[Week 5] Forum-What's special about Ganjia and Hess
Before I took this horror film class, my understand of "horror" is ghost, supernatural, and demon. However, I realized the real "horror" are more lean on the genre of monsters, bloody, sanguinary...The reason why I personally never consider "bloody" scene as horror might because I never felt the violent scene scary for me. I don't feel unpleasant or pleasant seeing them, but they are somehow natural from my perspective.
My understanding of the "stereotype" composition factors of horror is: it need to make both the characters inside the film and the audience feel "extreme", "panic", "out of control". And the plot need to follow with "jump scared". However, after watching Ganja & Hess, I felt the film is kinda mind blowing and totally subverted the normal sense toward horror. Ganja & Hess is such a romantic love story, the most distinguishable style of this film when compare to normal horror film is everything is so quiet. Even when there are blood coming out from human neck, even though there are more people being killed in front of the screen. Hess seems every chill and deal with all the things in a calm way. Everything seems so natural in Hess's life, he drinks blood in order to live a life, and it is just his routine. The film is using horror and vampire as a form and symbol to discuss a more philosophical questions beyond the plot.
My understanding of the "stereotype" composition factors of horror is: it need to make both the characters inside the film and the audience feel "extreme", "panic", "out of control". And the plot need to follow with "jump scared". However, after watching Ganja & Hess, I felt the film is kinda mind blowing and totally subverted the normal sense toward horror. Ganja & Hess is such a romantic love story, the most distinguishable style of this film when compare to normal horror film is everything is so quiet. Even when there are blood coming out from human neck, even though there are more people being killed in front of the screen. Hess seems every chill and deal with all the things in a calm way. Everything seems so natural in Hess's life, he drinks blood in order to live a life, and it is just his routine. The film is using horror and vampire as a form and symbol to discuss a more philosophical questions beyond the plot.
Not to mention everyone seems more "uncanny" than the real vampire. The horror point of this film might be that "people will do anything to get what they really want regardless how much it cost". And the other things just happened because of the causes and effects.
Your comment about Hess being so relaxed while killing made a lot of sense after I read it because he seems to have reached a sort of acceptance about his condition, so much that he wants the same for his wife. I suppose that's why it seems so much like a love story, even as they are suffering in many ways.
ReplyDeleteYes! I think he is doing whatever he need to do to keep alive, killing people is just part of his life. But I just wonder why do people also acting so weird around him that they either killed themselves or try to kill Hess. But end of allow Hess to take advantage from them and be able to drink blood by chance.
Delete