https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CgvoL5OPM_hVSU5fqnzixJhJbWyqAJbl/view
listening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAW_B4d3wRM
This may not look that scary, but in 1896, the special effects broke ground. This is Georges Méliès' Le Manoir du Diable, and it's credited as the very first horror movie. These days, horror films are more popular than ever, defining an era of cinematic fears and obsessions. But what __________________ of these sinister films is a formula guaranteed to make you squirm.
There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one. It begins with sound. Filmmakers rely on disturbing soundtracks to heighten suspense and terror. You may have heard the waterphone, a slicing sound that sends __________________, or the theremin, the defining sound of many 1950s horror movies. Researchers discovered that harsh sounds used in horror soundtracks imitate the screams of scared animals. These nonlinear sounds range from the distorted notes of a trumpet blown too hard to a stereo that is cranked up to 11.
Next, we have a technique that's used in almost every horror movie. It's when characters feel like they're safe, but within seconds are suddenly attacked by the film's monster. "Hello." __________________. Now for a different perspective. How does this angle make you feel? "Come and play with us, Danny." Low angles are used to invoke fear in the audience. How about this one? Extreme close-ups that only show part of an object or a character's face are used to create an intense mood. And this? Oblique or canted angles, when the camera is tilted, suggest imbalance or instability. This is often used as a point-of-view shot. And then you have the handheld shot, a kind of shaky cam that makes the viewer feel a little unstable and out of control. It also injects a scene with a sense of immediacy with the audience.
But the biggest trick of all is what's happening in your brain. When we get scared, our body goes on high alert, a biological response to possible danger, and we snap into survival mode: fight or flight. But when we watch a scary movie, your brain knows that we're not actually threatened. Instead, the dopamine released from your brain becomes euphoric, which means "Hey, I'm terrified right now, and I like it." So, if you are a horror movie fan, you're actually a __________________. Go ahead, and put that on your resume. The more fear, worry and anxiety you feel, the more you like it. Finally, there's a sense of catharsis once the movie's over. People like the feeling of danger and fear during the film and a sense of accomplishment and survival once it's over. This is almost over. So you're probably safe now.
Name some techniques filmmakers use to make horror movies scary?
Do you like horror movies, or do you avoid them? Why?
What’s the first scary movie you ever watched?
Do you prefer ghosts, monsters, or psychological horror?
Would you rather watch a horror movie alone or with friends?
What’s scarier to you: darkness or silence?
Intruder Alert
It was the middle of the night and I was in the bedroom, trying to relax. I changed the channel on the TV and saw that the local news was on. At the bottom of the screen, there was a breaking news alert.
“Murderer on the loose… Hiding in the vicinity… Police warning everyone to be on the alert… Suspect is armed and dangerous…”
I was just drifting off to sleep when I was awakened by a strange noise downstairs. It sounded like there was someone in the house.
At that moment, my heart began beating fast and I broke into a cold sweat. Straining my ears to listen, I thought I heard another noise. It was the sound of a door creaking.
It wasn’t my imagination. There was an intruder in the house.
“I have to get out of here, fast!” I thought.
I slipped off the bed as quietly as possible and crept towards the window. My body was shaking with fear and I was hoping I didn’t make any noise.
Just then, I heard faint footsteps making their way up the stairs. It sounded like more than one person. At any second, they would burst through the door. I had to get away.
I climbed out the window and onto the garage roof, moving as fast as I could without making too much noise. At the edge of the roof, I grabbed the drainpipe and lowered myself down until I dropped into the garden.
As I paused, I looked up at the window I had just escaped from and saw the lights go on.
“That was close!” I thought.
A chill ran down my spine as I thought about what would have happened if they caught me.
I made my way to the bottom of the garden and into the woods. Once I was safely hidden by the trees, I broke into a run. I pushed onwards, stumbling through the darkness, moving through the undergrowth, until I came to another housing estate.
Clutching my knife, I headed towards another house.
Cell Phone
The Cell Phone is a short, scary horror story about a woman who notices something disturbing on her mobile after she allows her young son to play with it.
There was a woman who had a six-year old son. One day, she bought a new mobile phone. When she came home from work, she started cooking dinner and left her phone down on the kitchen table.
Her son came into the kitchen and saw the phone. He asked his mother if he could play with it. She told him that he could, as long as he did not call anyone or delete any text messages. Of course, the boy agreed and went off to his bedroom to play with the phone.
