Monsters in Cinema
The Supernatural, Paranormal, and Ghosts
The paranormal, supernatural, and ghost movies always tend to be a bit scarier because it borders on the line of "is this actually true?" When people think about the paranormal, the subject of ghosts is one that usually comes to mind right away. Most cultures believe in some form of the afterlife, with the accompanying idea that a person is made up of a spiritual as well as a physical body. A ghost can be defined as the manifestation of the person's energy or spirit seen after their death. However, when it comes to movies, any movie really which contains some sort of unnatural monster or being which isn't scientifically proven is considered paranormal. This can range from spiritual beings to Yeti to Nessie. But the one thing these supernatural beings have in common is that there are people who believe they are real. This is what gives these types of movies that scare factor.
Ghosts are not the only "spirits" in the paranormal/supernatural world. In movies and in society, we discuss ghosts, demons, poltergeists, angels, etc. and all of which are vastly different from each other. Ghosts are deceased persons who have not yet moved onto the afterlife. Some experts in the field suggest they are still here because they have work still to be completed or they just do not know how to move on. They can be good or evil. Demons are entities who are evil and usually associated with the work of the devil. Poltergeists are not necessarily evil, but they are prankster-like spirits who may have been human at one point. Angels are usually seen and known to be good helpers of God; however there are movies such as Constantine and the Prophecy that show they are not all servants of God, but jealous and fed up because of the love God shows for humans instead of his "workers".
The paranormal/supernatural doesn't limit itself to just ghosts. Paranormal/supernatural includes basically anything which cannot be proven scientifically. This category can include beings such as the Jersey Devil, the Mothman and the Chupacabra.
Cryptozoology is the search for and study of animals whose existence has not been confirmed by science. Creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot fall under this category. Several animals who were originally thought to be legendary or hoaxes turned out to be very real, and that fact is something that cryptozoologists point to when defending their work. For example, the duckbill playtpus was thought to be a joke when the first carcass was sent to England for examination by scientists. We now know that this unusual animal is very real.
UFOs, or Unidentified Flying Objects, are another subject that forms part of the realm of the paranormal. People have reported seeing strange lights in the sky and some accounts report seeing actual aircrafts that are very different from any known aircraft. Many of these reports are explained as being weather balloons or some other benign object, but there are still a small percentage of sightings that can't be readily explained by science.
Some of these movies will be discussed in this lesson, but this subject is so vast there are too many movies to discuss for this lesson. But remember, many cultures view this subject differently. Just look at the surge of Asian horror cinema or Asian Extreme genre. Their views on ghosts are a bit different from western perception of ghosts.
Ghosts are not the only "spirits" in the paranormal/supernatural world. In movies and in society, we discuss ghosts, demons, poltergeists, angels, etc. and all of which are vastly different from each other. Ghosts are deceased persons who have not yet moved onto the afterlife. Some experts in the field suggest they are still here because they have work still to be completed or they just do not know how to move on. They can be good or evil. Demons are entities who are evil and usually associated with the work of the devil. Poltergeists are not necessarily evil, but they are prankster-like spirits who may have been human at one point. Angels are usually seen and known to be good helpers of God; however there are movies such as Constantine and the Prophecy that show they are not all servants of God, but jealous and fed up because of the love God shows for humans instead of his "workers".
The paranormal/supernatural doesn't limit itself to just ghosts. Paranormal/supernatural includes basically anything which cannot be proven scientifically. This category can include beings such as the Jersey Devil, the Mothman and the Chupacabra.
Cryptozoology is the search for and study of animals whose existence has not been confirmed by science. Creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot fall under this category. Several animals who were originally thought to be legendary or hoaxes turned out to be very real, and that fact is something that cryptozoologists point to when defending their work. For example, the duckbill playtpus was thought to be a joke when the first carcass was sent to England for examination by scientists. We now know that this unusual animal is very real.
