Here you can find the ever growing library of articles exclusively written for Constructinghorror.com, by staff writers and guest writers. Take a short while to learn about the origins of the iconography of J-Horror, the psychology of Fear or find out just how scary female villains are.
Keeping in mind that the Constructinghorror.com site is first and foremost a resource for seeking inspiration, advice and knowledge on the crafts and tools of horror storytelling, a warning is appropriate as articles may contain SPOILERS!
- THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF HORROR SCREENWRITING [Michael McGlasson]
According to American author H. P. Lovecraft, a writer “must never state a specific horror element when it can be suggested.” Exactly what does the “Father of Modern Horror” mean by this simple statement? Basically, Lovecraft is pointing out that it is best to leave as much to the reader’s imagin…
Read more >> - FOREPLAY - TEASING AUDIENCES INTO WANTING MORE [Sara Caldwell]
A horror film can be compared to a really great rollercoaster ride – generally the pace moves rapidly with continuous thrills to a big, climactic nail-biting ascent and screaming descent. The last thing you want to do as a writer is make that last part of the ride weaker than previous ones. The show…
Read more >> - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - BOOK vs. FILM [Jason Meredith]
Thomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s book of the same name has perhaps been one of the most impressive genre benders in a really long while. Abandoning the common genre traits of exposed violence, bats and sexy vampire dudes/chicks in skimpy clothing and at least…
Read more >> - Spanish Horror Films – The New US Genre Wave? [Sara Caldwell]
With the popularity of Asian horror films receding and no significant trends surfacing nationally, American genre fans have been standing at low tide waiting for the next significant wave to come in. While no one can really predict a wave, when Hollywood begins purchasing rights to remake a particul…
Read more >> - RE-IMAGING A CLASSIC - FRIDAY THE 13th [Jason Meredith]
I’ve always been partial to the Friday the 13th movies. The iconography has always been part of my world, be it posters, action figures or simple naïve sketches in my note books. Or perhaps it’s because I was just at the right age when Alice Cooper made his comeback with the Constrictor album in 19…
Read more >> - SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T UN-SEE! [Julian Grant]
As a longtime horror fan and filmmaker, I’ve been fascinated by our genre from an early age. I reveled in blood and monster model kits, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, Hammer Horror films, Mexican zombie pictures – you get the drift – when I was growing up. My first writings were on horror pic…
Read more >> - WRITING THE HORROR SCREENPLAY: CHARACTER-DRIVEN OR ACTION-DRIVEN? [Michael McGlasson]
Upon deciding to sit down and begin the rather long and tedious process of writing a screenplay, most writers have a good idea as to whether to create a script which is character-driven or action-driven. Obviously, some writers are more skilled at developing terrifying characters, while others are m…
Read more >> - AT LEAST DECALS AREN'T NEEDED FOR STORY MODELS [John Lewinski]
Movies were struggling now and again because their stories were not strong enough to warrant audience loyalty. I still look at the writers and the stories first, no matter what anybody says. In every script I write, and every class or seminar I teach, I love to fall back on one very effective story…
Read more >> - ROB ZOMBIE: WHITE TRASH HORROR AUTEUR [Julian Grant]
“Art is not safe” Rob Zombie to Bill Moseley on the set of The Devil’s Rejects We tear down and destroy that which we fear in life. We bite and savage and deny true original talent when it says, “This is my world. My vision. I don’t care if you don’t like it.” Most of us like our films made in Hollywo…
Read more >> - SYMBOLIZING CONCEPTS: 13 COMMON OBJECTS AND ABSTRACTS OF HORROR [Sara Caldwell]
Most films use patterns or specific objects as metaphors for a concept that the film is trying to convey. In horror movies, many such objects are used to intensify mood, identify character traits, emphasize themes and concepts (e.g. good and evil), and foreshadow events. Objects can be powerful sym…
Read more >> - CREATING MEMORABLE HORROR CHARACTERS [Michael McGlasson]
When Irish-born author Bram Stoker first sat down at his desk sometime in the early 1890’s to start the opening chapter of a new literary project, the identity of his main character was most probably only partially formed in his mind, but at some point during the writing of this novel in the mid 18…
Read more >> - ORIGINS, THEMES AND ICONOGRAPHY OF J-HORROR [Jason Meredith]
“The clock on the desk caught his eye. 9:48. He put the receiver to his ear and waited for Mai to come to the phone. His head suddenly felt unbearably itchy. He put his hand to his head and scratched furiously, and felt several strands of hair come out. On the second ring, Ryuji lifted his face. There w…
Read more >> - GENERIC HORROR Vs. INNOVATIVE HORROR - WHICH PATH SHOULD YOU TAKE? [Jason Meredith]
When creating your horror story, there are several paths you can take when it comes to delivering the goods. You could either go with what we know works play it safe or scare your audience in the traditional manner sticking to the generic horror formula or you could venture into darker waters with s…
Read more >> - SEQUELS, REMAKES & RE-IMAGININGS [Julian Grant]
It’s inevitable that a successful film that makes a lot of money at the box office will be scheduled to be revised, remade and copied by the originating studio. It’s basically a no-brainer for the folks in charge of the ‘product’ to see the original and engaging film as a cash cow and milk it until…
Read more >> - FEMALE VILLAINS OF HORROR - HOW SCARY ARE THEY? [Sara Caldwell]
Female villains have appeared throughout horror cinema, some old memorable ones being Freaks (1932), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958). However, female villains are as much a rarity today as they were in the past. Are female v…
Read more >> - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FEAR [Michael McGlasson]
Have you ever wondered how someone like Edgar Allan Poe wrote as he did long before the genre of horror even existed? By studying and life and times of this great American writer, considered by many to have been the first “terrorist of the imagination,” one can come to understand his extremes as a w…
Read more >> - THE MAGNETISM OF HORROR [Michael McGlasson]
In 1818, twenty-year-old Mary Shelley, the daughter of William Godwin and feminist author Mary Wollstonecraft, achieved immediate success and recognition for her Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus and when the first theatrical adaptation Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein o…
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