Found Footage Horror Films: A Cognitive Approach (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)

205 Pages·2019·4.448 MB·English

by  Peter Turner

Found Footage Horror Films
This book adopts a cognitive theoretical framework in order to address
the mental processes that are elicited and triggered by found footage hor-
ror films. Through analysis of key films, the book explores the effects
that the diegetic camera technique used in such films can have on the cog-
nition 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.
Peter Turner is Associate Lecturer in the School of Technology, Design
and Environment at Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Routledge Advances in Film Studies
56 Film Comedy and the American Dream
Zach Sands
57 Ecocinema and the City
Robin L. Murray and Joseph K. Heumann
58 Collective Trauma and the Psychology of Secrets in
Transnational Film
Deborah Lynn Porter
59 Melodrama, Self and Nation in Post-War British Popular Film
Johanna Laitila
60 Emotion in Animated Films
Edited by Meike Uhrig
61 Post-Production and the Invisible Revolution of Filmmaking
From the Silent Era to Synchronized Sound
George Larkin
62 New Approaches to Cinematic Space
Edited by Filipa Rosário and Iván Villarmea Álvarez
63 Melancholy in Contemporary Cinema
A Spinozian Analysis of Film Experience
Francesco Sticchi
64 Found Footage Horror Films
A Cognitive Approach
Peter Turner
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com
Found Footage Horror Films
A Cognitive Approach
Peter Turner
First published 2019
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
The right of Peter Turner to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
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trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Turner, Peter (Lecturer in film and media
studies), author.
Title: Found footage horror films: a cognitive approach /
by Peter Turner.
Description: London; New York: Routledge, 2018. |
Series: Routledge advances in film studies; 64 | Includes
bibliographical references, filmographies, and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018052701 (print) | LCCN 2018059255
(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Horror films—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC PN1995.9.H6 (ebook) | LCC PN1995.9.H6
T87 2018 (print) | DDC 791.43/6164—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018052701
ISBN: 978-1-138-38851-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-42548-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
This book is dedicated to Beth, for always believing.

Contents
List of Figures and Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Why Found Footage Horror Films Matter 1
Approaching Diegetic Camera Horror 6
The Processing of Point of View 9
Developing a Cognitive Approach to Diegetic
Camera Horror 11
Limits of Psychoanalytic Theories for Diegetic
Camera Horror Films 12
Cognitivism and How We Think about the
Diegetic Camera 13
Priming for Point of View 13
Heightened Engagement in Diegetic Camera Films 15
Encouraging Empathy through Information Acquisition 21
Attention and Cognitive Participation: Activating the
Seeking System 25
Alignment and Allegiance with Camera Operators and
Charismatic Killers 26
Methods 29
This Book 31
Notes 33
Bibliography 33
Filmography 35
1 Genealogy 38
Faked Representations 38
First-Person Point of View 41
Real Death on Screen 43
Developments in Technology and the Impact on
Aesthetics: Cameras, Surveillance, and
the Dominance of Mediated Reality 45
viii Contents
The Horror Genre: History, Aesthetics, and Technology 47
Mimicked Forms: Documentary, Reality
Television, and Home Video 48
Bibliography 51
TV/Filmography 52
2 Narration and the Diegetic Camera 54
The Diegetic Camera and Point of View 54
Issues of Narration and Enunciation 61
Self-Consciousness 62
Tone and Metatextuality 68
Performance 69
Sound and Dialogue 71
Personal Imagining 71
Realism 73
Note 76
Bibliography 76
TV/Filmography 78
3 Priming the Viewer and Mediated Reality 79
Defining Priming 80
Viewer Hypothesising 81
Representing Mediated Reality with the
Diegetic Camera 84
Stylistic Techniques 98
Creating Mood and Emotion 110
Conclusion 114
Note 116
Bibliography 116
Filmography 117
4 Camera Operator Interaction with Viewers and
Profilmic Subjects: The Case of Home Movies 119
Recognition of Camera Operators and Cinematography
as Performance 120
Alignment of Information Accumulation and Cognitive
and Bodily Response 123
Interaction with the Viewer 127
Interaction between Camera Operators and
Profilmic Subjects 134
Contents ix
Empathy, Affective Identification, and Allegiance
with Camera Operators 138
Allegiance with Camera Operators Engaging
in Amoral Behaviour 141
Conclusion 144
Bibliography 146
Filmography 146
5 Problematic Allegiance with Charismatic Killers: Man
Bites Dog, The Last Horror Movie, and Zero Day 147
Recognition of Killers and Amoral Fascination 148
How the Diegetic Camera Directs Moral
Evaluations of the Characters 152
Empathy, the Killer’s Face, and the Close-up 161
Moral Structure: Killers and Camera Operators 164
Conclusion 172
Bibliography 173
Filmography 174
Conclusion: The Future for Diegetic Cameras 175
Re-definitions and Classifications 176
Conclusions and Contribution 178
The Importance of Priming 178
Self-consciousness and Camera Operator Interaction 179
Allegiance with Charismatic Killers 180
Further Areas of Exploration 181
Bibliography 184
Filmography 184
Index 187