Key Conventions of a Horror Movie

 

Horror is a very popular genre within the Film industry and is known to be very profitable as well. When making a horror film there are specific key conventions in each. I researched the key conventions to help me consider which of these would be most successful for the opening of my film.

Setting:

One main convention of Horror films is where the location is. This gives insight to the audience to the dangers of the setting. Various hints are usually given. The setting in Horror films vary depending on the storyline some locations are based inside for example in a haunted houses, others may be outside in the woods. However most films use a variety of different locations throughout the film. Examples of other settings:

-          Isolated places

-          Dark streets

-          Small alley ways

-          Graveyards

-          Abandoned areas

Iconography

Sound is used effectively to create emphasis. Watching a movie without sound would make it less scary. The non-digetic sound that carried on while the story is going on the audience begins to jump. Heartbeats, footsteps and screams are effective sounds used to add to the sinister atmosphere of the film.
The lighting in scary movies is usually dull and dark and many shadows are portrayed to make it scarier. Shadows and funny shapes are usually shown whilst the camera shot – panning is used.
Many other camera shots are used such as close ups to place the audience into the situation of the character. This helps to add emphasis on the overall effect.
Sometimes weapons are used such as knifes, at other times masks are used to cover up and identity as well as dolls, for example chucky.

Characters:

-          A victim

-          A villain

-          Teenagers

-          A baby

-          Gangs

-          Ghosts

-          Serial Killers

-          Stalker

-          Stereotype

-          Mother

-          Group of friends

-          Hero

Ratings:

Examiners look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, sexual violence, theme and violence when making decisions. They also consider context, the tone and impact of a work (e.g. how it makes the audience feel) and even the release format (for example, as DVDs are watched in the home, there is higher risk of underage viewing). This information was taken from the BBFC site. Most horror movies are usually rated over 15 due to the frightening bloodthirsty and violent nature of the genre.

 A Few classic horror movies:

-          Halloween

-          Scream

-          The Shining

-          Dracula

-          The exorcist

Feelings portrayed whilst watching horror movies

-          Suspense

-          Terrified

-          Astonishment

Common Themes

-          Revenge

-          Envy

-          Beliefs

-          Paranoia