Found Footage Horror Films: A Cognitive Approach

by Peter Turner

Overview

This book adopts a cognitive theoretical framework in order to address the mental processes that are elicited and triggered by found footage horror films. Through analysis of key films, the book explores the effects that the diegetic camera technique used in such films can have on the cognition of viewers. It further examines the way in which mediated realism is constructed in the films in order to attempt to make audiences either (mis)read the footage as non-fiction, or more commonly to imagine that the footage is non-fiction. Films studied include The Blair Witch Project, Rec, Paranormal Activity, Exhibit A, Cloverfield, Man Bites Dog, The Last Horror Movie, Noroi: The Curse, Autohead and Zero Day

This book will be of key interest to Film Studies scholars with research interests in horror and genre studies, cognitive studies of the moving image, and those with interests in narration, realism and mimesis. It is an essential read for students undertaking courses with a focus on film theory, particularly those interested specifically in horror films and cognitive film theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367661847
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/30/2020
Series:	Routledge Advances in Film Studies
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Peter Turner is Associate Lecturer in the School of Technology, Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University, UK

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Introduction: why found footage horror films matter

Approaching diegetic camera horror

The processing of point of view

Developing a cognitive approach to diegetic camera horror

Limits of psychoanalytic theories for diegetic camera horror

Cognitivism and how we think about the diegetic camera

Priming for point of view

Engagement and empathy in diegetic camera films

Attention and cognitive participation: activating the seeking system

Alignment and allegiance with camera operators and charismatic killers

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

1 Genealogy

Faked representations

First-person point of view

Real death on screen

Developments in technology and the impact on aesthetics: cameras, surveillance, and the dominance of mediated reality

The horror genre: history, aesthetics, and technology

Mimicked forms: documentary, reality television, and home video

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

2 Narration and the diegetic camera

The diegetic camera and point of view

Issues of narration and enunciation

Self-consciousness

Tone and metatextuality

Performance

Sound and dialogue

Personal imagining

Realism

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

3 Priming the spectator and mediated reality

Defining priming

Viewer hypothesising

Representing mediated reality with the diegetic camera

Stylistic techniques

Creating mood and emotion

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

4 Camera operator interaction with viewers and profilmic subjects: The case of home movies

Recognition of camera operators and cinematography as performance

Alignment of information accumulation and cognitive and bodily response

Interaction with the viewer

Interaction between camera operators and profilmic subjects

Empathy, affective identification, and allegiance with camera operators

Allegiance with camera operators engaging in amoral behaviour

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

5 Allegiance with Charismatic Killers: Man Bites Dog, The Last Horror Movie and Zero Day

Recognition of killers and amoral fascination

How the diegetic camera directs moral evaluations of characters

Empathy, the killer’s face, and the close-up

Moral Structure: Killers and camera operators

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Filmography

Conclusion: The future for diegetic cameras

Re-definitions and classifications

Conclusions

The importance of priming

Self-consciousness and camera operator interaction

Allegiance with charismatic killers

Further areas of exploration

Notes

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Violence in fi ction is admittedly a difficult topic. And while Turner’s book has a few shortcomings that are attributable to the complications involved in conducting empirical research on horror, his book is an admirable work of cognitive film theory. It should inspire subsequent, testable investigations of his intriguing claims and provoke researchers to devise ethically responsible means of acquiring data pertaining to audience preferences for various types of realist horror." - Rikke Schubart, University of Southern Denmark.

From the Publisher