Occult Movies
most films use patterns or specific objects as metaphors for a concept that the filmmaker is trying to convey. In horror occult movies, my webpage,, many such objects are used to intensify mood, identify character traits, emphasize themes and concepts (e.g. good vs. evil), 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:
Religious Symbols - Religion is very prevalent in horror, with themes of life and death, spirituality, man playing god, man fighting outer and inner demons, good versus evil, and so forth. 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. She let the symbolic objects overpower her reasoning.
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 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. Fire symbolically recurs many times in the film and Jacob is literally consumed by it before being able to finally leave his hellish purgatory.
Colors - Many films use color to symbolize themes and the powers of evil and good. Red is often associated with evil, violence, blood, and lust, for example the Red Queen in Resident Evil (2002 ).
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 ). Flashlights, lanterns, 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 evil and good, 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.
7. Keys/Locks - Keys and locks symbolize secrets, confinement, and hidden objects or places. In The Skeleton Key, Caroline is trying to solve her patient Ben's paralyzed condition. Her skeleton key works in every room in the house except one in the attic. She manages to get inside the room and discovers a host of disturbing secrets that will lead to her own demise. 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. Only when she accepts the truth can all the doors be left unlocked, as the curtains can come down.
8. Doors and Windows - Doors and windows (or any portal) have many symbolic meanings. Often, they help symbolize characterization. With windows, a person is and has a limited perspective like a spectator, not part of the outside world. The person looking through the window may be frightened of the world outside or physically unable to be part of it. In The Others, the mother is often by the window looking out, trapped in her home because of her children and a dense, pervasive fog. At the end, she and her children stand by the window looking out at a world they no longer belong to. On the other hand, doors can be symbolic of opportunity. In horror, however, doors and windows are typically a means of entrapment or escape. They are also highly utilized for building suspense ... is something behind the slightly open door or lurking outside the window in the dark? In Night of the Living Dead, windows and doors are dangerous openings that the zombies can infiltrate, despite efforts to block them up. Some of the most frightening scenes are when zombie hands reach in through spaces between the wooden boards. Windows can also personify a haunted house as eyes, such as the always glowing, quarter-round windows in Amityville Horror.
9. Labyrinths/Mazes - Mazes and labyrinths 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, innocence, and nurturing. Yet their distorted human qualities, such as oversized heads, unblinking eyes or exaggerated features, 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
