My Film- Genre Conventions

By Georgia Edwards

GenreMy film will consist of two genres. The genres of my film posters will have an element of romance however, mainly horror. The basic storyline of my film is two people who fall in love unexpectedly and after 12 months of dating they decide to move in together with the females sister until they can get a home of their own. Soon after moving into an unusual home, the couple become disturbed by what appears to be supernatural presence. Not long after moving in, the sister starts acting odd, speaking weirdly and talking about frightening events, the worried couple result in seeking medical help. The movie will be mainly based on the couple trying to find out what may be causing the supernatural presence and finding out what is happening to the females sister. The film links to the genre romance as it consists of two teenagers falling in love. It also links with the genre horror as there is supernatural presence.

Conventions- Eerie musicIn the horror film, the audience will expect to hear eerie music along with the events and unusual things that occur in the film. The shrieking noises, unpleasant-sounding cords, sudden high notes combine to make the audience nervous and on edge. The eerie music fits well with the events that occur in the film as the genre horror tends to be daunting and frightening. Eerie music creates disturbing sounds to our ears and tension. An example of this is, in a scene where somebody is about to be hurt or frightened, the music may suddenly become louder to grab the audiences attention and build suspense. Also making the audience feel something is about the happen, and to scare you. Therefore, joyful music would not be used in a horror film due to the fact that it would go against the aim of this genre.

LightingIn a horror film, the audience will expect to be frightened with jumpy scenes or things popping up in mirrors etc. These scenes sometimes begin to frighten the audience with the use of lighting. For example, if there is candles and they start to flicker. This gives the immediate hint that something is about to occur or appear. Horror films have iconography such as ghostly symbols, dark rooms and places, and weird things happening. The use of dark lighting is to build suspense and scare the audience. Low level lighting is very often used in horror’s to create a creepy, mysterious atmosphere, as darkness is usually associated with evil. Darkness also makes people feel more threatened as they are unable to see as much and people fear the unseen and unknown. A director would not use bright lighting in a horror film as it goes against the aim of this genre.

DeathThere is usually an element involving death. For example, a murder, a ghost presence, living dead(vampires, zombies etc.), dead body shown. There is often a monster/evil that the main characters have to face. In horror films there tends to be shocking and fearful events that regularly result in death. Horror films usually create tension leading up to killings and death scenes. This clearly shows us that death is a key convention for this genre.

WeaponsIn horror films, weapons are sometimes used and the main draw to a horror is usually how they manage to kill people within the film. It is often expected that they are either used in defence or harming people. Horror’s normally contain a lot of violence and unpleasant/disturbing sights, therefore weapons are used as they are associated with violence, which leads on to terror and fear of weapons. The aim of a horror film is to frighten the audience. Therefore weapons are a key convention for this specific genre.

Running In horror films, characters tend to be seen running a lot, either away from the evil or to protect themselves. This sets anticipation and an excitement element towards the audience and the film as running creates suspense and tension, making the audience wonder what may happen next. Also, resulting in keeping the viewer gripped to the movie. Running is common within a horror movie and usually followed by some loud, scary music. The audience expect running because the audience are aware that soon in the film, the evil will be after the characters and its likely that they will try to escape by running to safety.