SUBTEXTS &INFERRED MEANINGSTHE HORROR FILM

THE EXORCIST (1973)Subtext: Women’s RightsRegan’s possession is a metaphor for mental illness, such as depression, which her go-getting mother has caused through neglecting her child to further her own career and desire for independence.

The single mother is a strong and fiercely independent woman who takes part in demonstration. She grabs the megaphone from the male speaker and delivers her own stirring words of inspiration to the crowd - the epitome of the independent woman of the times. This subtext: the rise of a strong female empowerment movement in early ‘70s America.

In one scene, Regan's mother yells angrily at her never seen ex-husband on the phone for not taking Regan for the weekend. Regan overhears this in her bedroom, and from that moment forward, the shaking bed and screaming begins. This rejection by her mother is what begins her decline into possession.

At a party, she is seen flirting with men. She is trying to ingratiate herself into this traditionally masculine crowd, to shake of the shackles and responsibilities of motherhood. Regan comes downstairs in a trance, tells the Astronaut he’s going to “die up there” and urinates on the carpet. Here we can see Regan acting out, desperate for care, attention and recognition from her mother.

The 1970’s had the first generation of Mothers who had to choose whether to be the so-called “stay at home Mom” (a derisive term at the time) or join their friends in their rightful pursuit for equality. Many joined the movement yet retained an insidious degree of guilt that they were neglecting their children.

SYNOPSIS

When young Regan starts acting odd, levitating and speaking in tongues, her

worried mother seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest, however,

thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest makes a request to perform an

exorcism, and the church sends in an expert to help with the difficult job of saving

Regan.

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)Subtext: Vietnam/Class/Nuclear Family

SYNOPSISWhen Sally hears that her grandfather's

grave may have been vandalized, she sets out with her friends to investigate. After a

detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous

outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-

wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do

everything they can to escape.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was produced and released during the last years of the Vietnam War, and this is vital when considering it’s subtext.

Leatherface and his bizarre family represent America’s forgotten have-nots; poor people, often uneducated, and often living in rural areas. In addition to being neglected in the US, young men from such backgrounds also fell victim to the Army Draft, being sent as infantry to Vietnam, where many died or suffered from drug problems or mental illnesses, in an ideological war waged by the ruling classes.

In this context, we can see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a revenge film: the poor underclasses punishing those from more prosperous backgrounds for the sins of society (the victims are carefree 20-somethings from comfortable backgrounds, able to afford college and therefore avoid being drafted.)

Also, Leatherface and his family used to work at the abattoir, this can also be seen as a metaphor for young men having returned from the slaughter of Vietnam, bringing with them a variety of mental illnesses.

We can also view the murderous family in the film as a metaphor for the breakdown of the traditional image of the American Nuclear Family, caused by the decline in traditional US manufacturing and processing industries and female empowerment: the abattoir has closed down taking the families jobs with it, there is no female presence within the family (Leatherface dresses as a woman to serve dinner, inspired by serial killer Ed Gein.)

DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)Subtext: Consumerism/Capitalism

SYNOPSIS

As hordes of zombies swarm the U.S., the populace tries everything in their power to

escape the un-dead. Radio-station employee Stephen and his girlfriend escape in the station helicopter, accompanied by two

renegade SWAT members. They retreat to the haven of an enclosed shopping centre to make what could be humanity's last stand.Regarded as a powerful statement about capitalism and mass-consumerism,

Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released at a time when consumerism in America was reaching new levels, with advertising, mass production, the credit system and engineered personal greed getting into full swing.

George A.Romero’s film foresaw the rise of the Reagan-era belief system where happiness, aspiration and personal identity was innately tied to a constant consumption of good and products.

Four survivors of the Zombie apocalypse choose the only place that could supply them with everything they might need to survive: the shopping mall.

Within the mall they begin to experience existential boredom, where despite having everything they need to survive (and more), their lives lack meaning – they are consumers only, not humans!

Gradually more and more of the living dead gather and begin to force their way inside, as if the only remaining memory of life they have is to shop and consume junk food.

In our lust for consuming inanimate objects, we in turn become dead or inanimate creatures with only one last desire: to consume that which may still be left alive, if just to have a taste of life as it once was.

POLTERGEIST (1982)Subtext: Conformity

SYNOPSIS

Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings

(Steve, Diane, Dana, Robbie, and five-year-old Carol Ann). Initially friendly and playful,

the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and

eventually an exorcist for help.The Freeling family lives in what are known as Sub-divisions, that is, suburbs where every house looks exactly the same and so do most of the families.

The head of the household Steve Freeling, even works for the real estate developers selling these identical houses to new families of similar social economic status. “They all look the same!” complains one of his potential buyers.

Then things get weirder. The ‘TV people’ start talking to the Young Carol Ann after the programming for the day shuts down. When her pet bird dies, her mother Diane goes to immediately flush it down the toilet, but Carol Anne catches her. At this moment the camera focuses in on the shadow of the dead bird on the toilet seat. Why? Because Tobe Hooper (The Director) is giving us a fore-“shadow” effect that the dead and children have something in common – a vibrant love and respect for life, that the adults seem to be flushing down the proverbial toilet with their conformity.

