Genre research

Genre Research

Horror

Horror films are unsettling movies that try to bring out the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers, they often feature scenes that startle the viewer. The main colours featured in Horror movies are: black, white and red, the colour red signifies: fire, blood, danger, strength and power, the colour black is associated with power, death, evil, mystery, fear and the unknown; it usually has a negative connotation. Whereas, the colour white connotes: light, goodness, innocence and purity. The lighting in Horror films is usually rather dark (low key) and dim to give the viewer a sense of fear and mystery.

History of Horror Films:  Horror movies have been around since silent movies (Nosferatu). Obviously being scared is something the audience want. The horror movies received a huge lift in the late 70’s and early 80’s (e.g. Nightmare on Elm Street) but it died a sad death in the late 80’s and throughout most of the 90’s. Although, due to the success of the 1996 film 'Scream' (the horror smash parody) the genre again became very popular. Horror movies have drastically changed since the period of the silent movie; this is because what was frightening in the silent movie days and what is frightening now may well have changed. For example, when moving image was first invented footage of a moving train caused fear in the audience because people really believed that the train would come straight out of the screen. However, nowadays that would barely evoke fear out of the viewers.

Codes and conventions of horror: Blood, death, killing, villian, victims, haunted houses, isolated settins, monsters, evil, weapons, darkness, storms, chase sequences, gore, violence, screams, ghosts, naive teenagers...just to name a few

Camera angles commonly used in horror films: 

Close up shot - this is where the subject fills the frame, it shows emotion, it also hides a lot of the setting keeping the surroundings hidden and building suspense

Dutch tilt - this is often used in horror films to create disorientation

Extreme close up - these type of shot are usually used in horror films to emphasis something

High and low angles to connote fear and power

Point of view to allow the audience to see from the characers view-point and put you into the world of their terror

handheld shots to create a more terrifying experiece and bring the audience n=into the action

Also editing is important as it creates moods through the build up from slow cutting and transition to action through quick cuts and transitions.

Sound: Music adds tension. There is an audio sequence in horror films that most people recognize. A long eerie musical build-up of strings or horns as the victim, for example, approaches a closed door, then this is followed by a violent orchestral hit as the victim opens the door to encounter whatever is hidden behind it. This is a type of musical cue that seems to be quite common in horror films. Whenever the audience hears this build-up, they know that something is going to happen. There are many examples of other musical cues that are almost subconsciously recognized and identified by the audience. A long deep tone might indicate tension or a rapid and bright sequence played by a set of strings may indicate stress or panic. Sound effects are also an exteremly important feature to create fear through the use of diegetic sounds such as heartbeats or heavy breathing. 

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