Unsettling Qualities in the Unknown: the Use of Extremes and Doubling to Unnerve an Audience

             Rick Worland’s The Horror Film: an Introduction defines the Unknown (1927) as a melodrama; this definition due to the over-emotional sentimentality predominate within the film (145). Worland also discusses the intentions of Tod Browning and Lon Chaney, the message of this film and their other films being the world is random and cruel—Browning (147) and to evoke a Beauty and the Beast quality, only to insist this outcome is a wish-fulfillment fantasy, a “lie” (148). These two intentions align with the qualities of Tom Gunning’s Aesthetic of Astonishment, guiding the audience to create their own ideal outcomes of the story they are witnessing, only to have it change abruptly and deal with the feelings of discomfort.

We as a society end up creating ideals while watching films, reading books, encountering stories of any kind—people who we want to end up together or outcomes of stories we want to see happen. Stories like the Unknown, defined as melodrama or early horror, move away from giving the audience the feeling they set up while immersing themselves in stories. This discomfort comes in steps, small qualities of the film or story not aligning with our expectations and result in the feeling of missing a step. Worland discusses this with the definitions of melodrama in the context of The Unknown, where the protagonists are usually willing to suffer and sacrifice everything for love (147), wildly exceeding conventions. Alonzo’s willingness to cut off his arms in order to appeal to his love Nanon serves as a sick surprise, The audience is privy to Alonzo and Cojo’s line of thought, while they discuss a plan of action for Alonzo to secure Nanon’s affections, but do not have a confirmation until Alonzo and Cojo later arrive at the surgical theater setting. Set ups like this are almost formulaic in execution—a problem, an extreme solution without confirmation, then, finally, the solution demonstrated in the most uncomfortable way possible. A set up like this is predictable, but in a way leading to a queasiness, a “What if?” of the most extreme situations.

Further findings of these feelings can be found using Freud’s definition of “the Uncanny” (1919), referencing specifically to doubling. Doubling occurs more than once in The Unknown, with Malabar and Alonzo matching in outfit and desire, though serving as opposites in outcome. However, there is a moment of Déjà vu when the audience is lead to believe Malabar will get his arms torn off, which would lead him to be a double to Alonzo. Alonzo and Cojo also match in costume and shared knowledge,  but differ in their approach, Cojo demonstrating the audience’s unease with Alonzo’s plan to remove his arms. Finally, there is the doubling of Alonzo’s thumbs, which comes after the discovery that he not only has arms and hands, but also extra digits. While watching this, I was left with the feeling of blurred vision—what I was seeing was a joke created by my own brain.

            Although The Unknown would not be defined as horror by today’s standards, it has a familiarity in set up. There is a want to be disassociated with what is happening in a horror film, where identifying with the characters is too frightening and horrible. Yet this disconnect, a lurch from reality, is a feeling frequently sought by people. In many ways, I think it brings us a closer look at what is around us by contrasting what happens with what we do not want to happen, creating a necessary extreme or evil. 

Worland, Rick. The Horror Film: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007. Print