Conventions of the Horror Genre

Genre and its ConventionsGenre is important for audiences because it allows them to already know what the film will be abut as they will already know the typical conventions that are associated with the particular genre. As they know what to expect from the film they will know if they want to watch it and spend money going to the cinema to watch it because they will recognize what film they are getting. Genre is equally important for institutions because it means that marketing is mush easier. The institutions can will have a formula on how to market a film successfully and because they know the genre of the film they will know who to market the film at.

Audiences enjoy the pleasure they get from watching particular genres of film and like to know what might happen during the film. Recognizing familiar conventions in films allow the audiences to make predictions about the characters and the narrative of the film.

The typical conventions of each genre are different but are all centered around narrative, locations and characters. These are known as the fixed elements in the genre that will be repeated in the films of that genre.

Fixed Elements of Genres Western

Narrative: A town is being persecuted by an antagonist or a group of antagonists a lone

cowboy saves the day.Location: desert / town

Characters: protagonist and antagonist

RomanceNarrative: a man and woman fall in love,

something prevents them from being together but they end up together in the end.

Location: recognizable places of everyday lifeCharacters: man and woman – usually young

adults or teens

Horror Narrative: a group of people being persecuted by

an antagonist.Location: either isolated, abandoned house or

everyday townCharacters: group of teens, predominantly male

and the final girl

ActionNarrative: hero has a mission to save the day,

hero and a villainLocation: recognizable places, many locations Characters: protagonist and antagonist (male),

possibly a love interest involved (female)

Posters include IconographyPosters for films will include the iconography of the genres of the film. This means that the audiences can see the poster and see what is featured on it and will instantly know what genre the film is and if they want to watch it. genres allow the audience to recognize the conventions and be able to make predictions and expectations. The films repeat these typical conventions in their films and the audience get to know them. Genres are important for institutions because it means that they can market the film to the correct people and in the correct way. For example to market a film aimed at a teenage audience, such as an action adventure, institutions would market the film on the internet as teenagers are going to go on the internet and see it.

ActionThe iconography on this poster is featuring a man who is likely to be the protagonist and he is

holding a gun which is a conventional prop for an action

film.

HorrorBlood is featured on this poster which a convention associated

with horror films. The girl is in an abandoned room with is a

conventional location in horror films.

Western A man is featured who is

dressed as a cowboy and this will be the characters that are in

the films. He is holding a gun and this a prop used in western

films.

Conventions of Horror Films• The location is a horror film is

either an isolated, abandoned and eerie house or it could be an everyday, populated area such as a town.

• The narrative is centered around a group of people who are being persecuted by an antagonist or a group of antagonists.

• The props used are some sort of weapon that is the antagonist is using on the protagonist.

• The characters include a group of young teens or a family. There is equal proportions of males and females and there is often a final girl.

• The lighting in horror films is usually low key lighting and it is dark as to create an eerie atmosphere.

Sub Genres and Repertoire of Elements

Audiences enjoy being able to expect what will happen in the genre of film they are watching and like to watch however if every single film of each genre was the same narrative, location and characters then they would get bored and not watch the films anymore. The repertoire of elements is the selection of conventions that are linked to the different sub genres within each genre. They will change and develop to meet the expectations of that sub genre from the audiences. In a horror film the audiences enjoy the mystery of finding out who the killer is and what their motives are for the murders and they also enjoy predicting who will be killed next.

There are signs encoded in films that link to the genre and the audience decode these without realizing, to identify what genre of film they are film. These include iconographies such as the typography and colour palette used. The typography is the titles and credits that are in the film. The design, font and how they appear on the screen is used to encode the genre. The colour palette is the colours used in the film or in the titles and they can encode the genre or represent the narrative.

For horror films the typography may help to create the eerie atmosphere for the narrative. The colour palette often features red or dark colours to create shadows and again reinforce that eerie feeling.

Sub Genres of HorrorThe sub genres of horror include;

•Gothic

•Slasher

•Psychological and paranormal

•Gore

•Found footage

Gothic In a gothic horror the narrative includes someone or a group of people being terrorized by a supernatural being. There is usually an ancient prophecy that plays a part in the narrative. Gothic films scare audiences with mystery, fear, terror and surprise.

These films are set in an old mansion or castle which is either abandoned or occupied. The castle often contains secret passageways and trap doors. Manor of the Devil was set in an abandoned castle

The protagonist in the film is usually a woman who is being threatened by the antagonist. This female character is shown scared when fainting, screaming and crying. The antagonist is a supernatural being such as a vampire, zombie or werewolf. The film The Curse of Frankenstein featured a changed form of human.

Slasher The narrative in slasher films is about of people being persecuted by the antagonist who usually hunts the group down one by one. Slasher films usually have sequels when the killer returns again. For example scream went on to have four films.

The location used in these films is either an abandoned, isolated house or a place that the characters and the audience are familiar with such as a town. The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre used an abandoned house in somewhere the teens were not familiar with.

