See you tomorrow!
Only two weeks left in the marking period!
-MrBoZ
Here is one of many amazing essays:
One of the main ways the horror genre appeals to people is by its use of suspense and tension. According to “What is the Horror Genre?” while many other genres can utilize suspense, in horror, the suspense is intensified by our knowledge of what usually occurs in the genre. “The Monkey’s Paw” is a horror story that uses tension and suspense in both its original book form and in a video adaptation. However, I think the video does a better job of creating suspense and tension than the written version.
Firstly, the movie uses plot that is not in the original written story to add extra tension and suspense. One way this is done is in the very beginning of the story, in which, instead of beginning in the un-suspenseful location of the Whites’ cottage, it starts with Morris receiving the paw from the Fakir in India. The reader does not know what the paw can do, or what is happening, and this creates tension as things that are unknown create tension very well. The movie also adds a flashback of the death of the paw’s first owner in India, rather than simply having Morris describe it like in the original. Again, this allows the video to create more suspense than the book, since his death conveys a sense of the paw being dangerous and deadly to its owners, and the viewer might find himself wondering if this will happen to one of the other characters.
Additionally, the video adds another layer of tension through the use of music and sound, which the book form is unable to do. One way that it does this is by assigning different events musical themes. For example, whenever someone has just died, or death is about to occur, bells are heard. A violin plays when the monkey’s paw is shown, or during the effects of its wishes. These themes create suspense by clueing in the listener on what is going to happen next, such as the violin playing when the factory servant walks up to the house, indicating that what will happen is an effect of a wish. Sounds are deployed to create suspense as well. One sound that is used is that of a dog howling, which is heard several times throughout the video. Since dogs are known to be able to sense danger before humans can, this creates tension by letting the viewer know that something dangerous is about to occur. Moreover, the dog howl and other realistic sound effects make the world of the story more believable. Also, the movie-makers convey tension through the use of dialogue. One example of this is when Morris says that he wished for “things that cannot be undone”, creating suspense by foreshadowing that the Whites will later want their wishes to be undone. Finally, more tension is created by the characters’ tone of voice. One instance of this is when the Whites are seeking information about the monkey’s paw. In the original, the suspense was mainly created by the reader knowing that the Whites shouldn’t be asking Morris for the paw. The movie uses this as well, and adds extra tension by the contrast between Morris’s harsh voice tone when he tells them not to use the paw and to throw it onto the fire, and Mr. White’s inquiring voice tone when he asks to keep it.
Another way the video creates more suspense is through visual effects, which the written version is also unable to use. A visual effect used throughout the film is a shaky camera. This creates a sense of fear, as it seems like the camera-man is afraid of what is happening. Close-ups are also utilized in the movie. The way they convey tension by making the viewer feel more close and connected to the events. Finally, recurring visual themes are seen. For example, when Morris enters the Whites’ house, he walks through a wall of smoke. Later, when he leaves the house, he comes back out through that same wall of smoke, and the scenes look very similar. Another visual theme is dark clouds, which are seen throughout the video. They appear when Morris is traveling on the train, when Herbert is being buried, when Herbert is brought back to life, and when Mrs. White opens the door to find that Herbert is not there. Both of these visual techniques add suspense because, like in the musical themes, the listener can use them to infer what will happen next. The movie also uses the setting to create suspense better than the book does. The book’s main setting description is in the very beginning, where Mr, White complains about how “Pathway’s a bog, and road’s a torrent”. The movie allows the viewer to actually see the setting, creating more suspense, and it adds details such as lightning, smoke, and hail.
In conclusion, while both the original book version and the video adaptation of “The Monkey’s Paw” make good use of tension and suspense, the movie version uses several techniques that the written version does not use in order to do a better job of this, and therefore it is a better example of the horror genre.