UFOs, or Unidentified Flying Objects, are another subject that forms part of the realm of the paranormal. People have reported seeing strange lights in the sky and some accounts report seeing actual aircrafts that are very different from any known aircraft. Many of these reports are explained as being weather balloons or some other benign object, but there are still a small percentage of sightings that can't be readily explained by science.
Some of these movies will be discussed in this lesson, but this subject is so vast there are too many movies to discuss for this lesson. But remember, many cultures view this subject differently. Just look at the surge of Asian horror cinema or Asian Extreme genre. Their views on ghosts are a bit different from western perception of ghosts.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Based on a true story that was claimed by writer Jay Anson, The Amityville Horror is about a large house on the coast of Long Island where newly weds George and Kathy Lutz and their three children move into the house that they hope will be their dream house but it ends up in terror. Despite full disclosure by the real estate agent of the home's history, George and Kathy buy the house. George says, "Houses don't have memories," but they turn to their family priest Father Delaney who believes the house is haunted and performs an exorcism on the house. But the evil spirit in the house causes him to become blind and makes him very ill. George and Kathy with the help of another priest Father Bolen and a police detective they face the fears of the house, but not knowing the spirit is planning to possess George and then the children...-imdb.com
This movie has spurred debate ever since the book was written. What makes this movie so scary is that it is supposed to be based on a true story. If you had read the book, it seems impossible for these acts to have happened. There continues to be much debate over where or not this story truly happened, with believers and detractors on both sides. Also, many people believe it because there is that faith based question of good and evil, God and the Devil, Angels and Demons. Even though we (talking in generalization) can't see these beings we believe they exist. We believe there is this constant good vs evil war and we are pawns in this battle. Theology type "monsters/beings" always leave the trepidation of what could/should be believed and that's why movies like this tend to be successful in scaring audiences because of that "what if".
In the movie we never really saw the evil spirit/monster. The monster was the unknown. This caused us to use our imagination. Nothing is scarier than leaving our own imagination to put a face on this malevolent being. All we really got were evil voices, doors slamming, lights flickering, swarms of bees, and bodily possession. Never a face to the spirit. This shows how vulnerable we are to forces we can neither see nor touch. This movie was successful in making us scared of this unseen foe because we don't like to see ourselves not being in control of situations like this when our loved ones are helpless and hopeless.
The paranormal in this movie never wanted anyone. The house could have been left empty and would have stayed there perfectly fine. It only acted up when people moved in. The houses even gave clues for people to get out...like the priest. But since the family moved in, the demon wanted to have it's fun and terrorize the family. The house/demon wanted the Lutz's to have the same end as the previous inhabitants. Slowly the father, George, would start losing his mind. The demon seemed to latch onto him. George would always be cold. even if it was extremely hot in the house and him sitting in front of the fire place. He would get up at 3:15am to go to the boathouse. He would become more aggressive and violent to the rest of the family and more withdrawn from his work. Kathy, his wife, discovered the sordid history of the house. It was supposedly built on Indian burial ground and a previous inhabitant was a devil worshiper. On the 28th night, when things look like they were going to end like the previous owners, the family just ran from the house with nothing but each other.
The ghost/demon in this movie and in many movies like this have a common theme that even paranormal experts say they do; these demons like to terrorize, isolate, and tear a family apart. When the person is alone, they are weaker. This is why the priest in the movie prayed for them because if they remained together and their love never faltered, they would succeed. But sometimes the evil is so strong and so evil that cutting your losses of a home is more important that trying to win the battle. That is why the Lutz's left the house.
In the movie we never really saw the evil spirit/monster. The monster was the unknown. This caused us to use our imagination. Nothing is scarier than leaving our own imagination to put a face on this malevolent being. All we really got were evil voices, doors slamming, lights flickering, swarms of bees, and bodily possession. Never a face to the spirit. This shows how vulnerable we are to forces we can neither see nor touch. This movie was successful in making us scared of this unseen foe because we don't like to see ourselves not being in control of situations like this when our loved ones are helpless and hopeless.
