Codes/Conventions of Horror genre

What are horror films? 

Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears. 

Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear itself, without actually being in danger. It's very much like playing a video game even though the graphics look real you know it's just a game, so even if you die you don't.

Fig. 1 Isolated town.

Location:

The location of the horror genre is also key with it usually taking place small communities or isolated places. Urban environments, dark streets and narrow alleyways. Large cities or run down ghost towns. Anything that connotes isolation or being alone. More often than not places with “dark” history, like abandoned houses, hotels and insane asylums.

Fig. 2 Insane asylum.

Technical codes:

Fig.3 Screenshot of POV shot from the film Afflicted.

In the horror genre camerawork tends to be extreme and impressive, it pushes the boundaries in camera work to make it seem that much more frightening. Through extreme high and low angles which mimic someone watching this connotes fear; nightmares in the audience. POV shots are important because they allow the audience to see the world from the monster’s eye. This happens roughly at the end or in the middle of typical horror film as the audience is now familiar with the monster or understands why the protagonist has to run as well as building tension in the viewer. Sometimes framework uses the depth of field, makes it harder to see the monster creeping up behind the protagonist.

As well as disturbing sounds which are often followed by dark shots where not much is seen allow for the sounds of the film to take over. Such as ambient digetic sounds like screaming or non-digetic sounds like a heartbeat or a monologue. Editing allows for the filmmaker to add and build tension when he needs to for example using a lot of cutaways followed by a black screen almost hides what goes on next this only makes the viewer want to know what is happening. If  editing hasn’t been paced up in a while then the audience can guess that something very bad is about to jump out; scare them.


Iconography/Mis-en-scene:

Dark colours usually seem to run throughout horror films, symbolising blood, death and gore. As well as extremes of lighting lighting tends to be non-naturalistic. Low key lighting is often used as dark is often associated with fear and unknown. With use of specific props which can easily identify characters and villains such as Chainsaws, Machetes, Knife, Claw Gauntlets, Costumes, Firearms etc. With the weather being reflective of the plot or story-line with rain, storms and lighting normally accompanied with death or something bad happening.

Narrative Structure:

The classic narrative structure largely used in Horror genre is either be the film ends with closure or leaves room for sequel and thus enable a franchise (Like Friday the 13th, Halloween and Final Destination).

Character types:

Fig. 4 Female victim

Female victim: they are portrayed as being vulnerable and in need of protection. Usually young and attractive, helping to appeal to a wider male audience. She is often portrayed to be stupid and annoying, one of the only characters the audience sometimes will to be killed, although she usually is not the first to die. She usually dies in a very gruesome way. Character is used to build suspense as her reactions to minor things are often very dramatic putting other characters on edge. 

Hero: usually a male he tends to be the brave character that goes after the murderer, often never returning. More often than not these characters tend to show little emotion. 

Fig. 5 The non-believer

Non-believer: usually male too but can be either, usually killed first and this in turn sparks mass killing of the others. This character could be looked at as the voice of reason usually believes there is logic reasoning for things. When the character is killed the audience start to panic. Sense of security gone, no one is safe.

Fig. 6 Evil character (Michael Myers from Halloween)

Evil Character: can take many forms; serial killer, demonic possession, ghost, monster etc. If human they will often wear a mask to disguise their identity this also allows the audience to not become emotionally attached to them. They will never react in a normal way to injuries; if they were to be stabbed, they usually manage to get back up again unharmed, hinting towards the idea of them being inhuman. This character obviously has the biggest impact on the audience and strikes fear into them. They are what the suspension throughout the film and all other codes and conventions have been building up to, in some ways the most important character.