Paul Wells (2000)

Paul Wells (2000)

Method: Paul Wells conducted research of 12-28 people 4 different age categories to conduct a small focus group

1. 16-25 years
2. 26-40 years
3. 41-55 years
4. 56-80 years

During this focus group he asked 'What was the earliest film you have seen?' and 'What is the most recent?'.

1. 16-25 years (1975-1984)
Earliest:The Exorcist
Recent: Jurassic Park

understood films were artificial

2. 26-40 years (1960-1974)
Earliest:Night of the Living Dead
Recent: Silence of the Lambs

disliked predictability of films

3. 41-55 years (1945-1959)
Earliest:House of Wax
Recent:Halloween

advancements in technology

4. 56-80 years
Earliest: Nosferatu
Recent: Death of Night

The conclusions that Paul Wells gathered were: 

- The relationship with being frightened changes with age, this relates to broader factors affecting emotional responses

- Audiences between 1970-1990 weren’t used to explicit special effects whereas 'monster' films of 1920-1930's reported very strong personal responses to images and iconography of horror this is when the cinema was 'new'.

- Young people are aware of artificially and are becoming harder to shock which films play into this knowingness of horror conventions.