News so exciting we could scream bloody murder. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies- LA ends their inaugural semester at the new LA branch with “Focus on: The Murder Set Piece” on December 13th at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz.
Director Robert Flender (Scream TV Series; HBO’s Tales From the Crypt; The Unborn; cult hit Idle Hands and upcoming horror-comedy Eat, Brains, Love) will host the class to examine the important visual storytelling elements of the murder set piece, often the most important aspect of any successful thriller. The murder set piece is its own three-act “mini movie,” with beginning, middle and climax. The class will include examinations and comparisons of murder set pieces from the silent era through contemporary releases, focusing on understanding of the essential tools needed to create tension and suspense on a visceral and psychological level. Deconstruction will include set pieces from classics many will know (Psycho, Halloween, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), modern favorites (High Tension, The Babadook), and lesser-known films (Edison’s Frankenstein, Horror Hotel, Kristy). Flender will also walk through his own preparation for a set piece he directed for the Dimension TV series Scream. More info HERE and
Additional specific topics covered include: What are the individual elements in Hitchcock’s Psycho shower scene that created the template for the modern murder set piece (music, editing, cinematography, lighting, performance)? Where have directors Brian De Palma and Dario Argento taken Hitchcock’s template in films like Dressed to Kill and Suspiria? What elements in Fritz Lang’s 1931 German thriller M did Ron Howard use 65 years later in his Hollywood film Ransom? A discussion of “high” vs. “low” art will compare similar scenes in Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring and Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left — why one is considered an art film while the other is thought of as grindhouse sleaze? A comparison of antagonists in murder set pieces, from man (Frenzy), nature (Jaws), technology (2001, Demon Seed), and the supernatural (Nosferatu, Final Destination 5) will also be touched upon. Hitchcock’s Frenzy will be examined as a master-class in blocking a scene.
Horror has contributed untold amounts to the film industry and has so much to teach film critics and fans alike. This class focuses on one of the quintessential aspects of horror and is not to be missed. For more information on The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies visite their website and for more information on the class “Focus on: The Murder Set Piece” click here.
