Horror Conventions

The Setting

Isolation DarknessAbandoned trapped Remoteness

Examples; Graveyard, alleyways, old houses, barns, woods, lakes..

Technical Codes

Camera shots/ angles:High angle, low angle, point

of view, close up, extreme close up, over the shoulder.

Shots to show the emotion of the victims as well as show the dominance of the villain or hero.

Editing:Fast editing creating

suspense, Tension is also created by using a pause making the audience know something is about to happen.

Technical Codes

Sounds: Silence is used mostly to

create suspense until a loud or obscure nice breaks the silence.

Technical Codes

Iconography

Visual Image:Black or red colours used to

show darkness or blood. Lighting:Dark or non- naturalistic

light. Low- key lighting. Props: Weapons, cars, costumes.

Film can be left on a cliff hanger however most movies end with the villain being defeated.

Hero protagonist or a “final” girl. Hero has to either kill, rescue or solve problems.

Villain is shown to have either psychological or mental heath.

Narrative Structure

Character types

HeroVillainTeenagers Possessed childPolice officersImmortal characters e.g.

vampires, demons, ghosts, werewolf.

themes

Good vs evilRevenge Childhood issuesInsanityEnvyScience experiments