The impact of narrative techniques in horror films on Chinese audiences’ motivation for film viewing and their perceived reality of film

Abstract

This survey research aimed to examine the influence of Chinese audiences' perceptions of the narrative elements of American and Chinese horror films on the motivations for watching films and the impact of their perceptions of film reality. A purposive sampling method and convenience sampling were used to select 103 respondents. The sample consisted of Chinese viewers aged less than 20 years old to 43 years old who had seen both "The Conjuring" and "Rigor Mortis". The data were tabulated and Regression Analysis was used to test the hypotheses with a significance of 0.50. The results of the study revealed that: (1) Chinese viewers’ perception of narrative techniques in Chinese horror film "Rigor Morris" significantly influence their motivation to view the film. (2) Chinese viewers' perception of narratives techniques in Hollywood horror film "The Conjuring" significantly influence their motivation for viewing horror films (3) Chinese audience's motivation for viewing the movies are significant predictors of Chinese audience's perception of film reality.