Horror Genre

    Genre: Horror


Genre Convention:
      The horror genre is meant to bring a sense of fear and terror to the minds of the audience. Usually, the target audience of these films is teenagers, as they have more of an ability of relating to the films. Watching horror movies gives viewers a sense of suspense and worry, which in turn makes theses movies fun and exciting. Most horror films incorporate paranormal activity, monsters, or at least some sort of evil. Directors seek to make these films as realistic so possible. Doing so gives the viewers a greater scare as they may see the film as something that has a potential of occurring.

 Genre Conventions-Content:
   Many different techniques can be utilized in these films. All the techniques have a purpose of creating fear and discomfort in the minds of the audience. Shadows are heavily used during horror films. The shadows create a sense of  urgency and mystery. Another key aspect to these films is the use of dark colors. These dark colors create a sinister and evil feeling. While using shadows, directors have a chance of showing the evil side of things. The shadows work to show that there is two sides to everything. Colors are a main key point to films in this genre. The main colors used are black and red. Red tends to stand for blood and danger, while black can signal evil or death.

Genre Conventions-Production Techniques:
   A key technique used in almost every horror film is the jump scare. This technique is crucial to the films. It makes vieweras jump off their seats in horror. It attaches them more to the film as they are so caprtured by what is going on and occurring. Another key factor is what the antagonists in the films look like. To further explain, if the, let’s say monster, of the film does not look realistic, then it won't serve its purpose in the film. Characters must be designed very carefully and accurately, in order to bring more fear to the viewers. One of the most important aspects to a horror film, however, is sound. Sound and soundtrack is absolutely crucial to the film. Sounds must sound realistic to the event, hence causing more fear in the eyes of the viewers.

Sample #1:
   “The Nun” is a perfect example that embodies these characteristics and becomes a great film. Colors are crucial to this film. For example, dark colors and shadows are frequently brought into the film. Whenever there is an outside scene in the film, shadows are clearly visible. A couple of jump scares occur throughout the film. These jump scare frighten the audience but, in a way, attach the viewers to the film even more. The antagonist is shown in two different ways during the film. At times, she is wearing all black, however, a slight of white is at times shown. When she is in all black, she is mean and evil. On the other hand, she is a tad bit nicer when the white is visible. The director used colors to show and create more meaning throughout the film.


Sample #2:
 The film “It” is another great example of a typical horror genre film. The clown in the film is shown with amazing makeup. The clown looks incredibly realistic and scary and this helps improve the film in many ways. Jump dares are of course crucial to the film. Most of the jump scares in the film occur in a dark scene. This helps in many ways. It is already scary and mysterious as everything is dark, but the jump scares help to further bring in the viewers. Real light is utilized when the film is outside. This helps create as sense of reality and relatibilty.

Other examples:

Sinister:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKpcluyqGI&t=2s

Insidious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGT87k_CVJ0

The Ring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpb2-ZOzc_o

Saw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CAQ0iZKP08

A Tale Of Two Sisters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEffTArhTFM