Horror Film

Conventions

Setting• Small Communities/Isolated Places.

• Urban Environments, Dark Streets, Narrow Alleyways.• Large Cities or Ghost Towns

• Lakes, Roads, Highways, Countryside, Barns, Farms, Dark Woods, Woodland, Houses, Cabins, Cities, Subways, Underground Tunnels, Creepy Hotels,

Abandoned Houses, Haunted Houses, Basements, Attics, Meat Factories, Science Lab, Shopping Centre, Cornfield, Asylum, Deep Water, Blizzards.

Iconography

• The use of colours like black and red are used predominantly which connotes evil, blood and danger etc.

• Lighting is not natural and is expressive. Low key lighting can help to create dark shadows and unfamiliar shapes in the dark settings. Lighting can be enhanced in

the world of film through bonfires and torches etc.• Props can help to further identify that the film is of the horror genre. Specific props can be identified with certain horror icons like Jason Voorhees has a hockey

mask to hide his identity and his weapon is a machete.• Common props include: weapons, masks, religious icons or icons of the

supernatural.• The iconography of the monsters help to connote fear and terror like Ware

wolves, Mummies and Vampires.

Authority Figure• The authority figure comes in all different shapes and forms in a horror movie. It

may be the hunter who goes out confident they can take down their murderous prey or it could be the leader of a group. It could even be a head teacher if the

film is set in a high school.

• This character can be of either sex although usually male. They are portrayed as being at ease and in some cases cocky trying to convince other

characters that nothings going on and that they are over reacting. Can be overconfident which could lead to them being one of the first killed off.

Non - Believer

The Jock• The Jock isn’t a regular character in all horror films but there is usually a character

similar to this. The Jock doesn’t have to play sports yet has easily recognisable personality traits. He is usually portrayed as attractive yet not that bright. He believes

himself to be the strong alpha male of a group which in most cases is usually his downfall. He is important in a horror movie as he causes a dilemma within a group. For any main women in the group he is desirable and for men they are envious of

him and wish they were him.

The Hero

• Pretty Much always a male character of a strong/masculine build.• Although he is the so called ‘Hero’ there aren’t many horror films where the good triumph over the evil. The Hero tends to be the brave character in these circumstances

that goes after the evil and often doesn’t return.• In the beginning, the audience will listen to his voice of reason and be calmed and

reassured by them. But once they have been killed or are found dead there is a sense of security that has vanished and is now non-existent in the audience.

Themes

The themes in horror films are used to scare, entertain and thrill the audience. Horror films centre around the supernatural and alarming events. Usual themes of

horrors include:• Revenge• Haunting• Gore

• Demons & Exorcisms• Religion• Ghosts