Horror Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Horror Film - Movie Review Example However, sometimes a filmmaker might choose to reveal these gratuitous aspects of their craft less directly, or even just imply them. As the genre of horror films grew more sophisticated in the mid portion of the 20th century, filmmakers such as Georges Franju began making important decisions about which horrific scenes to display and which so leave up to the audience's imagination. In his 1959 classic Eyes without a Face, Franju deliberately paces the film to heighten the anticipation of the truly graphic scenes. In this case, it is all about the audience's expectations. Meanwhile, the themes of the film were not simply bodily excess, but the full extensions of psychological control in its characters. Accordingly, the horror stems from the excessive control of a father over his daughter, his possible lover and the world around him. This level of control is reflected in the mask that the girl is forced to wear and the environment in which she is forced to live - only the latter of wh ich is the audience privy do early in the film. Ultimately, Eyes without a Face is an example of a horror film that makes use of invisible horror, in order to heighten the audience's awareness of what it may be about to see, and allow its imagination to run wild. Essentially, the film is driven forward by the moral choices of Dr. ... Genessier's daughter, Christiane, a most of all. Early in the film Louise briefly questions the actions of her employer - who, as the film implies, may also be her lover or even her husband, which could even make her Christiane's mother. Before the audience is even fully privy to the actions that the pair of murderers is taking, Louise states that she cannot go on, and Mr. Genessier promptly slaps her, which brings her back to her senses. This brief scene illustrates one of the main themes that will run throughout Eyes without a Face, which is the control of Mr. Genessier over everything in his life. The issue of control is significant because it highlights one of the ethical messages that Franju attempts to convey through the film. Since this is a horror film, it is not enough to merely illustrate how the control of one man over the lives of two women can be detrimental to everyone; instead, the audience must be brought face-to-face with the most extreme or even gruesome consequences of such a form of control. Genessier specifically wants to control the appearance of his daughter and, accordingly, the course of her life. The audience is left to infer that he believes that his daughter will have a better life if she is beautiful once again. However, this is never directly identified by Christiane as a personal goal belonging to her. This is clearly her father's goal. It is suggested that Mr. Genessier holds himself responsible for the injury to his daughter; but rather than attempting to correct the possible flaws in himself that led to her disfigurement, he acts to take more fir m command of her life, as well as the lives of other women in Paris. Women are abducted, mutilated and murdered with zero regard for their