The paranormal in this movie never wanted anyone. The house could have been left empty and would have stayed there perfectly fine. It only acted up when people moved in. The houses even gave clues for people to get out...like the priest. But since the family moved in, the demon wanted to have it's fun and terrorize the family. The house/demon wanted the Lutz's to have the same end as the previous inhabitants. Slowly the father, George, would start losing his mind. The demon seemed to latch onto him. George would always be cold. even if it was extremely hot in the house and him sitting in front of the fire place. He would get up at 3:15am to go to the boathouse. He would become more aggressive and violent to the rest of the family and more withdrawn from his work. Kathy, his wife, discovered the sordid history of the house. It was supposedly built on Indian burial ground and a previous inhabitant was a devil worshiper. On the 28th night, when things look like they were going to end like the previous owners, the family just ran from the house with nothing but each other.
The ghost/demon in this movie and in many movies like this have a common theme that even paranormal experts say they do; these demons like to terrorize, isolate, and tear a family apart. When the person is alone, they are weaker. This is why the priest in the movie prayed for them because if they remained together and their love never faltered, they would succeed. But sometimes the evil is so strong and so evil that cutting your losses of a home is more important that trying to win the battle. That is why the Lutz's left the house.
Poltergeist
While living an an average family house in a pleasant neighborhood, the youngest daughter of the Freeling family, Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), seems to be connecting with the supernatural through a dead channel on the television. It is not for long when the mysterious beings enter the house's walls. At first seeming like harmless ghosts, they play tricks and amuse the family, but they take a nasty turn- they horrify the family to death with angry trees and murderous dolls, and finally abduct Carol Anne into her bedroom closet, which seems like the entrance to the other side. - IMDB.com
In Poltergeist, we never see paranormal as a demon or as a ghost, because its a type of ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder that causes havoc. This is unlike a normal ghost where they can appear to be residual (repeating the same activities when they were alive, but unable to interact with the living) or intelligent ( they can interact with the living but do not cause disorder and chaos.) A Poltergeist is a negative energy. They exist to cause havoc. The exist to cause the living pain, trouble, unhappiness. They don't do positive work because by definition they wreak havoc to the living, to make their lives difficult and unhappy.
However, the poltergeist in the movie is a bit more that just the typical poltergeist, because the entity was a human being at one point, a priest who killed not only himself but his followers. When this person was alive, he led a cult which promised salvation to its followers when their time ended on Earth; however, this person was so evil, when they killed themselves in a mass suicide, the cult leader refused to allow his followers to pass into the light of salvation. Because of this, all the souls were left in a sort of limbo.
The movie begins when Carol Anne moves into the house with her family. Strange things start to happen. Chairs pile up on the table, earthquakes only the family can feel, toys flying around the room and disembodied voices are heard. Carol Anne has a conversation with a TV set, which turns out to be communication with the "other side", or paranormal.
During a terrible thunderstorm, a tree comes to life and grabs Robbie, Carol Anne's brother, through a window. However, this is merely a distraction used by the ghosts to get Carol Anne's parents to leave her alone. The ghosts take Carol Anne through her bedroom closet into their dimension. Robbie is rescued, and the family believes a tornado caused the trouble, until they realize they can't find Carol Anne. They search the entire house until Robbie hears Carol Anne through the TV.
At this point, the parents are so distraught they bring in experts who can hopefully help, but when they are left clueless and distraught over their own experience, they bring in a medium who proclaims that Carol Anne is still in the house but in a different dimension, and the doorway to that dimension is the children's closet.
This scene is fascinating, because what Tangina states is that the man is no longer a man but a beast who wants to prevent his followers from moving on. He likes Carol Anne, because she confuses his followers; instead of those followers moving into the light, they attach themselves to the light that is Carol Anne. It is often said in paranormal circles that children are more open to the activities of the paranormal because there is innocence and openness still in a young child. They have not yet been tainted with the cynicism of life and therefore they are more willing and more open to experience that which can't be seen.
