveness of special effects in horror
Special effects have been around for quite some time now, and they have been used in many different ways. In horror, special effects serve various purposes. Special effects in horror can show all the blood, gore, and disgusting things shown, it can be a transformation scene, or sometimes simply effects done with a camera and no other outside work. These effects add entertainment and understanding to the workings of the story. It adds to the story, but sometimes can be ineffective if not done properly. Also, special effects aren’t always needed to create a great horror film.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoluian, 1933) made in 1933 was about a man who made a potion that made him turn into Mr. …show more content…
This movie has a series of special effects that in 1971, were extremely effective and are still effective today. None of these scenes are done with CGI. They are done with a creative eye and mechanics. Regan’s ‘transformation’ of becoming a demon is done through a series of makeup done by Rick Baker himself. The makeup is not over-done and is done just right to the point where she still looks like Regan but possessed. Another example of special effects in this film was the projectile vomiting, this was done through a small face mask that had tubes attached, there was prothstetics that fit over her face to conceal the tubes. This adds significance and a shock-factor to the creation of horror. Here’s a little, sweet, innocent girl who is now projectile vomiting and looking terrifying with her makeup job. There was also a scene where Regan spins her head all the way around, this is perhaps one of the most terrifying visuals done in the film, it can be argued that with CGI this scene may have not been as effective. A man named Smith created a life-size dummy of Linda Blair as a possessed Regan and configured the face with radio controlled eyes. They also added mechanics that made the dummy turn her head all the way around. This added a lot more value to this film due to the hard artistic work put into it. The scene where she turns her …show more content…
For example, in the movie Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1973) there was a mechanical shark that had various malfunctions. This forced them to create the film without the shark at times. This could perhaps be the best thing that happened for the film. Showing less and using less effects actually made the film more effective. The way the scenes were shot added more to the film than the actual shark may have. They shot this movie in a wide open ocean and this itself had enough of an effect on the audience. The ocean had the unknown and you cannot see all the way to the bottom. The idea of this in itself is effective and when special effects were absent it was very effective. A scene where a little boy is killed by the shark, there is just a pool of blood and a deflated, destroyed floaty. There was no shark shown and no special effects used. We also do not see the body of the little boy but the shock value is added and not seeing the entire attack with the shark was more effective than it would have been with the shark. An example of a movie that used too much, or unneeded special effects at times is Jaws 2 where they have a very unconvincing shark that was done CGI. The shark is very non-life like and basically floats into the window where the window shatters in a also very unconvincing matter. This scene would have most likely been a lot
Special effects have been around for quite some time now, and they have been used in many different ways. In horror, special effects serve various purposes. Special effects in horror can show all the blood, gore, and disgusting things shown, it can be a transformation scene, or sometimes simply effects done with a camera and no other outside work. These effects add entertainment and understanding to the workings of the story. It adds to the story, but sometimes can be ineffective if not done properly. Also, special effects aren’t always needed to create a great horror film.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoluian, 1933) made in 1933 was about a man who made a potion that made him turn into Mr. …show more content…
This movie has a series of special effects that in 1971, were extremely effective and are still effective today. None of these scenes are done with CGI. They are done with a creative eye and mechanics. Regan’s ‘transformation’ of becoming a demon is done through a series of makeup done by Rick Baker himself. The makeup is not over-done and is done just right to the point where she still looks like Regan but possessed. Another example of special effects in this film was the projectile vomiting, this was done through a small face mask that had tubes attached, there was prothstetics that fit over her face to conceal the tubes. This adds significance and a shock-factor to the creation of horror. Here’s a little, sweet, innocent girl who is now projectile vomiting and looking terrifying with her makeup job. There was also a scene where Regan spins her head all the way around, this is perhaps one of the most terrifying visuals done in the film, it can be argued that with CGI this scene may have not been as effective. A man named Smith created a life-size dummy of Linda Blair as a possessed Regan and configured the face with radio controlled eyes. They also added mechanics that made the dummy turn her head all the way around. This added a lot more value to this film due to the hard artistic work put into it. The scene where she turns her …show more content…
For example, in the movie Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1973) there was a mechanical shark that had various malfunctions. This forced them to create the film without the shark at times. This could perhaps be the best thing that happened for the film. Showing less and using less effects actually made the film more effective. The way the scenes were shot added more to the film than the actual shark may have. They shot this movie in a wide open ocean and this itself had enough of an effect on the audience. The ocean had the unknown and you cannot see all the way to the bottom. The idea of this in itself is effective and when special effects were absent it was very effective. A scene where a little boy is killed by the shark, there is just a pool of blood and a deflated, destroyed floaty. There was no shark shown and no special effects used. We also do not see the body of the little boy but the shock value is added and not seeing the entire attack with the shark was more effective than it would have been with the shark. An example of a movie that used too much, or unneeded special effects at times is Jaws 2 where they have a very unconvincing shark that was done CGI. The shark is very non-life like and basically floats into the window where the window shatters in a also very unconvincing matter. This scene would have most likely been a lot