CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF HORROR FILMS

By Stephanie McCaffery

Themes◦Revenge◦Childhood issues◦Good vs Evil◦Nightmares

o Madnesso Supernaturalo Lusto Jealousy

Sub-Genres◦ Revenge◦ Paranormal◦ Kidnapping◦Mystery◦ Psychological

Mise-en-scène LOCATION◦Usually abandoned or isolated◦ Areas where there is no help for the characters, there is usually a sense of isolation◦Urban environments with dark streets and back side alleys where there are a lot of

shadows◦Dark woods again draws on the idea of being abandoned or isolated

Mise-en-scèneLIGHTING◦ Low key lighting can be used to create a dark and dingy effect on the scene. This

can be used to create shadows. Shadows will help create a sense of fear for the audience

◦ Light flickering also can be commonly used, especially in films featuring paranormal things such as poltergeists etc…

◦ Another technique that is frequently used is chiaroscuro lighting. This is can be used to construct a eerie atmosphere

Sound◦Non diegetic sounds are essential in horror films as they help to make the audience

feel on edge when they don’t know where the sound is coming from. These will be accompanied with ambient diegetic sounds such as footsteps on screen, which adds tension to the scene.

◦ Another common feature is the use of nursery rhymes. They can sometimes be slowed down to make the scene seem spooky.

◦ Children’s voices are also used frequently

Proairetic code◦ Proairetic code is frequently used to horror films as it is a good way to increase the

tension. If an audience is using their imagination to fill the blanks then it would be a lot scarier than actually seeing it. Directors might use this code to imply that scary things are happening without showing anything.

◦ An example of this is in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) which showed barely any violence but the violence was created by proairectic code.

Propp’s Character types◦ 1.The villain ◦ 2.The dispatcher ◦ 3.The helper ◦ 4.The princess or prize◦ 5.The donor◦ 6.The hero ◦ 7.The false hero

The Villain There are two different types of villain:

Supernatural Villain: Supernatural villains are usually used because they are not something that the audience can relate to and so it makes their threat even greater.

Non-Supernatural Villain: These types of villains are used to make the film more realistic. This also appeals to audiences because it makes them feel as though it could happen to them because not everyone would believe that they could have a ghost haunt them but they could have a serial killer living next door to them.

The Dispatcher, the Helper and the Donor◦ The dispatcher is the character that makes the villain known and informs the hero of

him/her/it. ◦ The helper is similar in this way as they usually assist the hero in their quest to rescue the

princess◦ The donor usually gives the hero something (could be a tangible or intangible) to assist them

The Princess◦ The person who needs to be rescued by the hero.

The princess is usually portrayed by a young female or a child. This is because the audience can usually empathise better with a female victim than a male victim as society in general tends to see women as more vulnerable than men. Children again are also more vulnerable.

The Hero and the False Hero◦ The hero is the person who rescues the princess/victim from the villain. They are

usually a male with very masculine qualities. However in more recent horror films, this character has also been portrayed by a female.

◦ The false hero is the person who tries to take credit for the hero’s actions and tries to win the princess