It is revealed that the Developer had built the houses on a set of cemeteries (Cuesta Verde means “Green Slope” a reference to the sloping slide into the hell of eighties greed.) As nice and as singularly independent as the identity of the Freeling family is, Steve and Diane have sold their souls to conformity. They have in essence, become the living dead, and it has taken the dead stealing their youngest daughter away to have them snap out of their stupor, save her, and leave Cuesta Verde’s slope of green to truly become alive again.

BATTLE ROYALE (2000)Subtext: A Lost Youth

SYNOPSIS

42 9th graders are drugged and sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various

weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their

mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If

there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.Director Kinji Fukasaku, states that the film is permeated by a sadism that's

redolent of the voyeuristic pleasure American audiences have taken in programs such as ‘Survivor’ (entertainment that involves the humiliation of at least one participant per week on national television).

A pre-title scroll elucidates hard times in what seems to be an alternate-universe/future Japan (the nation collapsed, 15 percent unemployment, 800,000 students boycotting school), and pits adults versus teenagers.

The subtext is a reflection of a darkness felt in Japanese society, where hard work and scholarship are no longer enough to secure a good job and where there's a perception that violence among young people is on the rise. Battle Royale is in part wish fulfilment for adults who are fed up with, and maybe a little afraid of, the younger generation.

Fukasaku is very generous with his young characters, following them through friendships and failed alliances and emphasizing the sway that emotions hold over their psyches and their inability to make a mature decision.

Fukasaku's sympathies ultimately lie with the teenagers, whom he portrays as sweet, resourceful, and mostly inclined to live together peaceably. In Japan, competition for space in higher-education programs (which supposedly secure future jobs) is fierce, adding a layer to the hapless desperation of the ninth graders in the film.

28 DAYS LATER (2002)Subtext: Environmental

SYNOPSIS

A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with the "Rage" virus from a research lab. When Jim wakes up from a coma a month after, he finds his city all but deserted. On the run from the

zombie-like victims of the Rage, Jim stumbles upon a group of survivors and

joins them on a perilous journey to what he hopes is safety.

Director Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic/un-dead/zombie/survival tale is a psychological survivor thriller akin to the Cold War tales of battles over bomb shelters and destroyed cities.

The modern idea of rage itself being a virus, let loose in London, transmitted by blood, that in a mere 20 seconds transforms people (and some animals) into incoherent, raging lunatics hell-bent on attacking anyone they see… is both current and shocking.

Mayhem ensues: when one is infected with the virus, within 10-20 seconds they become raging murderous zombies. If the newly-infected are not killed immediately, they infect whoever is nearby. Within 28 days the whole of London is wiped out. A few survivors regroup and try to carry on. But interestingly enough, infection is not the worst danger they face in this post-apocalyptic world.

The story is rich in subtext, as any post-apocalyptic plague film would be, particularly for Great Britain, which has experienced the fear, isolation and ostracisation of mad cow disease and hoof and mouth disease in recent years.

The most fascinating aspect is the film's unrelenting take on human nature and the way that societal structures like martial law allow for the very worst in human behaviour...and the notion that humans are more than capable of destroying themselves and the planet given the right circumstances.

HOSTEL (2005)Subtext: The Iraq War

 

SYNOPSIS

Friends Josh and Paxton decide to spend the summer backpacking across Europe. While stopping in Amsterdam, they meet Oli, a like-minded traveller from Iceland. When the three set off to investigate enticing rumours of a Slovakian hostel in a city populated by lusty women, they find

themselves drawn unwittingly into a deadly game.

Director Eli Roth avowed that the subtext of his 2005 film ‘Hostel, was "very much a reflection of my disgust with the Iraq War and the Al-Qaeda beheadings ... It's not just about people who want to kill us, but about capitalism gone awry and American imperialism."

To coincide with the dense and well-managed political subtext, the extreme, nay, pioneering, nastiness on parade is reminiscent of that rumoured to have taken place in the Guantanamo bay facility for war crimes against America.

Although from the victims' perspective, Roth focuses more on the people queuing up to flay, incinerate, carve and eviscerate good looking young Americans.. They think that getting to torture and kill someone will give them a competitive edge - "a kind of aura" - in their corporate manoeuvrings. The victims are your stereotypical loud, ignorant and obnoxious Americans.

The stories are out there in the political and military realms:Abu Ghraib and its own brand of sick-in-the-head torture-porn;"blowback" of every kind;internet murders by obscure Islamist groups;the licence granted by recent American behaviour to much nastier tyrants and states, not all of them Islamist in temper;the evil side of American business culture;the psychotic characteristics of men like Rumsfeld and Cheney.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007)Subtext: Domestic Abuse

SYNOPSIS

Katie and Micha are a young couple, having just bought their first home together. Soon after

moving into a suburban tract home, Katie and Micah become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence in their house. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are

not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.The legitimate subtext in Oren Peli’s 2007 film Paranormal Activity references domestic violence, the all-to-real demon of power and control.

The couple in love, Katie and Micah, resemble that of an abusive relationship. Micah sees Katie as an object to own and place in his house; he isn’t as concerned with her welfare as he is in guarding his possession.