The antagonist of the film is a psychotic killer who is usually masked. The main characters are a group of teens, possibly high school friends, or a group of young adults. There is usually a final girl featured who is the character left at the end of the film who is not killed and either escapes from the killer or kills the killer herself. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre there was a final girl from the group of teens who manages to escape the killer and survives.

The props used in slasher films are weapons that are used by the antagonist or the protagonist in protection. They usually consist of knives or saws (a weapon that will cut and cause harm). In Scream the killer uses a knife to kill his victims and in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the killer uses and chainsaw.

Psychological and paranormalThe narrative of this sub genre is about a group of people being attacked by a ghost, spirit or entity. This sub genre relies on the audience’s fears about the unknown and what they question in their minds about ghosts.

These films are set in either an everyday location such as a town or in an isolated place. The paranormal activity films were all set in an everyday, normal house in an everyday town.

The protagonist is usually a female who will survive the events and be the final girl which is related to a media theory. The antagonist in the films is the spirit or entity which haunts the antagonists. The stock characters are either a group of teens or a family. In the paranormal activity films a family was featured and in the film The Gallows a group of teens were featured.

The props used in this sub genre of horror are toys which the spirit may move to emphasise their presence and taking control of the object. The props are also the spirit’s powers and they are used to create fear.

Gore The narrative of gore horror films is about a psycho torturing a group of people. In gore horror films it is expected that there will be lots of blood and lots of pain brought to the victims due to torture

The locations of a gore horror are usually in an isolated place that the characters are unfamiliar with a place that it difficult for them to escape from.

The antagonist is the psycho who is causing harm to the protagonists. The protagonists are the victims and are usually young and both male and female characters.

The props used in these films are the weapons used in torture and inflicting pain. They can either be used by the antagonist or the protagonist.

Found Footage The narrative of a found footage horror film is about a spirit or ghost that attacks a group of people. The found footage sub genre creates the film with parts of footage that are filmed by the characters to put together the narrative of the film.

The locations in these films are either an abandoned and isolated house or an everyday place such as a town. Unfriended, though takes place on computer screens, was set in everyday houses of the victims.

The antagonist is the spirit or ghost and the protagonists is a group of people, either teens or a family, that are being persecuted by the antagonist.

The props used in these films are the cameras that are used by the characters to capture the footage and also the spirit’s powers.

Genre Theories in the Horror Genre

Rick Altman (1999)Counter culture attraction

His theory is based on the belief that audiences enjoy watching films of the horror genre because it allows them to have a release from everyday life and rules. Horror films are based on narratives that defy the morals of everyday life and murder is against morals but it is featured horror films. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre there is one particular scene which is completely different to audience’s everyday lives when the old man is drinking the young girl’s blood. Rick Altman’s theory would apply here because it is a release to what is normal for the audience.

Richard DyerThis theory states that audiences enjoy horror because the films allow the audience to have escapism from real life and it is similar to Rick Altman’s theory. It allows the audience to be in the place of the victim or killer. The film Halloween has the narrative of people being stalked by a man in a mask and this would obviously not be something that people have experienced before in their everyday lives.

Post Modern Horror

Jackie StacyHer theory suggests that the audience enjoy horror films as a part of something much wider. The cultural context of films have changed over the years because audience’s used to be scared of monsters but are now scared of different threats. Cultural normals have not always been the same for everyone. The film Godzilla scared audiences in 1954 with the fear of the monster and recently films such as Paranormal activity have been made which rely on the fear of spirits and ghosts.

Audiences and Slashers Molitor and Sapolsky (1993)

They researched into the number of seconds that male and female characters were shown on screen for. They found that female characters were shown on screen in terror for longer than the male characters. Their theory is that audiences are put in the place where they enjoy to see women being terrorized. In the film Texas Chainsaw Massacre the girl being chased at the end is featured being scared and chased for almost thirty minutes. Carol J Clover She bases her theory on the ‘final girl’ in slasher films and has the counter argument to the theory of Molitor and Sapolsky. She talks about there being a female character as the last survivng member of the group who either escapes the killer or she has the courage to murder the killer herself. In Halloween the main girl, Laurie, survives the killer and manages to fight back which injures him.Linz Donnerstein and Adams (1989)They looked at the negatives effects of slasher films on the audiences. Their theory stated that because people are watching more and more horror films and these films contain more graphic scenes of female characters being subject to violence. The films Psycho and Halloween and many more are violent towards women. The Viewer - Voyeur, Victim, ViolatorThe voyeur is when the audience can watch the inflicted terror from the killer’s point of view and the victim’s point of view. In Psycho when the woman is being killed in the shower the audience sees the murder through shots of the victim’s and the killer’s point of view. The victim is about experiencing the murder from the victim’s point of view. In Scream there are numerous shots showing the killer and her boyfriend form her point of view. The violator is when the murder is shown form the killer’s point of view. In scream there are shots of the girl being dragged by the killer form the killer’s point of view.