Genre hybridity is a long running tradition in Hollywood cinema. Directors and writers alike, have been combining different styles and aesthetics in an attempt to make new types of film that would eventually form its own genre. Ridley Scott's 2012 film, Prometheus, is one that adopts this way of thinking and portrays elements of both the Science Fiction and Horror genres.[1] The film had been in development since the early 2000s and had been rewritten and reworked right up until 2010 when the film began production. Prometheus contains themes and plot staples that are seen in both genres and shows characters that develop similarly to those in Horror or Sci-Fi films. This film is a prime example of clever and effective genre hybridity that was successful in the box office and will likely serve as an example of combination work that film makers will draw inspiration from.
The story follows a group of individuals from selected professions as they travel to and explore a new planet. As the film progresses the audience learns with the characters that the planet is not as safe as they had thought. As alien beings begin to cause havoc and David, the android, begins to act more and more suspicious, our protagonist and heroine Elizabeth Shaw makes life threatening decisions and is ultimately left seeking revenge. The name of the movie is interesting considering that ‘Prometheus is called upon to help us think about what it means to be human.’[2] It seems the film reflects heavily upon the God after which it was named. The title itself suggests that the film is centred on consideration of morality, and as the plot is driven by the search for our makers, it is evident that humanity is also a central theme. Humanity can be seen thriving through the protagonist as she defeats her own mutant foetus. Yet humanity can also be interpreted as flawed, primarily through the character of Peter Weyland, who is searching for any way of staying alive possibly because he fears his own death. Both Horror and Science Fiction genres tend to explore the human mind being pushed to its limits either physically or theoretically.
One of the key reasons why Prometheus was a successful film by itself but also as an example of combination cinema, was because Horror films have often contained Science Fiction elements. This meant that the eventual combination of the two genres was relatively seamless as many of the plot points and themes fit within both categories. Horror films were created and produced with the aim ‘to shock, scare, revolt or otherwise horrify the viewer.’[3] And these films are often subdivided into seven categories. Brigid Cherry explains this in her 2009 book titled Horror.[4] This is similar to Science Fiction films, as they too can be divided into any number of specified categories. One type of Horror film is explained as supernatural and involves interventions of other worldly beings into our reality. The supernatural is key to this film as the premise surrounds other worldly ‘engineers’ that created mankind and is now seeking to destroy it. Naturally, Science Fiction, the supernatural and Horror cinema blend together effortlessly.
One of our biggest social fears is the basis of many Science Fiction films: technology that develops a sinister and superior advancement over humans. This is widely explored within the film and it is clear that the film contains technology far advanced from the types that we are used to today. Science Fiction and Horror are both popular for expressing cultural and social anxieties. Horror garners negative emotions as opposed to more straightforward pleasures of the romantic comedy or western whilst Science Fiction tends to explore technological advancements that would result in our downfall. The largest technological advancement seen in Prometheus is through, Michael Fassbender’s character, David. Throughout the movie it is unclear whether David is morally good or bad, as he both poisoned Elizabeth’s love interest and offered to help her escape the planet in the end. He certainly acts suspiciously throughout, which doesn't help the audience warm to the android. Since the early beginnings of technology there has always been those who worry that eventually robots, like David, that we create will work against us rather than for us. ‘Science fiction films concerning fears of machines or of technology usually negatively affirm such social values as freedom, individualism and the family.’[5]
With space exploration developing dramatically in recent years, humankind is more in fear of the universe than we have ever been. But probably the fear that resonates most is the fear of disease and infection. We see the character Charlie Holloway slowly get infected and turn into a monster himself. We can often judge what our anxieties are by looking at the films that we watch. ‘All popular films reflect social attitudes. How do we know what the social attitudes are? Just look at the films!’[6] Because disease is something that can spread quickly, people often fear epidemics which was evident over the last ten years when the public responded to the Swine Flu. Many nations increased their intake of vitamins and some even began wearing masks in an attempt to avoid the dreaded Flu that resulted in the death of hundreds.[7] As long as audiences have social anxieties, they will go to the cinema to see films that explore that topic out of pure curiosity and, typically, Horror and Science Fiction are genres that investigate these the most.
