2.1 - The Horror Genre

The Horror Genre

A Horror movies main goal is to fright the target audience by toying with their fears. Gothic, Supernatural and reoccurring themes in the genre, used in The Exorcist (1973). Plots in Horror movies usually surround the general viewer’s fears, an evil force or some kind, a tragic event or a supernatural entity entering the world. Prime examples for a generic Horror movie are; Ghosts, Aliens, Zombies, Witches, Serial Killers. The first creation of a Horror movie is Le Manoir du Diable (The Haunted Castle) in late 1980s, a silent movie in which encounters with the Devil and other ghostly phantoms. Criticised because its intentions were to create a humours movie, but it’s dark Gothic themes turned it into what is called the first Horror movie. As movies started to adding speech into their movies, Universal Pictures started off their early versions of Horror film series. Dracula (1931) by Tod Browning, Frankenstein (1932) by James Whales, both using Boris Karloff as their iconic monsters. Frankenstein was the only one in the series to generate sequels/spin-offs such as; Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Another early iconic horror movie was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). This particular movie pulled the genre away from the strict Gothic tone directors had stuck to in the past.

 Examples of iconic Horror movies:

Saw – A psychopath has two men trapped in a room, set on teaching them the true meaning of life through his twisted games. The horrific traps are full of explicit gore and violence, crafted to make the audience uncomfortable and full of fear. (Embed a scene from movie with trap)

A Nightmare on Elm Street – An evil being for a distant world enters the everyday world and targets on a group of kids, killing them through their nightmares. Using nightmares as the tool of which the villain kills the characters is very effective because it’s as though it could happen to the audience. (Embed scene in which Freddy enters a characters dream)

There are many sub-genres of Horror, such as; Comedy-Horror, Teen-Horror, Slasher, Zombie Horror. Since the birth of Horror movies, many directors have attempted to pull away from the typical Gothic scene, one monster and dark tones. Over time however, new generations of directors have tried to diversify and revamp the genre. Shaun of the Dead (2004)is classed as the greatest Comedy-Horror to date, as it also incorporates themes of Romance and also Zombie Horror, a huge leap from where the conventions started.

Conventions -
Isolated places, such as a ghost town or a dark tunnel are very typical settings for Horror movies. Showing off the isolated area creates the feeling of the character being alone with no help; usual doomed to suffer at the hands of the monster in the movie. Distant planets away from Earth are a popular setting for the Predator movies. The psychological feeling of not being on Earth and being in a completely different world is effective to stay with the audience and to essentially mess with their minds. Low angles in a Horror movie can project the power of a character in the scene, usually the monster, and a high angle shot can show how vulnerable and helpless the victim is. Handheld shots have become increasingly popular to use as of the movie Cloverfield. This shot puts the audience in the moment of the scene and in the movie and becomes a character among what is happening. Traditionally, iconic monsters were used to create fear among the audience, Werewolves, Vampires, and Mummies etc. Satanic symbols can be used to connote a strange entity being the source of fear and terror, also the mystery behind the mythology and history of the gods and goddesses can be an easy way to create an atmosphere unknown horror. The characters used within Horror movies are always very similar, as though it’s a strict code:

•       The Main Protagonist – Often the Hero/Victim of the movie.
• The Villain – Usually a disfigured monster, a social freak or Murderer
•  Annoying characters – Usually the first few to die
• Token Black guy – Often the first to die while trying to fight the Villa
• Damsel in Distress – Has to be saved by the Protagonist
• Some sort of authority – Either believes the main characters or doesn’t. Sometimes has an encounter with the Villain and dies.