The genre of Horror is made up by a number of conventions and concepts; these are mainly based on the Visual, Audio and Camera. Horror as a genre is not that difficult to grasp - the main aim is to make you scared.
Here is a mood board I have created on Polyvore to signify what I think of the genre of horror.
Horror mood board media by mmeganlawrence featuring halloween home decor
Codes & Conventions
The scarier the film (usually) the
more uncomfortable setting. It takes the audience out of their comfort zone.
Props: Conventional props used in horror films are usually weapons such as knives or guns and these are usually associated with the antagonist in the film and the weapons are used to inflict pain on others. Within the genre horror there is even a sub-genre named 'Slasher' which is named after horror films that include knives as a main prop. The 'form finding itself' film Psycho was the beginning of Slasher movies, the antagonist used the knife as his 'signature weapon' throughout and killed off the big name Janet Leigh in the first 5 minutes in the iconic shower scene. Some conventional horror film props can even be household items like kitchen knives and forks.
Colours: In the genre horror the colours most associated are black and red. This is because of the colours denotations; the colour black denotes death, evil and hate whilst red denotes blood, war, fire - these are all negative which is what horror wants to capture. These colours may be used in the costume to represent what type of person they are, the colour of the font used, the colour of the lighting used to create atmosphere.
Characters: In horror films there are usually certain stereotypical characters that are in near to every horror film. A female victim character is in most horror films, this is because when the genre was made there was a lot of sexism towards women; they were seen as weak, annoying and dumb so they are an easy target by the evil antagonist. The female victim is almost always killed off however this doesn't occur straight away because it causes tension and suspense for the story line, she will usually scream at the wrong time and end up getting the others in trouble. They are usually white, blonde and young adult. Another conventional character is the Evil Antagonist and tend to kill. They are usually masked to create enigma and make the audience really uneasy. An example of this is Jason Voorhees in Friday 13th. They are usually male figures because males are seen to be more dominant and stronger. In less detail - in some horror films some 'creepy looking' young girls in night dresses. Clowns are used in many horror films because many people have a fear of them. Ghosts/Demons are used in horror films to create extra suspense because you cannot actually see them so their actions are completely random.
Production Companies:
Just as there are multiple film genres, there are multiple film producers that specialise in them. The genre horror in particular has many of its own film companies. One of the most famous being Jason Blums, Blumhouse Productions - which have made films such as Insidious, Sinister, Paranormal Activity, The Purge etc. These films have all done incredibly well for themselves and have all made massive profits, especially Paranormal Activity with 4 sequels this is a company to really look out for. Another successful company is Michael Bay's, Platinum Dunes; This company has made
iconic films such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massicre etc. most of the companies profit has been made from horror remakes. Twisted Pictures is also a major production company which has produced the likes of Saw and all its sequels.
Actors: There are some specific actors/actresses that are associated with Horror films, the people who come to my immediate mind are Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween (not to mention she was the fist female 'survivor'). However big
Codes & Conventions
Setting: Horror films are usually set in uneasy, underpopulated and/or eerie areas. This can vary from somewhere extremely dirty to somewhere immaculately clean. Some examples of this can be the house in The Human Centipede (on the left) in comparison to The Human Centipede 2 (on the right). However conventional horror films can even be filmed in a family home- this is very common; examples of this are Scream, Insidious, Paranormal Activity and Sinister. This makes can draw the audience in more because it is more of a familiar atmosphere than an abandoned hospital etc.
The scarier the film (usually) themore uncomfortable setting. It takes the audience out of their comfort zone.
Colours: In the genre horror the colours most associated are black and red. This is because of the colours denotations; the colour black denotes death, evil and hate whilst red denotes blood, war, fire - these are all negative which is what horror wants to capture. These colours may be used in the costume to represent what type of person they are, the colour of the font used, the colour of the lighting used to create atmosphere.
