Occult Movies
most films use patterns or specific objects as metaphors for a concept that the filmmaker is trying to convey. In horror movies, many such objects are used to intensify mood, identify character traits, emphasize themes and concepts (e.g. evil vs. good), and foreshadow events. Objects can be powerful symbols that add depth and meaning to a story.
Horror films try to capture our worst nightmares. As Carl G. Jung observed in his book Man and His Symbols (1979 ): "Commonplace objects or ideas can assume such powerful psychic significance in a dream that we may awake seriously disturbed, in spite of having dreamed of nothing worse than a locked room or a missed train" and "As a general rule, the unconscious aspect of any event is revealed to us in dreams, where it appears not as a rational thought but as a symbolic image."
Some of the most common symbolic objects found in horror include:
1. Religious Symbols - Religion is very prevalent in horror, with themes of life and death, spirituality, man playing god, man fighting inner and outer demons, good versus evil, and so forth. Religious artifacts may be Christian, occult movies, satanic, voodoo, or about any other type of belief in something greater than humanity. In The Skeleton Key (2005 ), hospice worker Caroline Ellis is a skeptic and does not believe in the supernatural, even though hoodoo items and legends surround her in the swampy, primitive homestead where she cares for an elderly man, Ben. As Ben believes in the hoodoo magic, Caroline pieces together more and more about the lynching of a slave couple who performed hoodoo in the attic, and her belief system begins to shift. She learns about the jujus - spell-books and recorded conjurations she discovers in the attic - and begins to perform rituals herself. In the end, her fear makes her a believer and this is her downfall, as it is what the slaves, who have lived on in the bodies of others, needed to take over her body. She let the symbolic objects overpower her reasoning.
2. Symbols of Death - Death is naturally pervasive in horror and there are countless representative objects, such as coffins, gravestones, skeletons, angels of death, and so forth. In Psycho (1960 ), the taxidermy birds are representative of the dead mother in the home and Bates' schizophrenic attempts to keep her alive after death. In horror, there can be confusion between life and death, such as ghosts, zombies, and the supernatural, so objects can help symbolize who is on which side. Toward the beginning of Jacob's Ladder (1990 ), Jacob gets trapped in an underground tunnel, which is symbolic of being trapped between life and death. The rushing train which barely misses him on the track is filled with disfigured faces, lost souls like him. As he suffers increasing hallucinations and his life spins out of control, the only comfort he finds is with his chiropractor Louis, who he describes as an overgrown cherub. We later discover he is in fact an angel. Louis tells Jacob the truth about his situation, though Jacob can not comprehend its real meaning at the time. The fire that Jacob ignites at an Army headquarters (Jacob believes the hallucination were from army experiments) represents his need to burn away his attachments and memories of life. Fire symbolically recurs many times in the film and Jacob is literally consumed by it before being able to finally leave his hellish purgatory.
3. Colors - Many films use color to symbolize themes and the powers of evil and good. Red is often associated with evil, blood, violence, and lust, for example the Red Queen in Resident Evil (2002 ). Black is also naturally associated with evil while light, neutral colors or earth tones are associated with good or the general populace.
4. Light - Light can symbolize many things, such as hope, transition, escape, and even death (e.g. Poltergeist's "Don't go into the light!") Sunlight normally provides a sense of comfort so the incongruity of sunlight and horror can be especially unnerving, such as in the famous graveyard scene in Night of the Living Dead (1968 ). Lanterns, flashlights, and candles are common sources of light in horror, as this light can only be cast so far while the surrounding darkness is rife with shadows. In this early scene from Hellraiser (1987) the dangling light bulbs in the torture room instantly sets the tone.
INT. TORTURE ROOM NIGHT
The bare bulbs in the room we've entered swing violently, disorienting us. There are chains - dozens of them - disappearing with the darkness of the ceiling: all are swinging back and forth. Some end in hooks, with pieces of skin and sinew adhering; some are serrated, others simply drip blood.
In the claustrophobic British horror film The Descent (2005 ), a group of female friends on a caving expedition become hunted by inhuman creatures. The women are trapped in virtual darkness underground and light is their only friend as the creatures are blind. Light and dark are often used thematically to represent good and evil, hence the horror of the night and the hope of a new dawn if you have managed to survive.
5. Weapons - A majority of horror films involve the use of weapons, from machine guns to saws. Weapons have phallic symbolism that suggests masculine power and the woman that outsmarts the villain essentially castrates him. Leatherface's weapon in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is the ultimate phallic symbol of raging power. Weapons are most symbolically powerful when they reflects character; Leatherface lives on and on for this very reason.
6. Fabric - Fabric appears in many forms in horror, such as drapes, tapestries, and furniture dust coverings. Because fabric can disguise, it intensifies suspense as it suggests the presence of something behind it. The protagonist can also hide behind fabric, but of course is not protected by it. In The Others (2001 ), the mother hears voices in the home and enters a room where all the stored items are covered with dust cloths. As the voices intensify, she begins pulling down the cloths to try to reveal the source. In this film, fabric is used as a metaphor for covering the dark truth the mother refuses to accept, that she murdered her own children. The curtains that are always closed in the home also emphasize this. Once the mother accepts the truth, there is no need for curtains and they can live in the light.
Keys/Locks - Keys and locks symbolize secrets, confinement, and hidden objects or places. In The Others, the mother must constantly lock and unlock doors to prevent light from reaching her children who have a rare condition and will die if exposed to sunlight. In this film, the locks and keys represent her confined thinking as well as her physical confinement in purgatory.
Doors and Windows - Doors and windows (or any portal) have many symbolic meanings. In horror, however, doors and windows are typically a means of entrapment or escape. Windows can also personify a haunted house as eyes, such as the always glowing, quarter-round windows in Amityville Horror.
9. Labyrinths/Mazes - Labyrinths and mazes have often appeared in horror to heighten the protagonist's lack of control. From the hedge maze in The Shining to the complex labyrinth of the underground Hive in Resident Evil, they offer many opportunities for sudden surprises around the corner, trap doors, circular action, and a sense of improbability for escape.
10. Dolls - Dolls have appeared often in horror storytelling. The incongruity of a child's toy and danger can make it unnerving, as dolls normally represent happiness, nurturing, and innocence. Yet their distorted human qualities, such as oversized heads, exaggerated features or unblinking eyes, can make them especially eerie. Doll appearances can be subtle, such as the marionette in The Others. The doll on a string represents a figure that is not in control of its movements or destiny, much like the mother despite her efforts. It is also a moment when she shockingly connects to 'the other side' and her lifelong definitions of reality are completely rattled. Dolls can also take a leading role, such as in the evil Chucky series. The same unnerving effect has been used with clowns, though they have been so overused as to have lost much of their effect. Dolls, on the other hand, come in so many forms, from voodoo to Barbie dolls and battered antique to contemporary ones, that they offer vast opportunities for symbolic use. A doll's symbolism, which may be expressed through children's play or other means, might include sexuality, lack of control, death, desire, regret, families, aging, and much more
