Nature plays more than a supporting part in scary movies, depicting a world that cannot or should not be conquered by humans. The wilderness offers up isolation and the unknown, which contributes to the scare factor. Allegory also plays a role in choices made by horror filmmakers, including how individual animals stand in for primal instincts, our relationship with the environment, and other inhabitants. Ever since a hunter killed Bambi's mother, deer have been a go-to representation of man versus nature. While the 1942 Disney animated classic isn't scary per se, the opening sequence sure is.
Dangerous and enigmatic, the link to masculinity goes beyond its classification as the male member of the species. Taxidermied stag heads are familiar cabin or country lodge decor that show off the spoils of a hunt and man's dominance over nature. Antlers are wielded as weapons not only by the animal but also by humans in horror. Additionally, members of the deer family tend to show up during a contemplative moment that reinforces the broader themes of the film or TV show. At times, the symbolic use of deer has been in danger of tipping into clich, and yet there are recent examples that suggest retirement is not inthe cards. In the right hands, the metaphor goes much deeper than a surface-level representation of a brooding man.
Antlers have become a go-to creepy prop that emphasizes an American Gothic aesthetic in television showsincluding True Detective, Riverdale, and Hannibal. The latter weaves these images throughout the series, which creator Bryan Fuller explained to The AV Club is a reflection of the pilot episode murder tableau:"Will sees Cassie Boyle impaled on the severed stag head in the field on that first day, it is actually incredibly traumatic for him."
This case introduces Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) to Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), which ties this animal to him. "This black stag of his nightmares that is really his first touch with the evil that Hannibal Lecter is capable of. In his mind, in the recesses of his subconscious, there is a connection being made," Fuller said.
Abigail Hobbs' (Kacey Rohl) father is a hunter, and he treats his human victims as he would the animals. Will's mind manifests an elk vision that later morphs into a Wendigo-like figure as a stand-in for the cannibalistic psychiatrist. It is no coincidence that Hannibal has a stag statue in his office he uses it as a murder weapon in Season 1. It isn't just Hannibal that Will hallucinates as this animal; he sees his dog Winston as the stag he sleepwalks behind, and when one enters his classroom, in realityit is Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) and Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas). This correlation continued throughout all three seasons, which is a Jungian/Freudian use of this type of manifestation rather than the indigenous myth of a human-stag creature.
More than just a psychological or metaphorical symbol, the Wendigo is a story that is rooted in the atrocities inflicted on First Nation and Native American communities by colonizers. Forthcoming horror Antlers the release date has been pushed to 2021 due to the global pandemic tells the story of this monster in modern-day Oregon. Director Scott Cooper and producer Guillermo del Toro discussed the conception of this story during the recent Comic-Con@Home panel and the role of First Nations consultants Chris Eyre and Grace Dillon."It was really important to me as someone who's white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, Episcopalian, if I'm going to discuss any Native American folklore, any themes that course through Native American life, I want to have people who know much more about it than I and I want to get it right," Cooper explained. And while the Wendigo is a monster metaphor for the English settlers who abused the land and cannibalized the resources, the roots run deep.
"Our images of the Wendigo, it didn't become just allegories. It actually started becoming very, very real," said Dillon. "Horror is contextual, always," del Toro explains, which underscores the role it still plays in depicting colonial scars and contemporary environmental abuse. Wendigos are just as relevant now, but knowing the historical significance is vital to the presentation; otherwise, it is an act of cultural cannibalization.
As an allegory, Get Out opts for more than one deer option to add layers to how Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) views his past trauma. The first sign of the guilt he has long harbored regarding the death of his mother comes when Rose (Allison Williams) hits a doe on the drive to her parents' rural home for the weekend. Appearing as if out of nowhere, there is no time to avoid the impact, and the lack of control foreshadows what is to come.
It is the first jump scare of the movie, which immediately puts the audience on edge, depicting the tension between city dweller Chris and the environment they are heading into. The image of the doe will stay with him throughout the movie, which we later find out is linked to his mother's hit-and-run death. He believes he could've saved her if he had only gone out to look for her when she didn't return home. The doe is a manifestation of his greatest regret that still haunts him as an adult.
