Horror Genre Research

The conventions of horror are distinctly different to other genres such as romance, sci-fi and comedy films. The different types of conventions are shown in the setting, technique, iconology, narrative structure, characterisation and themes.

Setting:

Horror settings tend to be in dark places such as abandoned buildings, haunted houses or dark forests. These are associated with the horror as these settings create a sense of the unknown. Places like forest create shadows where the character creating the horror can hide. The shadow of the trees also create eerie shapes which look distorted which is associated with fear and the reason why forests are often used as a setting for a horror film or just part of it. Haunted houses open themselves up to a supernatural theme in a horror film. Other places like this could include old asylums or hospitals. They connote a supernatural theme because these settings could be seen to have ghost, zombies, demon, etc. lurking within them. This makes the settings a convention of horror because people fear what they don’t understand, such as the supernatural. Abandoned buildings are very similar to haunted buildings but don’t necessarily connote the supernatural. This leaves the option of using different themes and storylines to create horror, other than using supernatural ideas. One film that has these types of settings is 'Dog Soldiers'. The film has a dark forest setting as well as an abandoned house

Techniques:

The techniques are mainly how the camera is used in order to create horror. There are different ways to use the camera to replicate a horror convention. Some of these include hand-held shots, first person shots and extreme close-ups. Hand-held shots create a sense of real time filming. This is good for horror because it makes the audience feel like they are involved in the film and makes them see what the character is seeing/feeling. This makes the events more realistic to the audience and stresses the horror element in a certain event. Extreme close-ups are often used in parallel to hand-held shots as they are often used when a character turns the camera on their face. This highlights the characters emotion which effects how the audience feels about the situation as they will most likely mimic the emotion the character is feeling. First person shots are often used in horror films from the villain or victim’s point of view. This makes the audience see what that particular character is seeing and not their emotion which allows the audience decide how the character is feeling for themselves. 

Other techniques include sound and editing which can go hand in hand in the film-making process. The sound is important to horror films as sound and music can create a lot more tension than visual effects. Such sounds that would be effective to create tension would be high pitched violin sounds of one note or a screeching sound effect. These types of sounds are effecting to create fear as they are seen as unnatural and eerie. These sounds may be added into the film during the editing process. Another editing technique could be making a scene darker than it was when it was filmed. This is a common technique used by film-makers as filming in the dark can be difficult to get the right lighting. To create the convention of a dark setting, the editors edit the scene to be darker than it was when it was filmed. The dark settings are a convention of horror as the fear of the dark is a common phobia of children and horror films can make an audience feel vulnerable like children.

(Blair witch project)

Iconology:

Iconology refers to the idea that certain things in a film connote to something else. For example, if there are demonic signs in a film, this connotes that there will be a supernatural element to the film. Signs like demonic signs and religious symbols are very popular in horror films. The religious symbols can be seen as conventions of horror because of the ancient belief of the devil and demons. As well as objects being iconic to horror, sounds can be too; this can come in the form of a sound effect or the soundtrack. The sound effect of a creaky door is iconic to an old abandoned building. This is effective for creating horror because it breaks a silence and sounds out of place even if it is expected in an old building. Soundtracks can also be iconic as this gives an identity to the film. An example of this would be ‘Tip-toe Through The Tulips’ which is played on an old record player in ‘Insidious’. Song like this are iconic to horror films as it makes people think of the film whenever they here that song.

Narrative:

Conventions of a horror narrative normally are based around either supernatural or psychotic elements or themes. The narrative always includes a protagonist and a villain. The protagonist must always complete a task to be able to escape the threat that is being presented by the villain. The villain is then there to pose a threat to the other characters, mainly the protagonist. The narrative can be closed but is often left open to give the opportunity for a sequel, such as the Saw films. In these films, the villains are never fully defeated so the audience always has that fear that the villain will return.

Character Types:

Protagonist: The protagonist is often known as the ‘hero’ or ‘victim’ in the film. They are the ones that aren't ever killed but always narrowly escape death. The audience may connect more with this character as we normally know more about them then the other characters.

Antagonist: The antagonist (villain) is the character who creates the horror in horror films. Common character forms the villain can be are monsters, serial killers or social outcasts. Their actions are often triggered by their childhoods or past events. Revenge is also a trigger for their actions.





Final Girl: The final girl is the female who survives all the events. She is always innocent, normally a virgin, and isn't in a romantic relationship. Her lifestyle is different to all the other characters as well.





The Black Character: The black character is normally one of the first of the characters to die. They also sometimes create comical relief.






The Sexual Female: The sexual female is the character who is used to keep the majority of male audiences interested in the story. This female normally gets killed but after other characters. She is normally the most hysterical of all the characters.









The Jock: The jock is normally the male gaze’s boyfriend. This character tries protecting his girlfriend but gets killed in the process. He represents male stereotypes as he is the most masculine character.




The Helper: The helper is the character who helps the protagonist in defeating the villain. They often calm down the other characters and get supplies for the hero. This character is generally quite reserved but is very collected under pressure.