When two genres combine, so do the fan bases of each. Typically Horror films and Science Fiction films have the same target audiences that the films appeal to most – men aged between 16 and 24. Genre hybridity increases audiences as the film appeals to more people, therefore the film will likely gain more profit. This then allows for more films to be created following its success. Prometheus was a film that appealed to several different audience groups; fans of Ridley Scott and the Alien franchise, Horror movie buffs, Science Fiction ‘nerds’ and lastly, those who were attracted by the advertising campaign and advertisements.[8] The film made roughly $403 million at the box office after being made on a budget of nearly a third of that, $130 million. Whilst it is nearly always the aim of film makers to make as much of a profit as possible, Scott was able to cash in on his pre-existing fans by tying the film to the popular Alien franchise that he had made years before. Fans play a large part in the success of any film and can really help to either make or break a crossover film. By giving Prometheus a ‘horrifying’ edge, Scott was challenging his fans to see his film, a loose prequel for Alien, as being aesthetically different to others that he had done which were more Sci-Fi than Horror.
Horror and Sci-Fi are two genres that maximise the use of prosthetics and special effects. The combination of these two genres can result in a boom of creative designs that will spur artists to create more. The film was a great combination of CGI and prosthetics which was nice to see considering ‘the concern for many people trained in the techniques of makeup and prosthetics, model making and animatronics was that the demand for this type of workmanship would simply disappear altogether should CGI ever prove capable of stimulating the materiality of physical effects effectively enough to meet with audiences’ approval.’[9] The prosthetics were mainly used to show disfigurement and age on characters but the most notable use was on the Engineers themselves. The artist was challenged to make a human-like face that was also completely alien. The characters had squared off jaws and head that made the characters look dominating and superior. Compared to the Alien franchise, the film had a much smoother image with animatronics and CGI working together. Prometheus was an example of how, when technology has been improved the quality of the film will likely improve also. This will result in sophisticated special effects and an improved cinema experience because the on-screen image will be closer to reality than it was before. Prometheus was nominated for several special effects awards because of its achievements visually, creating a world that was believable but still completely new and unknown.
The combination of two genres that already contain many of the same features is likely to be successful. Not only is the film more likely to make a profit because of the widened target audience but it also provides Hollywood with a new interpretation of film and suggests that sticking rigidly to one genre may be outdated. With the advances in technology in the past decade these hybrid movies contain higher quality special effects and are able to utilise the conventions normally associated with each individual genre. Resulting in advancements in special effects artistry and effects, hybrid films are some of the most realistic films visually. The combination of Horror cinema and Science Fiction film is successful as the two fit together well and often aim to reach the same goal through their films. With common themes these two particular genres are the easiest to merge and have the most cohesive end result. There will always be a demand for films that explore our deepest fears and shock us in the process. Prometheus was able to appeal to both Science Fiction and Horror fans alike, whilst also attracting mainstream audiences which shows the far reaching abilities of the hybrid film.
[1] Prometheus, Dir. by Ridley Scott (20th
Century Fox, 2012)
[2]
Carol Dougherty, Prometheus: Gods and
Heroes of the Ancient World (Routledge, Oxon, 2006) p. 3
[3] Bigid
Cherry, Horror (Routledge, Oxon, 2009)
p. 5
[4]
Bigid Cherry, Horror (Routledge,
Oxon, 2009)
[5]
Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner, ‘Technophobia’ in Alien Zone: Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema,
ed. by Anette Kuhn (Verso, New York, 1990) p. 58
[6]
David Bordwell, Poetics of Cinema
(Routledge, New York, 2008) p. 30
[7]
Richard Alleyne, ‘Swine Flu Killed 475 People and Cost £1.24 Billion, Official
Figures Show’, The Telegraph, 1 July
2010 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/7865796/Swine-flu-killed-457-people-and-cost-1.24-billion-official-figures-show.html>
[8] Alien, Dir. by Ridley Scott (20th
Century Fox, 1979)
[9]
Stephen Prince, Digital Visual Effects in
Cinema: The Seduction of Reality (Rutgers University Press, New Jersey,
2012) p. 26
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