Horror Genre

A brief overview of the

highest grossing genre in

film.

Locations

• Horror film locations are usually in

abandoned, isolated buildings.

• The purpose of this is to create

tense scenes throughout the film.

• By the location being isolated from

the rest of the world, this makes the

film more tense as it means that the

character has no means of getting

help.

Locations

• Another example of a typical location is a

forest.

• Forests are usually far away from

civilisation and children are told in nursery

rhymes and books the possible dangers of

going into the woods.

• Horror film makers use forests to create

the scares, which are already within us.

• Examples of film that use forests include

the Blair Witch Project.

Audience Reactions

• Horror films need to make their audience

feel scared or make something memorable

– this is vital.

• Producers use examples of fears in order

to deliver the best possible scares. These

can include:

a. Arachnophobia (Fear of Spiders)

b. Fear of Infections

c. Fear of Thunder

d. Fear of the Dark

Horror Film Successes

• If a horror film is able to scare it’s

audiences and achieves something never

seen before, it usually is a substantial box

office success.

• Some of the films that have experienced

this success include:

1. Paranormal Activity

2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) ($140.5

million)

3. The Exorcist (1973) ($232.9 million)

4. Jaws (1975) ($260 Million)

5. The Sixth Sense (1999) ($293.5 million)