After the third act twist reveals Rose's motives for this "meet the parents" weekend getaway, Chris wakes up tied to a chair in the Armitage family basement games room, where he locks eyes with a mounted stag head. In the annotated notes that appear in the Get Out script, Jordan Peele explains this is more than just a trophy analogy, as "the word 'buck' connotes strong male slave." This added layer of horrifying racist symbolism ties to the comments made to Chris throughout the party from the various members of the Red Alchemist Society. "Black is in fashion," one guest intones while others size up Chris' muscles and handshake in a predatory manner.
At this point, it reads like the Armitage family friends are overfamiliar while using microaggressions to assert dominance. The audience soon finds out that Chris is being auctioned off like a piece of prime meat to inhabit. He won't be mounted on a wall as such, but he is a trophy offered to the highest bidder. The specific link to slavery denotes that while this practice is now illegal, Black people are still being sized up based on physical prowess within a system built to oppress. The trauma and ripple effects of slavery stretch across the centuries via the power structures still in place.
Chris takes the buck off the wall and rams it into patriarch Dean Armitage's (Bradley Whitford) chest and throat, further emphasizing his quick thinking regarding the objects at his disposal while acknowledging the symbolism that runs throughout the mise-en-scne.
Sometimes a stag is just a stag, including the one that comes to life in a deranged Evil Dead II scene when the whole cabin lamps and all maniacally laughs, whereas the deer head that has fallen off the wall of the bank in the Twin Peaks pilot is a strange visual that adds to the off-kilter atmosphere that David Lynch favors. Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) home decor includes a deer painting that prefaces the Season 1 scene in which Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) cuts his finger on the now-iconic headshot of his daughter.
Clues in Twin Peaks resemble peeling an onion, so while the painting could be part of the Pacific Northwest early 90s aesthetic, a moment in the 2017 revival supports the animal link. Now Deputy Director of the FBI Gordon Cole (David Lynch) doodles an image of a stag-like animal before seeing a vision of Laura Palmer. It could be a misdirect, but the use of disquieting deer visuals appears to reference Leland's unnatural action against his child.
"The construction of the city as metaphoric rapists of the country is an increasingly common one in horror," wrote Carol J. Clover in Men, Women, and Chain Saws, whilediscussing movies such as The Hills Have Eyesand I Spit on Your Grave that pit the two environments against one another. The role the stag plays in scary movies and TV doesn't always fall within the city-versus-country fault lines, but there is tension caused by an aggressor, whether a colonizer, racist, or killer. Because stag (and doe) images are a horror staple, it would be easy to dismiss this as a basic trope. Still, its function goes beyond mirroring masculinity or pitting man against nature. Hannibal and Get Out have set a high creative bar for using this allegory, and with the forthcoming Antlers exploring the indigenous origins of the Wendigo as "metaphor made flesh," it will now take more than a creepy mounted stag head to claim this horror trophy.
