Conventions of the Horror Genre

Amber Runnacles

Conventions of horror – settings • Dark • Woods • Lonely/ isolated house • Graveyards • Highways – long roads e.g. route 66

Conventions of horror – characters • Families • Group of friends • Young girl • Teenagers • Vulnerable• Last woman standing• Attacker • Masked – unidentifiable

Conventions of horror – iconography • Low key lighting • Weapon of choice e.g. axe • Natural lighting – day time/ night time • Dark colours – red and black representing darkness and danger

Conventions of horror – narrative A group of people being persecuted/ found by an antagonist • Not always a predictable ending • Someone will die or have there mind messed with

Sub genres – Gothic

• The weather plays a big part • Dreams • Sense of mystery • The supernatural • Revenge • Pursued protagonist

Sub genres – Slasher • Always lots of killing • Will be a death with in the first few minutes • Blood • Violence • Multiple deaths – usually by the same person

Sub genre – psychological • Play with your mind • Ghosts/ spirits • Gore and blood • Characters are seen as normal human beings not monstrous

Sub genre – Paranormal • Feels real • Relatable • Cameras placed in house• Spirits/ movements

Sub genre – Gore • Lots of blood and Gore • Weapons • Killings • Violence • Gore and blood being the main aim

Sub genre – Found Footage • Forests/ abandoned houses • Tense sound tracks • Screaming, crying , shouting • Low key lighting , un naturalistic

Genre theories • Rick Altman – His theory suggests that one of the primary pleasures offered to audiences is the release from cultural rules and regulations. Viewers can put themselves in a place that would normally be seen to break moral and legal boundaries – this can be referred to as counter culture attraction.

• Rick Dyer- His theory that the genre offers escapism. The escape is encoded in texts and opposes social tension and inadequacy. This links well with the sub genre of the slasher, it makes the audience feel part of the film and like they have to feel the fear as the characters do

• Jackie Stacy – She has said that Dyers theory needs to be more specific. She believes that Genres change over time and audience preferences change – this comes form social and historical changes, not everyone will always want the same