Characters: In horror films there are usually certain stereotypical characters that are in near to every horror film. A female victim character is in most horror films, this is because when the genre was made there was a lot of sexism towards women; they were seen as weak, annoying and dumb so they are an easy target by the evil antagonist. The female victim is almost always killed off however this doesn't occur straight away because it causes tension and suspense for the story line, she will usually scream at the wrong time and end up getting the others in trouble. They are usually white, blonde and young adult. Another conventional character is the Evil Antagonist and tend to kill. They are usually masked to create enigma and make the audience really uneasy. An example of this is Jason Voorhees in Friday 13th. They are usually male figures because males are seen to be more dominant and stronger. In less detail - in some horror films some 'creepy looking' young girls in night dresses. Clowns are used in many horror films because many people have a fear of them. Ghosts/Demons are used in horror films to create extra suspense because you cannot actually see them so their actions are completely random.
Production Companies:
Just as there are multiple film genres, there are multiple film producers that specialise in them. The genre horror in particular has many of its own film companies. One of the most famous being Jason Blums, Blumhouse Productions - which have made films such as Insidious, Sinister, Paranormal Activity, The Purge etc. These films have all done incredibly well for themselves and have all made massive profits, especially Paranormal Activity with 4 sequels this is a company to really look out for. Another successful company is Michael Bay's, Platinum Dunes; This company has madeiconic films such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massicre etc. most of the companies profit has been made from horror remakes. Twisted Pictures is also a major production company which has produced the likes of Saw and all its sequels.
Actors: There are some specific actors/actresses that are associated with Horror films, the people who come to my immediate mind are Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween (not to mention she was the fist female 'survivor'). However big
screen names are not usually associated with the horror genre because they can find that it may harm their career as opposed to a thriller action or even comedy. Many of the most famous horror actors are from decades ago when the genre first made its proper appearance on screen.
A more up-to-date actor on the Horror scene is Patrick Wilson - he is known for numerous roles in films such as Insidious (I, II and III), The Conjuring and 18. Most horror actors in 2014 are just 'one hit wonders' and are not usually seen again. I feel that this is because the horror genre likes to create a lot of enigma, if the main characters were all big screen names the audience would not really be able to envision them as, for example, a victim or a normal person- they may feel a connection to them already which may make the film less 'scary'.
Audio: In horror especially the film producers really like to play with the music and sound effects to make the audience feel uneasy and to build up suspense, without the audio it would take away from the whole atmosphere created. In paranormal films especially a piano usually starts playing by itself to scare the characters, alarms may go off randomly (for example in Insidious). In most horror films sharp loud repetitive music is played for only the audience to hear just the loud noise may scare the audience. Hyperbolic sounds are used to over exaggerate certain situations, for example a babies laugh, this can be deemed as creepy.
Camera & Effects: Many different angles and shots are used in the making of horror films. Extreme Close Ups can be used to denote fear of a certain character, weakness or confusion. Whereas, Canted shots connote sickness and again confusions to where they are or what they are doing.
A more up-to-date actor on the Horror scene is Patrick Wilson - he is known for numerous roles in films such as Insidious (I, II and III), The Conjuring and 18. Most horror actors in 2014 are just 'one hit wonders' and are not usually seen again. I feel that this is because the horror genre likes to create a lot of enigma, if the main characters were all big screen names the audience would not really be able to envision them as, for example, a victim or a normal person- they may feel a connection to them already which may make the film less 'scary'.
Audio: In horror especially the film producers really like to play with the music and sound effects to make the audience feel uneasy and to build up suspense, without the audio it would take away from the whole atmosphere created. In paranormal films especially a piano usually starts playing by itself to scare the characters, alarms may go off randomly (for example in Insidious). In most horror films sharp loud repetitive music is played for only the audience to hear just the loud noise may scare the audience. Hyperbolic sounds are used to over exaggerate certain situations, for example a babies laugh, this can be deemed as creepy.
Camera & Effects: Many different angles and shots are used in the making of horror films. Extreme Close Ups can be used to denote fear of a certain character, weakness or confusion. Whereas, Canted shots connote sickness and again confusions to where they are or what they are doing.
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