Found Footage Horror Films

Peter Turner is Associate Lecturer in the School of Technology, Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University, UK

• TABLE OF CONTENTSList of FiguresAcknowledgementsIntroduction: why found footage horror films matterApproaching diegetic camera horrorThe processing of point of viewDeveloping a cognitive approach to diegetic camera horrorLimits of psychoanalytic theories for diegetic camera horrorCognitivism and how we think about the diegetic cameraPriming for point of viewEngagement and empathy in diegetic camera filmsAttention and cognitive participation: activating the seeking systemAlignment and allegiance with camera operators and charismatic killersNotesBibliographyFilmography1 GenealogyFaked representationsFirst-person point of viewReal death on screenDevelopments in technology and the impact on aesthetics: cameras, surveillance, and the dominance of mediated realityThe horror genre: history, aesthetics, and technologyMimicked forms: documentary, reality television, and home videoNotesBibliographyFilmography2 Narration and the diegetic cameraThe diegetic camera and point of viewIssues of narration and enunciationSelf-consciousnessTone and metatextuality PerformanceSound and dialoguePersonal imaginingRealismNotesBibliographyFilmography3 Priming the spectator and mediated realityDefining primingViewer hypothesisingRepresenting mediated reality with the diegetic cameraStylistic techniquesCreating mood and emotionConclusionNotesBibliographyFilmography4 Camera operator interaction with viewers and profilmic subjects: The case of home moviesRecognition of camera operators and cinematography as performanceAlignment of information accumulation and cognitive and bodily responseInteraction with the viewerInteraction between camera operators and profilmic subjectsEmpathy, affective identification, and allegiance with camera operatorsAllegiance with camera operators engaging in amoral behaviourConclusionNotesBibliographyFilmography5 Allegiance with Charismatic Killers: Man Bites Dog, The Last Horror Movie and Zero DayRecognition of killers and amoral fascinationHow the diegetic camera directs moral evaluations of charactersEmpathy, the killer’s face, and the close-upMoral Structure: Killers and camera operatorsConclusionNotesBibliographyFilmographyConclusion: The future for diegetic camerasRe-definitions and classificationsConclusionsThe importance of priming Self-consciousness and camera operator interactionAllegiance with charismatic killersFurther areas of explorationNotesBibliography

"Violence in fi ction is admittedly a difficult topic. And while Turner’s book has a few shortcomings that are attributable to the complications involved in conducting empirical research on horror, his book is an admirable work of cognitive film theory. It should inspire subsequent, testable investigations of his intriguing claims and provoke researchers to devise ethically responsible means of acquiring data pertaining to audience preferences for various types of realist horror." - Rikke Schubart, University of Southern Denmark.