1. Testing Burton’s Formula
Burton suggested a specific formula that is used in all genres of film (a type or category
of a film). He said all genres have a portfolio of elements from which they are composed.
The right balance of repetition and variation are vital to the success of the movie. People
don't want to watch movies that look the same as others but it is normal not to vary the
movie to much as it has established success in the way it does it and has proven success.
The common elements.
I have got a plot synopsis from some different films and labelled them according to the
colour code below. I am then going to compare them to see if Burton’s formula is correct
and if they do all repeat the success elements.
Stock Characters/Protagonists
Iconography
Themes
Stock setting/plot

2. Wilson is Laura’s father. From reading this
Laura appears to be the Laura automatically appears more
protagonist in this film. She vulnerable as she is with her father. Wilson
is the main character. She is appears to be the masculine character that
the good could try and protect Laura.
looking, courageous woman
that Burton describes.
Laura and her father Wilson settle down in a An upper floor connotes
remote cottage they have to renew since its an old big house which is
I highlighted the cottage as a typical in horror. It
stock setting as the owner will soon put the house up for sale. assumes to the audience
remoteness and secluded They spend the night there and intend to the house is old and
cottage could connote suggests haunted to
danger and is typical repair the following morning. Everything them.
amongst horror films. seems to go smoothly until Laura hears a
Here we see a typical stock
I also highlighted it as
sound that comes from outside and gets plot of someone going to
iconography. This was this louder and louder on the upper floor of the investigate on their own and
location is typical visual not coming back. This is
iconography for horror as it
house. Wilson goes up to see what is going on common in horrors.
provides a perfect situation for and gets stabbed. When she tries to flee
danger and connotes darkness.
unharmed, she finds Néstor driving on the
lonely secondary road and she tells that there I highlighted secrets as a
I highlighted night under theme. Secrets can
theme because it is a stranger in the house. Néstor forces Laura create danger and create
represents night vs day. to return to the house with him and he is also an ongoing secrecy film
Light vs dark. It tries to throughout the film
emphasize that the stabbed. The house hides an obscure secret. which the audience may
darkness causes danger not find out until the end.
and the rise of the This can be a reason to
supernatural and anxiety. The lonely and secluded surroundings are make them want to
important to the horror genre in creating watch the whole film.
I also highlighted it as visual iconography because
darkness and suspense and making the
it is typical for horror films to have dark
characters trapped and secluded.
surroundings and themes in order to build
tension and suspense within the audience.

3. I highlighted this under two headings. The red highlighting shows the protagonists.
The first was stock setting because a These are the two main characters. The fact
typical setting in horror genres is a that they have moved to the new location
potentially haunted house. They are emphasizes that they are unsure and unaware
typically secluded. This and therefore vulnerable.
Is why I also highlighted as visual
iconography. It is typical and connotes A haunted house makes no secret of the fact it's not
the horror genre automatically.
pleased with its new tenants in this independent tale
of supernatural horror. Katie and Micah are a twenty The blue highlights the
something couple who've just moved into a new themes. Levi Strauss
talked about the binary
home in San Diego, CA. Katie has an interest in the
oppositions
paranormal and believes that malevolent spirits have represented for themes.
been following her since childhood, though Micah is The one appearing
throughout this
not so easily convinced. However, after several
synopsis appears to be
The researcher not being able nights of loud noises and strange happenings, Micah the supernatural vs.
to help the couple is a typical starts to agree with Katie that some sort of ghost human and whether the
situation where the couple supernatural is real vs.
can gain no help and are left
may have followed them to the new home. After a
not real.
alone and vulnerable. This paranormal researcher tells the couple he can't help
connotes the themes through them, Micah decides to take control of the situation
horror of vulnerability and
secludedness.
and sets up a battery of video cameras so that if a
spirit manifests itself, he can capture its behaviour on
tape. Once the surveillance cameras are in
place, Katie and Micah bring in a Ouija board in an
effort to talk to the spirits, a move that deeply
offends the ghosts.
The ouija board is visual iconography of horror. It
connotes the spirituality and ghost hunting, which
create the tense scary atmosphere for the horror
which make it scary for the audience. It presents the
supernatural vs. human themes throughout.