Around 10PM that night, she went upstairs to tuck in her son and found him fast asleep on his bed. The new cell phone was lying on the ground beside the bed. She picked it up and began browsing though the settings to make sure he had not deleted anything. She noticed some minor changes. He had changed the theme, the background and had given her a new ringtone.
She noticed that he had taken some pictures with the cell phone. She opened the images folder and browsed through them. “How cute,” she thought. He had been taking pictures of himself.
Then she came across the last photo in the folder. When she first saw it, she couldn’t quite believe it. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? It was a photograph of her son, lying asleep on her bed. But the disturbing thing was what was lurking in the far left corner of the picture.
Past perfect
The Hotel
A mother and daughter were travelling together in Europe. When they arrived in Paris, they booked into a luxury hotel. The mother was feeling quite poorly and decided to go to bed early. The daughter was a little worried and sent for the hotel doctor who examined the mother and wrote out a prescription. The daughter then set out into the city to find a pharmacy and buy the medicine for her mother.
What should have been a simple errand ended up taking the daughter almost four hours, mainly because she spoke little or no French. She searched the entire city and eventually managed to find a pharmacy that was still open. Finally, the frustrated daughter arrived back at the hotel with the medicine, only to discover that her mother’s room completely empty. It was as if her mother had just vanished into thin air.
In fact, the hotel room looked completely different. The carpet, the wallpaper and the curtains all had different patterns. The bed was made and looked as if it had never been slept in. All of their luggage was nowhere to be found.
When the confused daughter stopped a cleaning lady in the corridor and asked where her mother was, she was met with a blank stare. In fact, all of the hotel staff denied ever seeing the mother and daughter before. The hotel manager even said he had no record of them ever checking in to the hotel.
At this point, the daughter became frantic and she fled to the embassy, where she was greeted by sympathetic officials who wouldn’t believe her story. Instead, they doubt that her mother ever existed and decide that the daughter must be crazy. Trapped in a nightmare, the young girl ended up being sent to a mental hospital, where she died years later, completely insane.
Which of the three stories (Intruder Alert, Cell Phone, The Hotel) did you like the most? Why?
Which story did you find the scariest? What made it scary?
Which story feels the most realistic? Why?
Which story has the best plot twist? Describe it.
Why the stories with a plot twist are fun?
Use the words below to complete the sentences:
intruder · lurking · creaking · escaped · knife · vanished · frantic · disturbing · footsteps · vicinity · lift off · tuck in · deny · errand · burst
- The main character heard __________ coming up the stairs.
- There was an __________ in the house.
- The door made a __________ sound.
- The character __________ through the window.
- He was holding a __________ while walking to another house.
- In the photo, something was __________ in the corner.
- The mother noticed something __________ on the phone.
- The daughter became __________ when her mother disappeared.
- The mother had completely __________ without a trace.
- The police warned people in the __________ to be careful.
- The plane will __________ in a few minutes.
- The mother went upstairs to __________ her son.
- The hotel staff __________ seeing the mother and daughter.
- She went out on an __________ to buy medicine.
- They were about to __________ through the door.
💬 Match the words with definitions
- intruder
- frantic
- vanished
- lurking
- creaking
- vicinity
- lift off
- tuck in
- deny
- errand
- burst
a) to say something is not true
b) disappeared suddenly
c) moving quietly and secretly
d) making a long, low sound (like a door)
e) someone who enters a place without permission
f) nearby area
g) when a plane leaves the ground
h) to put a child to bed
i) very nervous and panicked
j) a short trip to do something (e.g. buy something)
k) to suddenly break open or rush in
Past Perfect – fill in the gaps
Complete the sentences using Past Perfect (had + past participle):
- By the time she went upstairs, her son __________ (fall) asleep.
- The boy showed her the photos he __________ (take).
- The daughter realized that her mother __________ (disappear).
- The hotel staff said they __________ (not / see) them before.
- When she checked the phone, her son __________ (change) the settings.
- Before he escaped, he __________ (hear) footsteps on the stairs.
- The police warned people that a murderer __________ (hide) in the area.
- By the time she returned, someone __________ (remove) all their luggage.
Finish the sentence using Past Perfect:
- I was scared because I __________________________.
- When I opened the door, someone __________________________.
- By the time I called for help, the intruder __________________________.
