"Congratulations. You're still alive."
-Jigsaw, Saw (2003)
So, there you have it!
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When this project started, I wanted to know how isolation was depicted, represented, and presented in the horror genre by looking at few select works.
Here's what I learned:
The Role Of Isolation in Horror
Horror exists to create, inspire, and foster feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in an audience. It does this through the use of themes and tropes, such as the use of the supernatural.
Isolation is one of these themes as it’s presence and application builds on a realistic and ever-present fear amongst human beings; the fear of being alone. Through this theme, writers of the horror genre can expose their audiences to feelings of fear and dread by inspiring and fostering the already existing fear of being isolated.
Does that Change Across the Works?
The works we've selected cover about 200 years in the horror genre and provide us with some stellar depictions of isolation. But, the kinds of isolation that we see in the 2 novels and 3 films we look at suggest that it hasn’t changed all that much and has, instead, evolved with the times.
The physical isolation that is presented in Dracula and Frankenstein is still present in our other works, as we see Maddie from Hush and Ripley from Alien struggle with the issue of physical distance as well. And while Jonathan and Mina encountered the issue of communicating through letters in the 19th century, Maddie encountered a similar issue in the 21st century with her power being cut.
So, isolation is this situation more or less stayed the same, and was only tweaked slightly to be relevant in a time when technology had become more advanced. But, despite this advancement, the characters’ ability to interact with someone and call for help was hindered by the involvement of isolation through an antagonistic force.
We see the same thing happen with emotional and social isolation, as characters in Frankenstein encountered these forms of isolation due to them having experienced things that other characters in their respective novels had not. We see this theme carried over into Scream and Hush, as Sidney and Maddie were emotionally and socially isolated due to the experiences they had had.
While the cause behind Victor Frankenstein’s emotional and social isolation was due to a fantastical element, like his freakish creation murdering those close to him, Sidney and Maddie’s states of isolation were due to more realistic causes, such as seeing her mother’s murdered body and being deaf-mute.
So... It's Everywhere?
Yes! Isolation is in every work of the horror genre; from video games to TV shows to books to movies, isolation is there!
While it's certainly easier to recognize or more prominent in certain works, such as The Shining and The Ritual, it's everywhere! This makes it one of the most crucial elements of the horror genre, as it takes a realistic fear and applies to realistic and fantastical plots alike!
Isolation can also happen to one character, like in Carrie and Halloween, or to several characters at once, like in the Saw or Nightmare on Elm Street franchises!
Either way, when in the horror genre, it's impossible to escape isolation!
Have a question or comment?
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