4. The box is visual iconography in horror The Hebrew inscription again is typical of horror
as it connotes the mystery of what may movie as it creates the suspense of being foreign
be inside. It creates tension and to most people and archake.
suspense about the box. It also presents the theme of religion again.
We see Em as the
protagonist in this The possession is a horror film based on the allegedly
movie. Although not haunted Dybbuk box. After purchasing an old box with
the beautiful woman
the Burton talks about a Hebrew inscription engraved on it at a yard sale, a
instead she is typically young girl, Em, is obsessed with opening it, although
a young vulnerable girl
that needs protection her father says it appears to have been designed not
from others. to open. Em begins to exhibit bizarre and violent
behaviour. Since her parents recently divorced and
she moved into the secluded country her initial
actions go without much notice, but Em's behaviour
soon becomes more and more extreme. Fearing for
their daughter, Clyde and Stephanie Brenek make
various attempts – from brain scans to consulting
rabbis – to discover what the supernatural force
This film again
behind the box is, what it wants, and how to keep it proposes the
The rabbis creates a
religious theme. It
from destroying Em. theme of the
supernatural vs.
questions and proposes
the human and
the importance of religion
proposes the
in this film.
question to the
audience about
whether they
believe in the
supernatural.

5. The asylum proposes the theme of
The abandonedness of the location is religion.
typical for horror films as it heightens
the tension as it creates vulnerable
characters.
An asbestos abatement crew wins the bid
for an abandoned insane asylum. What There appears to be a
main protagonist which
should be a straightforward, if rather is Hank. We imagine him
rushed, job, is complicated by the personal as a muscley, masculine
hunk seen as he is the
histories of the crew. In particular, Hank is only one that is
dating Phil's old girlfriend, and Gordon's mentioned with a
girlfriend.
new baby seems to be unnerving him more
than should be expected. Things get more
complicated as would-be lawyer Mike plays
The multiple personalities could create the tapes from a former patient with
the theme of reality vs. surreal. The
man with multiple personalities could multiple personalities, including the
represent the real world reality but also mysterious Simon who does not appear
the surreal through the other
personalities. This emphasizes the until Session 9, and as Hank disappears after
horror genre as the events in finding some old coins. The visual iconography of old coins
psychological horror can be real or fake can create an archake look which
(surreal or real). may be unknown to the audience
therefore it will create suspense
and mystery. Also, the everyday
item of coins heightens the tension
as the audience are aware that the
coins have negative attachments
but are not sure what they are.

6. Does Burton’s theory work?
In looking at conventional elements of psychological horror plot summaries there are a number of commonalities for the horror genre. This
proves Burton’s theopry of reputation in order to make known successful films but variation to make every film different.
A balance of reputation and variation is important to make a successful film as in my opinion films have a success criteria that make people
watch them. This is due to the gratifications that they provide. The audience want to be gratified and if they are not they will not watch the film.
This is also due to Todorov’s theory which enables all films to have a clear structure which works. But it is lastly also because of Burton’s
acclaimed formula for success. However, I think it is extremely important too to vary a films plot and main themes and character profiles as
otherwise each film would be the same. Audiences want to be comfortable watching a film with some similarities however if they feel the film is
too similar to another one they will get bored and simply not recommend it and the audience for a film are one of the marketers as they spread
the word to others about whether a film is good or not. However, the variation within the film has to be fairly limited to get the success needed.
In my exploration I looked at the plot summaries of some psychological horror films. I noticed the formula and conventional elements that
obviously acclaim success for these films and are varied but to an extent.
I found that when looking at the characters in each synopsis there was a clear protagonist. The main hero/character in ¾ in the plot I chose were
women. I think this emphasizes the stereotype that women are more scared of small events that may happen in psychological horrors e.g.
footsteps, things moving and therefore they would be a more vulnerable protagonist whilst the male would try and investigate. We see the man
go and investigate in ¾ films again, whilst the woman stays safe.
In the films I analysed I looked for visual iconography. It was common to see secluded and lonely roads and environments where they were set
amongst all the plots. In most of the plots we see an object that the film is based around or very important to the film. E.g. The box that holds
the power. The video camera that records all. E.g. The Ouija board etc...
Whilst doing this task I realised the importance and relevance that ongoing themes have when running through films. We commonly see themes
in psychological horror of light(day) vs. dark(night) and the supernatural vs. human. These are important for psychological horrors as they
promote internal themes that help to scare the audience and make it more realistic.
Stock settings are very typical within horror films. We normally see the environment as secluded and lonely and this connotes the danger that
may occur. The stock plots are also very similar we normally see in psychological horrors the mention of the supernatural and spiritual objects
normally connote danger.
In my exploration I can see that all of the elements are important and without them the horror genre would vary too much. We can see these
elements repeated throughout however we do see variations between the different plots. This will help me when creating my horror trailer as I
will stick to Burton’s guidelines as I think I have shown they are the key to success however I will ensure not to repeat other films and rather vary
their ideas to make my plot unique.