Micah is threatened by another force (the evil spirit) for control of Katie who is torn between the two, a woman whose choice has been exorcized and like any battered woman can’t run away because the abuser will only follow. It is revealed that the spirit is attached to Katie and not the house… a metaphor to the long term effects of abuse.

Micah mugs for the camera, his Cheshire cat persona dominating while Katie is relegated to a subjective pronoun. He lies and breaks his promises then blames her when violence is their domestic equation’s sum total.

Their relationship disintegrates within the three weeks of activity but it seems to be on that long road to nowhere, reflected in the scene with the psychic when Micah says “We’re engaged to be engaged”: obviously a reference to his unwillingness to commit.

Katie begs him to contact the Demonologist or turn off the camera but only HE knows what’s best for her…and it leads to murder. 

SINISTER (2012)Subtext: Neglect/Child Services

SYNOPSISTrue-crime writer Ellison hasn't had a best

seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate. So, when

he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he moves his own family into the victims' home and

gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that

living in the house may be fatal.

Sinister focuses around the killings of several families where at least one member of the family, a child, goes missing soon after. It is not until the last few scenes of the film, when the family makes a shocking discovery in their attic, that the subtext becomes apparent.

The additional “extended endings.” reel of film for each murder reveals that (different from the original reels) this time the missing child from each of the families comes onscreen before disappearing. This implies that the kids are responsible for the slayings of their families.

The spirited antagonist ‘Bughuul’ is characterised as being the taker of children souls which is not a foreign belief placed upon some ancient demonic entities such as Lilith, otherwise know as Abyzou. Abyzou is the name of a female demon who was often blamed for miscarriages and infant mortality and was said to be motivated by envy as she herself was infertile.

The subtext indicates a focus on modern day broken families, and in particular, that of child protection (i.e. foster families and social services). This presence that takes children away from their neglecting families can be represented by Bughuuls positive relationship with the children he seeks to obtain, and the poor relationship with the parents (stalking, scaring etc.).

The poor parenting may not be that apparent to the parents themselves (as it is portrayed in the film), something that it is often the case with neglect cases.

THE PURGE (2013)Subtext: Modern Class War

SYNOPSISIn an America ravaged by crime and

overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period during which all criminal activity including murder

is legal. James and his family face the ultimate test when an intruder drags the

vicious world into their home. James’ family struggle to survive the night while trying

not to turn into monsters like the ones they are trying to avoid.

The Purge introduces the underlying premise of a government-sanctioned annual, 12-hour event. During it, people have total impunity to engage in nihilistic, anti-social behaviour, even including homicide.

The film provides a societal overview and depicts the evolving relationship between strangers in society. It also adopts a more jaundiced view on the motives of the government in allowing the yearly purge.

Most of the purgers seem to be committing random acts of violence and wrecking havoc just for the hell of it. Exploiting the dispensation of the annual Purge to achieve an exquisitely specific personal agenda.

The Purge offers a scathing analysis of class warfare. We have explicit scenes of the privileged class savouring the opportunity to indulge in social Darwinism during the allocated time. For them, the Purge has become a cherished social ritual, which is a much akin to Thanksgiving. Only instead of carving up a turkey carcass, they enjoy the spectacle of dispatching members of societal underclass.

The clever socio-political subtext constructs the view that the poor and under privileged are the most vulnerable members of todays society (being outside during the purge). The rich are given the highest chance of survival due to being able to afford the high tech security systems (and often being employed by the manufacturers of the products).

THE BABADOOK (2014)Subtext: Death of a Parent

SYNOPSIS

A troubled widow and mother lives alone with her young son. After a set of strange

occurrences, she discovers that her son is telling the truth about a monster that entered their home through the pages of a children's book. What does the strange presence want? Is it true that once here… ‘You can't get rid of

the Babadook’.The plot follows a struggling single mother, her explosive and irrational son… whose father died driving her to the hospital to give birth. As she navigates the terrain of single motherhood, she keeps all of her husbands possessions locked away in the basement and strictly forbids their child from venturing down there.

The narratives subtext casts the Babadook as a manifestation of undigested grief and misplaced resentment, the ugly, repressed feelings the heroine takes out on her son. It is because of this that the mother refuses to acknowledge her husband's existence, let alone his sudden death. She keeps every aspect of his life (his suit and hat, for instance) hidden away (the basement is a sealed-off section of her memory bank). The Babadook also represents the dead husband. There are numerous visual juxtapositions between the monster and the husband, namely the aforementioned suit and hat nailed to the wall.

When the Babadook possesses the mother in an attempt to get to kill her son, she finds an inner strength which allows her to finally confront her past and demand the monster leave them be (it returns freely to the basement).

The film's denouement shows the family living openly with the monster, almost like a dangerous pet, feeding it and nurturing it with the same motherly love and attention the mother shows her son. The tagline of "You can't get rid of the Babadook." does not indicate a troubling conclusion, but that you cannot get rid of the past. If you attempt to do so, it will rise up anyway. Rather than burying the past and ignoring it, you have to embrace it, nurture it, and above all, acknowledge it.

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