About horror elements. What's it called?

**Daemian** · 12-02-2014, 04:50 AM

Hey people, I've got a horror related question I wanna share, cause I'm really curious if this thing has a name.

How do you call the solution they apply in a horror game/movie
to "recover" the game/movie to a neutral pace after a sure-death scene?

Maybe there is no name for it, but how would you call it?
Let me tell some examples:

Spoiler below!

In that example, to wake up was the solution to get back at cero, or a "neutral state" after
an intense scene.

Spoiler below!

I mean, a monster doesn't scream at your face about to eat you and a moment later you open your eyes and realize he just lost interest and is walking away.

In movies they use another methods to "save" the protagonist from that scene in a way that maintains the immersion or fear of the monster.
Like waking up, monster getting shot by someone, the guy hits the monster with a glass.

So that thing they do to recover the movie/game to neutral state -and not looking silly at it-, what's it called?

**Mudbill** · 12-02-2014, 08:18 AM

Basically the back hall in Amnesia after the waterlurker encounter.

Unsure what it's called, but I think it does have a name. It's basically contrasting the scares to make you feel more relaxed and more easily affected by what's coming. Wish I knew this, I've had quite a bit of literature in school. Heh, shows how useful that was.

**FlawlessHappiness** · 12-02-2014, 08:30 AM

Fade-out seems like a fine word for it.

Think the "hollywood-model".
Looks like this:

Spoiler below!

Notice that there is both a point-of-no-return and a fade-out.

You may be able to look at the back-hall as point-of-no-return and the ending as fade-out.
(It can be discussed whether the PONR is earlier)

**Kreekakon** · 12-02-2014, 03:09 PM

I think the thing that you're most closely thinking about is something I believe is called something along the lines of "mid-act climax"

It is when the plot of a piece reaches a very hot boiling point similar to a climax (But made out so that the story is obviously not over yet). After the climax resolves...repercussions of said climax will feed into the next act of the story altering it somewhat large or small for the rest of the story.

**Daemian** · 12-02-2014, 03:33 PM

MMmmh, I don't think that's what I mean, another example:
In Amnesia, the brute chases you in a corridor, before he kills you, you enter a level door.

The solution to "recover" from the scare forks into two solutions:
1) player enters the level door.
2) he dies by the brute.

If none of these solutions existed the brute would just stand looking at the player doing nothing and the door wouldn't open.

So these solutions, to wake up, to get saved by other, the floor opens, another level loads, the ghost banishes, grunt spoof, etc. What are they called?

**Mudbill** · 12-02-2014, 04:45 PM

Not sure if I quite understand what you're after here. Are you looking for a situation where there are only 2 options; 1 good and 1 bad? Or just the feeling of getting away from a threat?

**Daemian** · 12-02-2014, 07:51 PM

na, look, let me try something different:

Fill in the blanks:

(1)
In a horror movie, the killer is about to kill the protagonist, the director thinks 'I don't want the character to die in this scene, somehow he has to escape.'
It wouldn't fit if the killer suddenly says 'Hey, I'm hungry' and decides to go away, letting the guy escape.
A better ______ would be to put a cop, coming from nowhere and shooting the killer so the guy may escape. That would make more sense.

(2)
Someone tells you via pm 'Hey, I made a great jump-scare in my game, the cat turns out to be the killer, the player gets trapped in the kitchen with it and the cat jumps right to his face. It cuts a line in his face.
And then the cat starts break-dancing on the floor until he slowly disappears. He comes back later, more angry. What you think?'
And you say, 'That's a terrible ________, after it cuts his face the cat should hide somewhere, or go away, not start dancing on the floor!'

**Romulator** · 12-03-2014, 03:51 AM

The only thing I can think of is an anti-climax, which, obviously, is the antonym of climax. Climax happens, as Flawless pointed out, at the main point of the film where the build up has been aiming towards (think of the battle between the Hyenas and Lions in the Lion King).

Warning, spoilers, but no spoiler tag, because practically everyone should have seen The Lion King.
The end point, where Simba fights with Scar, pretty much to the death, is the climax since the film has lead up to this point. Mofasa, Nala and Rafiki attempt to convince Simba to return to the Pride Land. Finding it in disarray and Mofasa's murder fuels Simba's intent of killing Scar. Think about how the ending scene would be if Scar died when Simba chokes him to interrogate about Mofasa's death. Wouldn't that be an anti-climatic moment? The build up, and Scar does not confess and the Hyenas may not even attack. It is disappointing.

Disappointment seems to be the general direction you're leading us to. A moment where the player and/or viewer feels disappointed about a particular outcome.

The only problem with this, is that it isn't exactly a horror element, but more a general movie element.