Conventions
Of
Horror
All genres of film follow conventions which are there to make the audience aware of what kind of film they are watching. For example, Romantic comedies will have high-key or naturalistic lighting to connote a 'happy' ambience whereas a Drama might be colour graded with a blue tint to give it a darker and dramatic look with a more serious ambience.
Themes Of Horror
The themes in horror are used to scare, entertain and be relatable to real life - you will often find that in supernatural horror films, there is always a scene which denotes a character alone in their bed at night when something scary happens - this is an effective convention as audience will experience being alone or in bed at night therefore making the scary scenario seem like it could happen in real life.
Horror themes are generally quite dark and serious. Some of the generic themes include:
-Ghosts/Spirits
-Demons/Possession/Exorcism
-The Devil/ Cults
-Serial Killers
-Mutants
-Torture Porn (Extreme violence and gore)
-Hauntings
-Revenge
Hybrid Genres In Horror
Gothic Horror
Gothic horror conventions include a romance that unfolds during the horror, usually in a tension filled way. One of the earliest horror films fell into this category (Nosferatu 1922)
This hybrid genre is rare in todays society, although some of the most classic horror films are in this genre such as;
-Bram Stoker's Dracula
-Frankenstein
-Nosferatu
Although occasionally there have been entries into this genre such as;
-Sleepy Hollow
-Let Me In
-Dorian Grey
-The Woman In Black
Slasher Film
A 'Slasher' film is a term used to define a horror film which uses conventions of a psychotic/maniac seriel killer that mercilessly stalks and kills victoms in a sequence in extremely violent/exaggerated way. Another convention of this type of film is for the killer to have a identifyable weapon. For example, Jason Vorhees of the 'Friday 13th' series wields a machete, Freddy Kreuger weilds razor finders etc.
Slasher films often overlap with the thriller and crime genre. This genre is considered a classic genre as it was poopular in the 80's and has continued and adapted the trend with various film remakes. Some examples of this hybrid genre include;
-Friday 13th
-A Nightmare Ond Elm Stret
-Black Christmas
-Halloween
-Texas Chainsaw Massacre
-Scream
-I Know What You Did Last Summer
-Child's Play
Psychological Horror
Psychological Horror relies on the charcters fear's and uses conventions of eerie music to create ambience, beliefs, emotional instability, supernatural. The main point of this type of horror is to build tension within the film to develop the plot.
Some examples of this genre include;
-Gothika
-The Ring
-The Exorcist
-Mothman Prophecies
-The Sixth Sense
- The Shining
Storylines & Characters
The classic convention of Horror narritave has a protagonist and the horror revolves around conflict or dilemas that the protagonist comes into contact to.
Generally, several character types are chosen for the list of main characters;
- The Hero/Heroine (Protagonist)
Usually a female who is the most morally standing and smartest out of the group. They always survive, which gives an excuse for a sequel. An example is Neve Campbell from 'Scream' who was the protagonist for 4 seqels.
-The Evil monster (Angagonist)
A person/force/creature that is usually portrayed as very strong and almost unbeatable. Many examples include - Freddy Kreuger, Jason Vorhees & Michael Myers. All of these antagonists are invincible
- Supporting Characters
A modern film that explored character types was 'The Cabin In The Woods' which defined and explored the roles of each character including;
-The Athlete
An attractive, young male who is the stereotypical 'Jock' in american high school who is not likeable, cocky, tries to fight and usually ends up dying although occasionally survives along with the protagonist. An example of this is 'Chris' from Wrong Turn
-The Whore
An attractive, young female character who is used for her sex appeal. Often has a sex scene and is portrayed as being stupid, weak and also unlikeable. An example is Paris Hilton in House Of Wax
-The Fool
Often paired off with the 'Whore' and is usually illed early due to a stupid decision. this character is usually portrayed as a 'stoner' or drug/alcohol user. An example is 'Rory' from Final Destination 2
Horror films usually try to connect to the viewer - so that the audience can identify with the hero/heroine. Some storylines, especially in 'Slasher' films use the exact same storyline of a masked killer with childhood problems who goes on a killing sprees, often of which are young adults/teenagers - which are the target audience for most horrof films. One of the biggest conventions of this is to have all the teens being killed off one by one with only one survivour, often with a 'climactic' fight battle against the antagonist of the film.
Finally, loactions used are usually very dark and isolated, for example, a forest, a abandoned hospital, a cabin, a ware house etc.
