Franki Colett RCAD Lit of Horror

After the lesson this week, I watched the 2005 film Dark Water and was very easily able to identify the clear connection to the gothic style. The first nod to gothic was how the film took place in an old run down apartment which is easily compared to the stereotypical use of an abandoned castle in films. The first moment of panic in the film also took place as the mother ran up the stairs looking for her missing daughter and we learned that stairs (especially spiral) represent chaos and disorder. Along with the constant visions and terrifying dreams, there were many other commonly used horror tropes featured in the film. While the movie did have a lot of common elements, it did have an interesting quality because the “villain” in the movie was rarely seen and when she was her appearance was of a regular little girl and not of a monster (blood, covered in dirt, pale skin, sick, cuts, ragged hair). I had never really seen that before so I found it a nice change of pace from horror films

Throughout the book, the majority of the characters you encounter are facing an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. The first time this gothic element is introduced is in letter 2 when Robert Walton writes a letter to his sister about how he longs for a friend and how he wishes for one more than anything else. Walton states that “I greatly need a friend who would have sense enough not to despise me as romantic, and affection enough for me to endeavor to regulate my mind. Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean…” (Page 8). We see this theme continue in the book when we meet Frankenstein and he shares his story which is plagued with the misery of grief starting early on in his life when his mother dies and continuing until everyone he knows has been killed and he is left with no one and is totally and completely alone. Even after he was told by the monster that he bad things will happen on his wedding night (which was to be assumed that some

A villain Jump scares Dark lighting Often in an abandon location Seeking revenge Usually is always young people Only one person who survives Blood