The document discusses various codes and conventions of the horror genre. It outlines that horror films aim to unsettle audiences and cause fear through darkness, discomforting situations, and disturbing themes. It also describes common horror subgenres like psychological, supernatural, and zombie horror. Additionally, it notes stereotypes frequently seen in horror films, like deaths in the past affecting the present, females or children as victims, and males rescuing them. Locations are often isolated houses or woods to make characters feel vulnerable. Typical camera shots and music are also discussed, as well as common character archetypes like villains and victims. Finally, it examines common props and how theories like Todorov's equilibrium and Propp's narrative roles apply to horror
2. Their aims is to unsettle the audience in
a way it will entice them and continue to
watch the film/show.
Horror films cause fear, shock and
entertains audiences in a daunting and
jittering fashion.
Horror Films
3. In horror films, the themes circulate around
darkness mostly; about discomforting and
alarming situations.
Some themes are gothic, gore and supernatural
etc.
Themes
4. Horror Sub genre include psychological horror,
comedy horror, supernatural horror, zombie
horror and gothic horror.
Psychological horror is films such as
‘Paranormal activity’, Supernatural films are
‘The Conjuring’ and ‘Annabelle’.
Zombie horror are shows too like ‘Walking
Dead’.
Sub-Genre
5. The stereotypes in all horror films would be
deaths happened in the past, most historical
events that links to the future and the person
that’s either haunting or trying to kill them.
Many films always have either children or
females affected by the unknown horror, and
naturally there will be a male to save the day.
Stereotypes of Horror
films
6. In horror films, they’re stereotypically located
in a isolated big house, to make the characters
to feel more vulnerable. For example in movies
like ‘Insidious’ and ‘Sinister’.
They’re also located near the woods, to make
people feel powerless.
Locations
7. Many camera shots are used when shooting horror film,
but the most typical ones include:
Close-Up shots – this is used frequently so that the
audience can see the characters face and emotions and see
their reactions, to entice the audience of what horror
could come next to what they’ve seen
Long shot – typically in supernatural horrors they use
these to show the unknowns appearance, for example in
‘Lights Out’, they used a long shot of ‘Diane’ to make the
audience alarmed and shocked by her appearance.
Reverse shot – these are seen in movies like supernatural
to show flashbacks of the past, to explain to the audience
why this is happening, this occurred in the movies ‘Mama’
and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’.
Camera editing
8. They either have asynchronous or synchronous
music
In supernatural films, they have children
singing lullabies and asynchronous to the film,
making the film more creepy
In other films they’re synchronous, there are
mostly falsetto piano playing when a
paranormal person comes through, like in
‘Insidious 2’.
Music
9. The villains in supernatural or paranormal films like
in ‘Insidious’ they normally want to posses humans
to live a human life again.
The villains are sometimes a mental patient and
they’re made as an outcast
There are always an All American family with the
white picket fences with 2.5 children who are always
affected with lots of secrets and some stereotypically
white, for example the family in ‘The Purge’.
Villains also play characters that are ghosts,
zombies, witches, clowns.
Characters
10. Props in horror films depends on what sub genre it is, for
example; a wooden Christ sign would be in supernatural films
that involve possession etc.
However despite the sub-genres of horror films, they do use
the same props, for examples they always have a weapon. In a
Vampire film it would be a stake. The more dangerous the
weapon is the more that audience will be frightened
In supernatural films such as ‘The Conjuring’ they had old
fashioned dolls, named ‘Annabelle’, to freak audiences,
making something once associated with comfort into horror
Masks are used in a lot of films, to cover the antagonist true
identity. It entices viewer to know what they look like and
who they are, in shows like ‘Scream’ audiences were
entertained by the mask and tying to figure who was the
masked figure killing people, making them suspect anyone.
Most horror films use masks like ‘Friday the 13th’.
Props
11. Todorov’s theory of Equilibrium is used in some horror films
that aren’t continued into Sequels. His idea was there was an
equilibrium -> disequilibrium -> new equilibrium. This is
seen in the films where we see a family moving in a house
until something comes disrupt them and they try to solve it.
This was seen in the films ‘Mama’ where the couples lives
were uprooted to be a family so young taking care of the
brother missing kids and having a ghost following them and
trying to take the kids back. In the end the new equilibrium
was defeating the ghost in the end.
Propp's Narrative Theory applies to some horror films, the
character roles are seen where the Hero is the protagonist,
the Villain is the antagonist and the Princess is the
female/victim under attack needing rescuing. In the film
‘Lights Out’, although the daughter was seen to be the
protagonist in the end she was seen to be a Princess as the
Hero – her boyfriends saved her by calling the police.
Theories
