EDITOR'S NOTE: UNT now offers interviews directly to you via Skype. You can record a video interview with available experts from your office, saving you the time and travel. To use the system, your station will need a Skype account, which is free to download from www.skype.com. Skype-to-Skype calls are free. There are versions for PCs, Mac, UNIX and other systems. Why do the shrieking violins of Psycho send shivers down many people's spines? Dr. Andrew M. May, University of North Texas associate professor of music, says extremes of high or low register; dissonant or unusual harmonies, particularly those that slide chromatically between keys or abruptly out of key; unfamiliar timbres; and sudden contrasts of music, such as a quiet, tense harmony broken by an explosion of sound, all characterize spooky music. "'Spooky' suggests ghosts, and 'eerie' suggests things being out of proportion -- against expectation or outside of the normal bounds of experience," said May, who directs the Center for Experimental Music and Media at UNT's College of Music. In the center, he composes chamber music in which some of the performers are invisible computer systems, which May sometimes calls playing with ghosts. May considers the organ to be the eeriest of traditional instruments. He describes organ sounds -- the staple of classic silent horror movies such as the original Phantom of the Opera -- as "coming from all around the space" around the performer. "We hear a colossal sound, magically disembodied and magnified from the human who controls it," he says. A prime example is Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor, prominently featured in Phantom of the Opera. In addition, music patterns that repeat for a long period of time, such as the famous "shark theme" of two alternating notes in John Williams' score to Jaws, create suspense and tension, May says. He observes that a classic case of several of these techniques working together is the repeated high-pitched "screech" of the violins in Bernard Herrman's Psycho theme. May says that its sudden entrance "never fails to raise the hairs on the back of my neck." May can be reached at 940-891-6816 or Andrew.May@unt.edu. Why is yet another Saw movie being released this month? Dr. Harry Benshoff, UNT associate professor of radio, television and film, explains that Hollywood continues to make and remake horror movies, and produce countless sequels to those that hit box-office gold, partly because of economics. The movies are "cheap and easy to make and have a built-in audience," he says. "They skew toward younger people. Then five or 10 years go by, and studios can remake the same movie, or release another sequel, for a new generation of teenagers," said Benshoff, who says the appeal of horror movies "is like the appeal of a roller coaster." "There's a primal desire for many people to be scared and thrilled in a safe zone. You want to be shaken and stirred," he says. Benshoff notes that the roots of American horror films come from gothic literature, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as carnival "freak shows." Horror films' themes also tend to be connected to current issues in American society, he says, giving the torture films like Saw and its many sequels as examples. "These films are connected to 9/11 and its aftermath. Here in America, we don't want a serious debate about torture, but we have a subgenre of horror movies that explore those fears about torture," he says. "Likewise, the slasher movies of the 1980s seemed to be connected to the AIDS crisis. The message seemed to be ‘Have sex and you'll be killed in a terrible way." In the last 10 years, Benshoff says, yet another type of horror movie has surfaced -- remakes of Asian horror films such as 2002's The Ring, which was Ringu in Japan. Benshoff says interest in Asian horror films in America sprang from interest in Japanese anime. "These films tend to be true to Asian culture. The ghost with long black hair goes back for centuries," he says. "The films also often have a lot of striking visual qualities, which are fairly new in Hollywood horror films and appeal to audiences." Benshoff can be reached at 214-350-2497 or at Harry.Benshoff@unt.edu. The faculty members may be available via Skype by request; contact Nancy Kolsti at Nancy.Kolsti@unt.edu or 940-565-3509 to schedule an interview. |
