Horror Genre Conventions

Callum Carmichael

Setting Conventions Isolated Area Urban Area Dark Streets/Alleyways Ghost Towns Woodlands Empty House/Cabin/Hotels Basements Run down cities Countryside Asylums Abandoned area Lakes Roads

Conventional Technical Codes High and Low Angles to connote fear and power Point of View allow audience to see through the person view

and put you into the world of there terror Handheld Shots creates a more terrifying experience and

bring the audience into the action Sound Effects an extremely important feature to create fear

through diegetic sounds such as heartbeats Editing creates mood through build up from slow cutting and

transition to action through quick cuts and transitions

Iconography• Visual – Often dark tones and highlights within the visual style of horror as well as

consistent relations between red and black to connote fear and death within the film itself – a common convention of the horror genre

• Lighting – Lighting is a very important component of the iconography of a horror film/trailer due to the way in which it expresses fear and horror. Low lighting is mainly used within the horror genre to represent the ‘unknown’ and create shadows to spark the audience imagination and create fearful emotions

• Props – Props are used within the horror genre to help identify the particular genre and the style of horror – common props associated with horror are religious symbols, knives and masks which connote the fearfulness and horror of the movie and represents the horror genre through its common convention

• Monsters – The monsters iconography within the horror movie connote the fear, disgust, supernatural and extreme nature of the horror movie and the frightening emotions that are portrayed within the movie

Narrative• Todorov narrative structure suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages

and these are common with horror movies:

A state of equilibrium at the outset; A disruption of the equilibrium by some action; A recognition that there has been a disruption; An attempt to repair the disruption; A reinstatement of the equilibrium

• In ‘Overcoming the Monster’ stories which is very common within the horror genre the hero/heroes must overcome a dark evil creature/person/entity that has exerted an evil destructive force over a place, persons or people.

• Levis-Strass Binary Opposition Theory of Good v Evil is also a very common convention within the horror genre and used within the films and film trailers.

Themes Good vs. Evil Religion Supernatural Revenge Death Zombies Nightmares Psychological Gore Insanity Suicide Fantasy Thriller Fear Terror