SUB-GENRES OF HORROR

THE SLASHERSlasher horror films usually involve a masked killer on a brutal rampage.

The killer usually uses a weapon such as a knife, chainsaw or an axe to kill their victims.For example, in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the killer uses chainsaw. The victims are usually a group of teenagers

away from parental supervision and usually up to no good. Those who get killed are usually sexually active and typical sarcastic teenagers,

who do not take school seriously and always cause trouble. The Scream films are great conventional examples of Slaher horrors.

Characters range from: cheerleaders, prom queen/kings, the nerdy kid and there is usually a ‘final girl’ who is sensible and refuses to

take part in any sexual or illegal activities. This girl survives until the end and destroys the killer thus putting a stop to the carnage. Laurie Strode from Halloween is a perfect example of a Final Girl. The killers in Slasher films are often large and masked and it is implied that they are usually male with a burst of masculinity. The character of Michael Myres in Halloween is a perfect example of a killer in a slasher horror.

Slasher films usually take place in a school/college, summer camp (Friday the 13th), or a suburban area.

SUPERNATURAL Supernatural films normally feature a type of spirit which antagonises

and haunts its victims throughout the film. This type of horror film is usually set in the victim’s house or a place which is linked to the main character. Main characters are usually seen as ‘normal’ but with some kind of troubled past Katie in Paranormal Activity is an example. Those who are possessed are usually a young, innocent,

pure female, for example Emily in The Possession and Regan in The Exorcist. It is a common convention that throughout the film, doors creak, there are unknown noises and unexplained shadows. In The

Amityville Horror for example, we see shadows when nobody is there during the scene when the family view the house and often gusts of

wind and objects are thrown around the house, especially during exorcisms. Another common convention is the appearance of the

paranormal spirit in the reflection of a mirror along side the tormented character as she/he gazes into it. For example, in the film Mirrors unbeknown to them, their reflection watches them as they

move around the room.

SUPERNATURAL (continued) Currently, the most popular type of supernatural horror is

possession. This involves a human body being taken over by a demonic force. When the demon is at large the person

(usually a woman or girl) who is possessed is able to perform bodily contortions, levitate themselves, speak in a loud,

deep voice and even in foreign languages such as Latin or Hebrew or they may even vomit disgusting things. In The

Possession for example Emily throws up insects. The use of orchestral music and contrapuntal sound is used in

possession films, especially when frightening moments are about to happen. Supernatural films conventionally include jumpy moments throughout. Another common convention is that a specialist comes to help but the evil force is always too strong and it is always something they’ve “never come

across before” (The Conjuring)

GOTHIC Gothic horror movies tend to feature monsters and mythical creatures such

as vampires and they are usually set in the past in a mythical place that audiences wouldn’t normally inhabit (i.e. a castle in a far away land). They

were the first type of horror movie and were extremely popular in the early 20’s and 30’s. There is usually an atmosphere of doom and gloom in gothic horror movies and rooms such as dungeons and torture chambers

are where the action takes place, alongside grave yards, forests and misty environments. For example, Dracula is based in darkest Transylvania , and

is set in a castle for the duration of the film. Low key lighting is often used, it is often dark as audiences fear the unknown The Woman In Black

is an example of this as it uses low key lighting throughout and even during daytime scenes it remains gloomy and foggy. In gothic horrors, the

heroine/hero is in some kind of danger or the main character is transformed or created. In Frankenstein we see Frankenstein being

created by the professor. Sleepy Hollow is a classic example of a gothic horror, as it involves mystical characters such as a headless horseman and

it is set in a far away mist-shrouded land.

PSYCHOLGICAL A psychological horror movie uses the characters fears and their emotional

insecurity in order to build tension for the audience. Psychological horrors tend to focus more on what is going on in the main characters mind to

scare viewers rather than showing gore or a ghostly presence. In this sub-genre of horror the audience is presented with characters who seem

normal on the surface but internally they are psychologically disturbed, just like Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs or Norman Bates in Psycho. In psychological horrors weapons are rarely used; the terror

comes from the twisted nature of the characters’ minds and what their psychopathic natures are capable of making them do. We do see killings in

this sub-genre as they are so warped that they can be violent and murderous. Normal everyday props can become scary and sinister such as Danny’s tricycle in The Shining, the bicycle becomes a symbol of scariness

within the film. Whenever we see him ride it, this acts as a prelude to something terrifying happening thus putting the audience on edge.

Flashbacks/nightmares are also a common convention of psychological horrors, in The Uninvited we see Anna have frequent nightmares about

the night her mother died in a fire.

Our sub genre-Psychological For the promotional package, my group has chosen psychological

horror as the sub-genre we will focus on. There are many reasons as to why we collectively decided to focus on this sub-genre, but overall we feel it has less restrictions and therefore our work is likely to look much more professional. For example, with sub-genres like slasher and gothic horror, there are many strict

conventions to follow in order for the movie to be of that sub-genre. However, from watching various different horror movies and trailers, we discovered that psychological horrors can differ

extremely when it comes to elements such as mise-en-scene, narrative and location. For example, Gothika and The Shining are both psychological horrors; Gothika features a woman who is so

psychologically ill that she is unaware that she has killed her own husband whereas The Shining is based on a man who is driven to the brink of insanity and ends up trying to kill his family. They are

both of the same sub-genre yet have extremely different narratives.

Our sub genre-Psychological (continued)

Slasher movies on the other hand, tend to feature similar narratives for every film (teenagers are chased by a masked killer and are killed in

a graphic manner). For example, Halloween and Scream are both slasher and feature similar storylines (Michael Myers chases Laurie

Strode in Halloween, whilst Ghostface chases Sidney Prescott throughout Scream). Therefore my group and I felt if we chose

psychological to be our sub-genre, we would be able to be more creative and original when it came to our narrative. We also chose

psychological as there is not many psychological horrors out today – Posession and Supernatural movies tend to be more common.

Therefore we wanted to create a trailer which is refreshing and different; as shown by The Silence of the Lambs and American

Psycho. When a psychological horror is executed properly, it becomes a cinematic classic. We wanted ours to do so too, and believe we will be able to create a fresh, original and intellectual idea for a horror

movie which, in time, would become a cinematic classic too.