Genre ResearchGenres have specific characteristic features that are recognised by audiences. A genre sets up expectations for the audience.

Forms and conventions of the horror genre

There are several things that are expected from each genre. The horror genre aims to create a sense of fear so the audience. Horror movies usually feature focus on a dark or evil person, force or event.

The horror genre can often overlap with Thriller, Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres.

Themes in the horror genre

As the aim of a horror is to scare and thrill the audience, the genre some of the typical themes of horrors include:

Haunting Murders Revenge Demons or Ghosts Religion Evil Insanity Good Vs. Evil

Narratives in the horror genre Horror movies usually focus on problems that the main

characters face. There is usually an evil character or spirit that causes the issues and then a heroic, brave character.

The hero is usually the character that survives at the end of the movie or is the one to defeat the ‘evil’ character.

The stereotypical narrative of a horror movie is that the main group of characters are friends, all teens and they will be killed or haunted one-by-one and then the ‘hero’ is left to survive. There is also one character who is scared more than the others and they are, usually, the first to die.

Settings in the horror genre

The setting of horror movies is stereotypically a remote village, or abandoned home.

The settings are usually dark and mysterious. Graveyards, cabins, forests and woods etc. are

stereotypical to the horror genre. American, family neighbourhoods

Characters in the horror genre

Protagonist – hero Villain – evil person/spirit Teens Possessed children The worrying parents of said children Demons/zombies/ghosts Murderers Stalkers

Examples of these conventions: Insidious

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1YbOMDI59k

Insidious sees a child become possessed and his parents try to solve what is wrong with him. He attracts spirits and the house becomes haunted.

Characters

The characters in Insidious follow conventions of one of the stereotypical horror movies: there is a possessed child and concerned parents.

The child then attracts demons to the house and the parents are unsuspecting of these, as seen in the picture below. This plays on the viewers fear and adds to the sense of surprise.

Setting

There is one shot of outside the family home showing the sun shining and it looking ‘normal’.

However the majority of the shots inside the home are dark and mysterious showing that the house has a dark secret, leaving the audience wanting to watch the movie to find out what happens. There are mysterious figures and shadows shown around the house showing it’s haunted too.

Fear

The trailer plays on the viewers fear showing mysterious people, demons and strange figures within the house.

One scene shows the hospital bed which previously had the child in covered in bloody handprints intriguing the audience to find out how this happened.

Examples of these conventions: The Woman In Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYMUnJGURI

The movie was based on a novella by Susan Hill. The movie is set in the Edwardian era and sees a small village haunted by a ghostly ‘woman in black’.

Characters

The main character, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is told to sell the house. He is the Protagonist.

The three little girls mysteriously jump out of a window and fall to their death and are then ghosts, seen in the woods etc.

The ‘woman in black’ haunts the house and is the main threat and instigates fear.

Setting

The house that the main scary happenings go on is abandoned and in a very remote area, this is very typical of a horror movie. Derelict buildings are generally scary and thought to be haunted.

The shots inside the house are very dark and gloomy.

The weather is very mysterious and foggy.

All of this creates a sense of uncertainty and mystery for the viewer.

Fear

The trailer shows mysterious figures and ghostly children, playing on the audiences fear.

It is ‘jumpy’ and surprising in the way that non diagetic music and screams accompany scary scenes to scare the viewer and leave them in suspense.