We also see the use of the other side and the possibility of the living being able to cross over into that realm . Tangina thinks that by tying a rope around a live person who can enter, and presumably exit the other side, with enough time to grab Carol Anne, they could bring her back. Tangina intends to be the one to go into the light, but Diane, Carol Anne's mother, insists on going, saying that Carol Anne will only come to her mother. With the rope around her waist, Diane goes into the portal and Tangina coaxes the agonized spirits away from Carol Anne into the real Light. While Tangina is in her trance-like state, Steven, Carol Anne's father, panics and pulls on the rope, causing the Beast to appear right in front of him. Diane falls through the living room ceiling clutching Carol Anne. After mother and daughter are revived in the downstairs bathtub, Tangina pronounces that "this house is clean."
The poltergeist, however, is enraged because his followers are no longer there. He terrorizes the family even more by trying to take Carol Anne and her brother into the other dimension, but their mother saves them after her battling dead bodies rising up from a pool in the backyard. We later learn that the whole development was built on top of an old cemetery. The headstones were removed but the bodies remained. After the family runs out of the house, the Poltergeist/beast sucks the entire house into his dimension.
In paranormal circles, disturbing a place of rest can stir up the soul of the dead. This may be one of the reasons the house was haunted. Even renovating an old home can stir up psychic energy that does not want to be bothered. Watch the movie Rose Red by Stephen King. This is a perfect example of that rationale.
However, the poltergeist in the movie is a bit more that just the typical poltergeist, because the entity was a human being at one point, a priest who killed not only himself but his followers. When this person was alive, he led a cult which promised salvation to its followers when their time ended on Earth; however, this person was so evil, when they killed themselves in a mass suicide, the cult leader refused to allow his followers to pass into the light of salvation. Because of this, all the souls were left in a sort of limbo.
The movie begins when Carol Anne moves into the house with her family. Strange things start to happen. Chairs pile up on the table, earthquakes only the family can feel, toys flying around the room and disembodied voices are heard. Carol Anne has a conversation with a TV set, which turns out to be communication with the "other side", or paranormal.
During a terrible thunderstorm, a tree comes to life and grabs Robbie, Carol Anne's brother, through a window. However, this is merely a distraction used by the ghosts to get Carol Anne's parents to leave her alone. The ghosts take Carol Anne through her bedroom closet into their dimension. Robbie is rescued, and the family believes a tornado caused the trouble, until they realize they can't find Carol Anne. They search the entire house until Robbie hears Carol Anne through the TV.
At this point, the parents are so distraught they bring in experts who can hopefully help, but when they are left clueless and distraught over their own experience, they bring in a medium who proclaims that Carol Anne is still in the house but in a different dimension, and the doorway to that dimension is the children's closet.
This scene is fascinating, because what Tangina states is that the man is no longer a man but a beast who wants to prevent his followers from moving on. He likes Carol Anne, because she confuses his followers; instead of those followers moving into the light, they attach themselves to the light that is Carol Anne. It is often said in paranormal circles that children are more open to the activities of the paranormal because there is innocence and openness still in a young child. They have not yet been tainted with the cynicism of life and therefore they are more willing and more open to experience that which can't be seen.
We also see the use of the other side and the possibility of the living being able to cross over into that realm . Tangina thinks that by tying a rope around a live person who can enter, and presumably exit the other side, with enough time to grab Carol Anne, they could bring her back. Tangina intends to be the one to go into the light, but Diane, Carol Anne's mother, insists on going, saying that Carol Anne will only come to her mother. With the rope around her waist, Diane goes into the portal and Tangina coaxes the agonized spirits away from Carol Anne into the real Light. While Tangina is in her trance-like state, Steven, Carol Anne's father, panics and pulls on the rope, causing the Beast to appear right in front of him. Diane falls through the living room ceiling clutching Carol Anne. After mother and daughter are revived in the downstairs bathtub, Tangina pronounces that "this house is clean."
The poltergeist, however, is enraged because his followers are no longer there. He terrorizes the family even more by trying to take Carol Anne and her brother into the other dimension, but their mother saves them after her battling dead bodies rising up from a pool in the backyard. We later learn that the whole development was built on top of an old cemetery. The headstones were removed but the bodies remained. After the family runs out of the house, the Poltergeist/beast sucks the entire house into his dimension.
