By Darrell J. Banks Copy Right 2004 All Rights Reserved
A. The History of Sci-Fi Horror
As a child I hated horror movies. "The Wolf Man, Dracula and Frankenstein" were my enemies due to their proclivity to bring bad dreams
Back in those days, my cousins were drawn to these movies, and being younger, I had no choice but to tag along to the Fox Theater in Downtown Detroit. That movie house, like the Palms often offered a double dish full. Fangs, Wolves and blood were my bane. But, Horror sold well in the early seventies and there I sat in the dark, scared and afraid to move.
Last time I promised the Space/Horror genre. Horror that frightening subject, but when written well creates characters that a Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi immortalize for the ages. So let's, sit down and write words that lead to a jump, a shrill and if perfect, a nightmare.
B. The Space Horror Film
The horror space film has similar components to the space film. But the pace is different. It's like doing sprints and walking a block to catch your breath. Typically it involves a rescue mission via the theme of "2001 a Space Odyssey." Remember Jules Vernes, "Journey to the Center Earth. Verne as Phillip H. Dick and Asimov, have inspired many a space movie. It is the challenge that brings forth a strong protagonist in the space movie. Central to this genre is the hero, fulfilling the need for humans to step in the realm of myth. The heroine is on a quest to that must be fulfilled. To understand the need for myth I suggest you read Joseph Campbells' "The Power of Myth." In the great space movies the hero is always on a quest to save humanity from itself.
B. Plot structure in the Sci-Fi Horror film The plot structure required for a Space/ Horror film involves isolation. In outer space, the protagonist is trapped. There is no easy exit. The space woman in "Alien" while surrounded by other crewmen is alone. She faces the isolation of being the strong one, the wrong one and of course a pain in the ass. The " Alien" trilogy built on this theme for four movies.
The space horror film has a flawed protagonist, a monster, and the expendables. It is a three-act structure with the aforementioned peaks and valleys.
In a horror film the protagonist is isolated in the first fourteen minutes. In "Alien " the space ship was headed home, it crashes on a planet and things get worse. An expendable crew person violates ship regulations. Then a contaminated crewmen with an attached "ET" enters the sanctuary of home. This theme is similar to "2001" here the sanctuary was the space ship.