See original here:
Why stags are more than a masculine prop in horror - SYFY WIRE
- Forget the tired franchises, a new wave of horror movies will make us jump out of our seats - The Guardian - July 17th, 2024
- Surprise horror hit Longlegs raises the question, is Oregon safe to live in? - OregonLive - July 17th, 2024
- House of the Dragon star unrecognisable in hair-raising new horror movie - Express - July 17th, 2024
- Monster Summer trailer: Mel Gibson family horror film reaches theatres in October - JoBlo.com - July 17th, 2024
- Is Longlegs Really the Scariest Movie of the Year? - Decider - July 17th, 2024
- Terrifier, Scream Included in Spirit Halloweens New Horror Movie Babies Collection - ComingSoon.net - July 17th, 2024
- Is Longlegs Really That Scary? Inside the Horror Movie's Gruesome Twists and Turns (Spoilers!) - PEOPLE - July 17th, 2024
- Is the Next Jay and Silent Bob Sequel Going to Be a Horror Movie? - Cracked.com - July 17th, 2024
- Christian Bales Upcoming Horror Movie Can Help Pay Off The Actor's Divisive Superhero Movie - Screen Rant - July 17th, 2024
- Longlegs Star Alicia Witt Recalls Being Gently Slapped by Al Pacino During Scare on 88 Minutes (Exclusive) - Us Weekly - July 17th, 2024
- Longlegs Scores Highest Opening Weekend for an Original Horror Movie This Year - Bloody Disgusting - July 17th, 2024
- A four-star horror movie? Expertly crafted Longlegs achieves the impossible - St. Paul Pioneer Press - July 17th, 2024
- Psycho stars son directs Nicolas Cage in this creepy new horror movie - Sydney Morning Herald - July 17th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's new horror movie Longlegs is certainly terrifying, but not in the ways you were probably expecting - Gamesradar - July 17th, 2024
- Chilling haunted doll horror movie with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score drops this week - Dexerto - July 17th, 2024
- Osgood Perkins Gets Into the Family Business With Longlegs - Vulture - July 17th, 2024
- Kevin Smith's Next Jay And Silent Bob Outing Could Be A Horror Movie - SlashFilm - July 17th, 2024
- House of the Dragon star unrecognisable in snaps from chilling new horror movie - The Mirror - July 17th, 2024
- Exploring the genius (and terror) of the 'Longlegs' marketing campaign - Euronews - July 17th, 2024
- Longlegs Ending Explained: Digging Into The Dark Mystery In The Nicolas Cage Horror Movie - CinemaBlend - July 17th, 2024
- A True Story Inspired The Horror Movie Open Water - SlashFilm - June 20th, 2024
- Horror Movies In Theaters This Weekend - FANGORIA - June 20th, 2024
- 'Lumina' Trailer - Alien Abduction Horror Movie Crash Lands in Theaters This July - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- The First Trailer For NOSFERATU Will Be Released This Weekend in Theaters GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - June 20th, 2024
- 10 Best Horror Movies Of 2024 - Screen Rant - June 20th, 2024
- 20 Horror Movie Villains With Motives You'll Understand - The Pryor Information Publication - June 20th, 2024
- This Korean Horror Film Is One of the Scariest Movies of 2024 - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Zazie Beetz Shines in Muschiettis Scary Movie They Will Kill You - Digital Chew - June 20th, 2024
- Scary Summer: Five Aquatic Horror Movies to Stream This Week - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- This Lovecraft Adaptation Has Some of the Best Practical Effects Ever in a Horror Movie - Collider - June 20th, 2024
- Forget Ghost Ship, Wes Craven Gave Us the Best Horror Opening - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's New Horror Film Debuts With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score and Stunning Reviews - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Stephen King Called This Classic Scene the Scariest Moment in Horror History - Collider - June 20th, 2024
- Dark R-Rated Supernatural Horror Mystery Thriller One Of The Best In Years, Stream Without Netflix - Giant Freakin Robot - June 20th, 2024
- Kyra Sedgwick on Finding Freedom in Directing, Plans to Make a Horror Movie With Her Family, and That One Time She Was Jealous of Kevin Bacon -... - June 20th, 2024
- 'Circles' - Sequel to the 2015 Horror Movie 'Circle' in the Works - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- Sequel to one of the best horror movies of the decade gets amazing first trailer - Joe UK - June 20th, 2024
- 20 Most Anticipated Horror Movies Of 2025 - WhatCulture - June 20th, 2024
- Everything You Need to Know About the Alien: Romulus Release Date - Geeks World Wide - June 9th, 2024
- The Watchers Review: Dakota Fanning Horror Movie Is Heavy on Exposition - TheWrap - June 9th, 2024