In paranormal circles, disturbing a place of rest can stir up the soul of the dead. This may be one of the reasons the house was haunted. Even renovating an old home can stir up psychic energy that does not want to be bothered. Watch the movie Rose Red by Stephen King. This is a perfect example of that rationale.
Ghost
Sam and Molly are a very happy couple and deeply in love. Walking back to their new apartment after a night out at the theatre, they encounter a thief in a dark alley, and Sam is murdered. He finds himself trapped as a ghost and realises that his death was no accident. He must warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who didn't even realise that her powers were real. Written by Sami Al-Taher
In Ghost with Patrick Swayze, we see a different type of paranormal. His character Sam Wheat was thought to be accidentally killed during a mugging and is trying to deal with why he is a ghost and still on this realm. We don't see demons or poltergeists. We only see him and other ghosts who have either chosen to stay in the realm of the living or who refuse to go into the light, ghosts who have willingly went into the light and ghosts who have been dragged into the darkness.
The ghost we see in this movie, is not the malign type of ghost. He wants to stay and watch over his girlfriend, even though it was his time to move on. He loved her and that was his initial reason for staying on Earth; however, he later realized there was another reason for him to stay when he discovered he had been murdered. This was the reason the light didn't come back to get him: he had a mission to fulfill. In this movie we discover that, not only in life but also in death we always need help. Just because a person is dead doesn't mean they can do anything they want. Sam didn't have a way to communicate with Molly (his girlfriend) but when he went to visit a fake psychic, he realizd she isn't so fake and can actually help him. As she tries to help him, Sam starts to realize he can do more than he initially thought. He can physically move objects with the help of another ghost who became his teacher. We also learn that there are some ghosts who simply decide to stay, just they want to.
We also discover that, when a ghost possesses a human, it takes the human's energy away for a period. We see this at Oda Mae's business when all the ghosts come to receive help from her, and when Sam jumps into Oda's body so he can touch Molly's face one last time. We see this again, when Sam's friend Carl is killed and the evil spirits come to claim his soul. This isn't seen as a bright light, but as a dark black mass with groaning voices of despair and pain. And when Sam's mission is finally completed, the heavens open up to him one more time, showing that it is his time to go, and he finally leaves, but not before Molly gets one last look at him.
The ghost we see in this movie, is not the malign type of ghost. He wants to stay and watch over his girlfriend, even though it was his time to move on. He loved her and that was his initial reason for staying on Earth; however, he later realized there was another reason for him to stay when he discovered he had been murdered. This was the reason the light didn't come back to get him: he had a mission to fulfill. In this movie we discover that, not only in life but also in death we always need help. Just because a person is dead doesn't mean they can do anything they want. Sam didn't have a way to communicate with Molly (his girlfriend) but when he went to visit a fake psychic, he realizd she isn't so fake and can actually help him. As she tries to help him, Sam starts to realize he can do more than he initially thought. He can physically move objects with the help of another ghost who became his teacher. We also learn that there are some ghosts who simply decide to stay, just they want to.
We also discover that, when a ghost possesses a human, it takes the human's energy away for a period. We see this at Oda Mae's business when all the ghosts come to receive help from her, and when Sam jumps into Oda's body so he can touch Molly's face one last time. We see this again, when Sam's friend Carl is killed and the evil spirits come to claim his soul. This isn't seen as a bright light, but as a dark black mass with groaning voices of despair and pain. And when Sam's mission is finally completed, the heavens open up to him one more time, showing that it is his time to go, and he finally leaves, but not before Molly gets one last look at him.
Sixth Sense
Child psychologist Malcom Crowe is one night visited by an ex-patient named Vincent, angry, enraged. He wounds Crowe, then kills himself. A few months later, Crowe is visited by a 9-year old boy named Cole. He sees dead people who do not know they are dead. Because of this, he is called a freak in school. Crowe, at first thinks he is seeing things, but after spending a lot of time with Cole (much to his wife's dismay), he discovers Cole may be seeing dead people after all. -imdb.com
When the Sixth Sense was released, this was the rebirth of the Hitchcockian type movies. Director M. Knight Shyamalan was labeled as the next Alfred Hitchcock with his slow, quiet, intense, thrilling way of telling a story. It wasn't about gore, it was about how the story was filmed and told.
In this movie, we see the ghosts from Cole's perspective. We are watching how he is tormented by all these ghosts and becomes isolated by them. No one believes him. His mom doesn't know what's wrong. She only notices weird things happening, and when things go missing or cabinets opening she blames Cole. He doesn't tell anyone of his ability, not even his doctor, until Cole ends up hospitalized. Little by little, Malcolm begins to believe what Cole has to say. He even suggests, like in Ghost, that maybe these ghosts need help. They need Cole to help them finish what they are meant to finish here on Earth before ascending to wherever they are meant to go.
Cole was a frightened boy, but as he has come to realize his gift, he accepts that this is one purpose he is meant to do in life. One very important line in the movie is, "I see dead people, only they don't know they're dead". This goes to show that not all ghosts realize they are dead. They just continue on with how they normally would lead their lives.
That line is so important because the big Hitchcock- like twist at the end is that Malcolm himself is ghost. We see him during his realization, flash back to the moments when he thought everyone interacted with him or thought they ignored him because they didn't talk to him. The only one he saw have any interaction with him was Cole, and that was because he was able to see dead people. And we as the audience have that "OMG that is right that never happened" moment we we watch the flash backs. But when we see him realize he is of the dead, his mission is complete in both ways. Once he helped Cole understand his gift, Cole wouldn't be afraid of seeing ghosts and his realization in helping Cole understand helped himself discover his work wasn't done helping, because Cole needed him, but he needed help also. Once he assisted Cole, his work was finished, and he could finally move on.
Like in the movie Ghost and other Paranormal movies, we tend to see ghosts (not demons or poltergeists) as a soul that has been ripped from its body so fast that they do not realize they are dead or want to leave until their purpose in life/time on Earth is complete. And in order to complete it, the dead must work with the living and vice versa. There is often a benefit to both.
In this movie, we see the ghosts from Cole's perspective. We are watching how he is tormented by all these ghosts and becomes isolated by them. No one believes him. His mom doesn't know what's wrong. She only notices weird things happening, and when things go missing or cabinets opening she blames Cole. He doesn't tell anyone of his ability, not even his doctor, until Cole ends up hospitalized. Little by little, Malcolm begins to believe what Cole has to say. He even suggests, like in Ghost, that maybe these ghosts need help. They need Cole to help them finish what they are meant to finish here on Earth before ascending to wherever they are meant to go.
Cole was a frightened boy, but as he has come to realize his gift, he accepts that this is one purpose he is meant to do in life. One very important line in the movie is, "I see dead people, only they don't know they're dead". This goes to show that not all ghosts realize they are dead. They just continue on with how they normally would lead their lives.
That line is so important because the big Hitchcock- like twist at the end is that Malcolm himself is ghost. We see him during his realization, flash back to the moments when he thought everyone interacted with him or thought they ignored him because they didn't talk to him. The only one he saw have any interaction with him was Cole, and that was because he was able to see dead people. And we as the audience have that "OMG that is right that never happened" moment we we watch the flash backs. But when we see him realize he is of the dead, his mission is complete in both ways. Once he helped Cole understand his gift, Cole wouldn't be afraid of seeing ghosts and his realization in helping Cole understand helped himself discover his work wasn't done helping, because Cole needed him, but he needed help also. Once he assisted Cole, his work was finished, and he could finally move on.
Like in the movie Ghost and other Paranormal movies, we tend to see ghosts (not demons or poltergeists) as a soul that has been ripped from its body so fast that they do not realize they are dead or want to leave until their purpose in life/time on Earth is complete. And in order to complete it, the dead must work with the living and vice versa. There is often a benefit to both.