Sadly neurocinematics is not some kind of Johnny Mnemonic-style sci-fi blockbuster (for those born too late Johnny Mnemonic was a 90s Keanu Reeves sci-fi film) – it’s merely a term for this kind of research. The researchers used an fMRI to monitor participant’s brains as they watched a film: in the first stage of the experiment, this was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and this was compared against a piece of film that wasn’t a movie, that the researchers called a segment of reality. An fMRI is much like an MRI, this is the cylinder scanning device that people lie in while magnets spin around in the cylinder and then create images of the body so doctors can “look” at a person’s organs, skeleton etc. The difference with an fMRI is that it specifically looks at blood flow in the brain, more blood flow means more brain activity.

The researchers used the measure of inter-subject correlation (ISC) when looking at brain activity, a high ISC meant that spatiotemporal brain activity was very similar across the various participants. Spatiotemporal simply means when and where it happened in the brain. A low ISC would mean the spatiotemporal brain activity was very different across participants, this does not mean there was less activity, but rather that it occurred in different parts of the brain at different times. High ISC means that participants were having very similar reactions in terms of brain activity. The results showed much higher ISC when watching a film than the segment of reality. Considering that both the film and the segment of reality are – on the surface – very much the same, moving images, colour, and sound this difference could be ascribed to making a story, or to the use of editing or choices made by the director.

An interesting aspect of this study is how different types of scenes and different styles of film affect the brain. Once established there was an impact on brain activity from watching a film they moved into comparing different types of film (and two of these are from tv shows but shall be included in the term film). They chose an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the particular episode being the wonderfully titled Bang! You’re Dead, an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and again The Good, The Bad and the Ugly as well as the filmed segment of reality.

These are interesting choices – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly a western, an action film, made by Sergio Leone, an Italian filmmaker who could not speak English. Bang! You’re Dead seems to be more of a taut thriller, a child playing with a loaded gun they think is a toy whilst his parents try to find him. Curb Your Enthusiasm is modern HBO comedy series made by Larry David – with low stakes and little drama.

For ISC Bang! You’re Dead came out top, then The Good, the Bad and The Ugly, then Curb Your Enthusiasm and finally reality. Again the ISC is not saying the Hitchcock film has more brain activity or is in some way better cinema, but rather it elicited the same brain activity amongst participants – they had the same reaction. As noted in the article Hitchcock was famous for having the ability -and explicitly having the desire- to control audience reactions. Curb Your Enthusiasm controls a lot of improvisation which inherently means less control for the filmmakers and possibly less control of the viewers.

A more recent study by Yashu Wang and Yiwen Yang in 2020 specifically looked at Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho, and found that the important/dramatic plot points like Marion being stabbed in the shower, corresponded with the most brain activity, and not just for inherently dramatic moments like murder but drama created by editing and cinematography.

Another interesting finding was that films were very good at “controlling” eye movement, and found that when comparing The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and reality, participants watching the film were much more focused on specific locations, whereas for reality participants’ eye movement was a lot more varied. This would suggest that various cinematic techniques relating to cinematography and storytelling do in sense “control” what the viewer looks at.

This study poses interesting questions about how films affect brain activity and how this is different from simply showing films of real-life events happening with no other input. A person could wonder what exactly is to be gained from this research, especially in terms of cinema – that films have an impact on brain activity is not shocking, and this study was focused on creating ways to measure and compare this activity. But undoubtedly if Alfred Hitchcock had access to an fMRI he would have people run through this experiment so he could learn how to make Psycho even more terrifying.

Also Read: Cinema Therapy: How Movies Can Heal

The post What Is Neurocinematics? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The psychological element

There are many different descriptions of ‘horror’ but they all agree on the same: it’s a genre that makes people shiver and shudder and that it’s both frightening and fascinating at the same time. According to the study from Front Psychol, horror is also the only fiction genre that’s specifically created to inflict fear consistently. If that’s done excellently then this has the right impact on our brains. It makes us want to look away, closing our eyes, stopping with breathing for a moment or screaming your lungs out. Alongside those elements, there’s also the increasing amount of (temporary) anxiety, disgust, and fear.

That anxiety and fear is the most common reaction to horror but according to some studies, such as the one from Ballon and Leszcz (“Horror films: tales to master terror or shapers of trauma?”) and Bozzuto (“Cinematic neurosis following “The Exorcist”. Report of four cases.”), exposure to horror films can also lead to an increase of stress and distress. These can come in the forms of insomnia, excitability, hyperactivity, irritability, disturbed sleep, and decreased appetite. However, luckily for us, those symptoms don’t last very long. In their study, Front Psychol mentioned that the panic and fear that was evoked by the horror have no significant long-term consequences on the mental and physical state of the audience.

The screeching sound

The feelings of fear and anxiety aren’t only created by the stunning visual or intriguing dialogue but also (and mostly) because of the sound and audio. The musical score is always from vital importance but for a horror movie that significance increase immensely. Normally we wouldn’t jump out of our seat when hearing an owl, a cat, or a phone ringing but when these happenings occur in a horror movie, they have a completely different impact. They’re specially designed to create fear and suspense. According to Front Psychol, nothing can beat the so-called “jump scare. A loud bang after a long moment of silence seems to be able to do the trick as “jump scare” is the most used and successful sound effect in a horror movie. Yes, think about a strange figure pop-up out of nowhere or a sudden reflection in the mirror that shouldn’t be there.

When it comes to audio in a horror movie, the music and soundtrack are equally as important as the sound effect you hear. We all know that music has an undeniable emotional impact on the viewer. In a horror movie, the sound is designed to be troublesome, to create tension, and to raise a vibe of negativity on the screen. This increases the level of fear and unpleasantness even more.

Why do we like horror so much?

Suspense and resolution of suspense are the two main components of horror and those are the ones the audience reacts to the most. When it comes to suspense, this mostly means the build-up of tensions, the increasing level of threat, or reaching a potential climax. It’s also exactly that suspense that makes from the horror such a lovable genre as the feeling of suspense is something we undeniably enjoy. No matter how gruesome the images are. According to Front Psychol, enjoyment must come from a ‘degree of negative effect built up during exposure to the horror film and from the positive effect/reaction that results from the resolution of the threat’.

What’s next for horror movies?

Well, pretty sure that horror films aren’t going anywhere any time soon and that’s not so bad at all. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy upcoming movies such as A Quiet Place Part II, Last Night in Soho and Candyman and if in the meantime, you want your fix of horror films, then Shudder will do the trick beautifully (or should we say ‘horrifically’).

Also Read: The Greatest Horror Villain of Each Decade

The post What Happens To Your Brain When Watching A Horror Movie? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.