Key Conventions Of A Horror

The genre of my opening sequence is horror, there are many typical conventions that follow though each horror film. A typical storyline of a horror is a murder or numerous murders by one particular character, which are continuous throughout the film, or one significant murder at the ending of the film that the film has been building up to. Saw 1 – 7, Devil, and Chainsaw Texas Massacre all illustrate this typical storyline of the genre horror where the murders are all performed by one character throughout the duration of the film. Another popular storyline is psychological interference with the characters. This is where the murderer or spirit/demon plays with the victims mind and makes them fear their life, often creating side effects such as paranoia or possession of the victim. Films such as paranormal activity, the ring and the exorcism of Emily Rose illustrate psychological horrors and an element of possession.

A horror always includes a character that is to blame for the mysterious happenings of the film, they are normally a murderer, animal or a spirit/demon.
Depending on the type of film there will be either one particular victim, as illustrated in paranormal activity or a group of victims as illustrated in house of wax and severance. The majority of the time the victim will be female, this is to emphasize the vulnerability and sometimes the hopelessness of the victim.

The films usually have a scene or are completely shot in a forest or a house within a forest. This is used to emphasize the fear full atmosphere and apprehension of what is lying within the darkness of the big forest. Severance starring Danny Dyer is an example of a horror that is located in a forest for the majority of the film. Many horror films have a dark mise-en-scene with low lighting, this is used to create more of a tense and scary scene to watch. Saw, house of wax and Texas chainsaw massacre are examples films that have a dark mise-en-scene for the majority of the film.

This image has been taken from the exorcism of Emily Rose, this shows the typical convention of a dark mise-en-scene of a horror.

Victims in a horror typically wear casual everyday clothes, as they don’t expect to be a victim. However a murderer or the ‘evil’ one typically wears dark clothes and make up. This connotes the evil personality and intentions that they may have. The evil character that intends to murder in The Orphan illustrates a dark costume that connotes the personality within. Dark clothes have been a typical convention for many years as many old horror films were very gothic and wore dark clothes as a preference. Therefore dark clothes have trended in films since.

In most horrors there are many dangerous tools used as props such as a chainsaw, hammer and knifes. These props allow graphic imagery to be created though the gruesome nature they are usually used. Saw is a key example of a film that uses many tools and props to torture the victims and create graphic imagery. Another convention that is very typical of a horror is excessive amounts of blood, especially within zombie type of films. The blood is significant to a horror because many people associate blood with pain and torture, and as many horrors include pain and torture, blood is an essential asset.

This photo is taken from The Orphan, this shows the typical convention of dark costume for the murderer, a tool used to torture their victim and in the setting of a forest. This shot is a perfect illustration of what a horror film will typically include.
In a horror there are many extreme close up shots used, this is usually to show detail of the graphic imagery to shock the audience and make the film seem real. To capture the fright in the characters and their facial expressions as they are experiencing fear, a close up camera shot is normally used. This also helps the audience feel some kind of care for the victim and want them to be saved. Over the shoulder shots are also used to place the audience in either the victim or murders point of view to make the audience feel more involved and captured in the moment.
A popular camera angle is low angled or high angled, this is to show which character has authority over the other, typically the victim is shot from a high angles shot showing that the murder has authority and supremacy over the victim. These camera shots and angles are the most typical conventions used though out the genre horror.

This image is taken from Friday The 13th, it shows the typical conventions of the over the shoulder shot and high angled shot, this is to put the audience in the position of the murderer where they have authority over victim, causing the audience to see the vulnerability of the victim. It also allows the audience to see the face expressions and fear in the victim.

Within a horror the soundtracks tend to be string instruments that increasingly become high pitched this is used to build tension, anxiety and fear for what might happen or if it will make the audience jump. To make the audience jump the soundtrack normally includes a quick, loud sudden combination of instruments that come to a quick holt, this is usually worked along side a character being surprised or an introduction to a new, bad character. Many non-diegetic sounds are added, this is to enhance the audience experiences, for example sounds of animals like a werewolf howling in a forest or a voice over.
Screams of the victim can be non-diegetic and diegetic, it is a typical sound to show the reaction of something scary happening. It usually comes from the victim.

The Grudge sound track, like many horror film have a sound track or theme song like this one. It increases in tempo and pitch for the effect of building up tension.