Horror Conventions
Horror Conventions
Characters Family- protective mother/ father, no one believes
the children till its too late, family house and lifestyle e.g. mom
is housewife, father works Mentally ill/ possessed- isolated,
alone, helpless, depressed, drainedYoung children- Pure, Innocent,
Communicating with spirits, target for evilTeens-Sexualised,
impure, rebellious, uncontrollable, partygoers
Mise-en-sceneProps-The Crucifix-Holy water-Sharp items e.g.
knives, chain saw, axe-Dolls/ Old toys-Noose-Mirrors-old books/
photos
Make-up/ Costume-Blood-Ripped clothing-White garment-Contact
lenses (black)-Long hair-Black gunk
Location-Forest-Farm house-Church-Cabin-Old mansion
Music and SoundDiegetic-Screams, barking, wind, rain, Thunder,
laughter, crying
Non-diegetic- demonic voices, drums (heartbeat), children's
music (nursery/ lullaby)
Music- piano, violin, high pitch, low dead tone
Example 1 (clip in
description)https://youtu.be/jsd8xsgPIqAOpening scene to
sinisterCharacters:Typical family- Father, Mother and two children.
They appear to be dressed well and we know from the movie that thy
lived family sized house.Mise-en-sceneThough not set in a forest
there is a lot of coverage from trees and bushes creating an
isolated area where no one can see in. There are also bags placed
over each one of the family members heads to add to the torture.
Nooses are another common piece found in a lot of horror movies.
This is because of their link to death but also witches and black
magic as most witches were known to be killed from hanging.Music
and sound There is a constant dead drone sound in the background as
well as occasional crashing sounds (non-diegetic). There is also
the diegetic sound of a camera rolling which makes us as an
audience experience it as though we were really happening
Example 2 (clip in
description)https://youtu.be/nM4dyGgTllcCharacters:Here we have our
typical teens. There is Marty who plays the rebel against society
as he constantly smokes cannabis. Jules who is the over sexualised
character in the movie and plays a stereotypical blonde.
Mise-en-scene:The location is a cabin in the woods as the title
says. This setting again provides the isolation and coverage needed
for bad things to happen to the characters. The lighting of the
room is dull and it is furnished with old and antique objects such
as candle holders, old books, fire place and lamps.Music and
sound:Even though there is nothing frightening happening in the
scene the music is quit dark and dead tones are still used to make
us expect the worse