- Mike Flanagan Promises His Exorcist Movie Will Be 'Really Scary' - MovieWeb - June 9th, 2024
- Isolated Horrors: Appreciating the 2012 Horror Movie 'ATM' - Bloody Disgusting - June 9th, 2024
- Star of new horror movie The Watched says it features things she's never seen in a film before - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- New horror movie The Watched was inspired by one of the best supernatural thrillers and a very divisive 2009 horror - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- Horror Movies in 2024 - Cineworld - June 9th, 2024
- This new horror movie told mostly from the killer's POV may not be destined to be a classic, but its innovation is very ... - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- Best of the scariest: The top 10 horror movies of all time - Popverse - June 9th, 2024
- This Divisive 2024 Horror Movie With 91% On Rotten Tomatoes Is Finally Streaming - Screen Rant - June 9th, 2024
- The Watchers - Plugged In - June 9th, 2024
- The 6 Best Sci-fi and Horror Movies to Watch on Peacock for Pride Month 2024 - Syfy - June 9th, 2024
- Under Paris: Netflix has delivered one of the best shark movies ever made - The Guardian - June 9th, 2024
- 100 mins of unrelenting intense overwhelming dread say fans as new horror movie is SO scary people are le... - The Sun - June 9th, 2024
- New follow up to 'grotesque' Netflix horror movie that left viewers 'bothered for days' is on the way - LADbible - June 9th, 2024
- Munjya review: Dinesh Vijans latest horror-comedy is neither scary nor funny, goes downhill after 30 minutes - The Indian Express - June 9th, 2024
- 'In a Violent Nature': How this innovative Canadian horror movie hacked its way to success - Toronto Star - June 9th, 2024
- The 25 best Korean horror movies of all time, ranked - Entertainment Weekly News - June 9th, 2024
- Alien: Romulus Is Making Xenomorphs Scary Again And Its About Time - Giant Freakin Robot - June 9th, 2024
- 31 Friendly Creatures From Fantasy/Horror Movies And TV Shows - MSN - June 9th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies Of 2024 (So Far) - Time Out - May 20th, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies If You Loved The Strangers - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- The Smartest Horror Movie Heroes, Ranked - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- 15 Horror Movies So Controversial They Got Banned - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- Before 'Psycho,' This Is The Twisty Horror Thriller Hitchcock Wanted to Make - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Most Rewatchable Horror Movie From Each Year of the 2010s - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- Jaws and Hitchcock's Psycho inspired new horror movie The Strangers: Chapter 1, as director explains its lack of gore - Gamesradar - May 20th, 2024
- The monsters that made me: Growing up disabled, all of my heroes were villains - Polygon - May 20th, 2024
- Shocking Horror Movie The Coffee Table Is Earning Raves From Stephen King. Its Director Wants Audiences to Suffer and Hate Me - Variety - May 20th, 2024
- Netflix fans freak out over 'insanely scary' horror film that found its way into the top 10 - Daily Mail - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Best So-Bad-They're-Good Horror Movies of the '90s, Ranked - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- Making Sense of I Saw The TV Glow's Tragic and Terrifying Ending - TIME - May 20th, 2024
- New Horror Movie With 21% RT Score Nearly Triples Budget At The Box Office In Just 10 Days - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- Sting director says he's "kind of remaking Alien" with the giant spider horror movie - Gamesradar - May 20th, 2024
- How Scary Is The Strangers: Chapter 1? It's R-Rating Explained - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- New Upcoming Horror Movie Gives Five Nights At Freddy's 2 Its Biggest Rival After $291 Million Success - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Impossible Horror Movie Kills (and the Visual Effects Behind Them) - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Most Satisfying Horror Movie Reveals - WhatCulture - May 20th, 2024
- Stephen King Reviews Horror Movie With 88% RT Score: "You Have Never Seen A Movie As Black As This" - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- Wolf Man Producer Reveals If the Horror Movie Is Part of Universal's Dark Universe Franchise - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage is set to take on another horror movie, this time about Jesus? - Gamesradar - May 9th, 2024
- Horror Tips from Director Jeff Wadlow and the Set of 'Imaginary' - No Film School - May 9th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero