Horror genre research

Codes and conventions

The conventions of a horror are designed to inflict fear onto an audience, they do this by using conventions such as jump scares and gory content to put the audiences on edge. They also aim to build tension by giving off a feeling of vulnerability and isolation to the protagonist, this reflects onto the audience as they put themselves into the shoes of the protagonist. Another way tension is created can be through the use of empty space within the frame, this keeps the audience aware of everything go on and expecting something to happen. In horror films the themes revolve around the supernatural and death, this is effective as few people fully understand the supernatural and want to understand something to reassure themselves it cant happen to them. The lack of an explanation and the writers attempt to relate to the audience build up the fear in these themes.

characters

In many horror films there will be the protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist will usually be part of a group of close friends. All of them will usually be teenagers including the protagonist however they all have their own personalities. The antagonist will usually be a human or a supernatural monster who desire to cause harm to the protagonist and the group. The antagonist will kill off the group leaving the protagonist who will defeat the antagonist, surviving so the they can ‘tell the story’ to the audience.

Meis-en-scene

The setting of many horror films put the protagonist into a state of isolation from their normal lives and the normal lives of the audience. This happens by putting the protagonist in an unknown territory with no way out and have the antagonist more adjusted to that environment so that they have the feeling of an advantage.In the most horror films there is also the heavy use of a weapon from both the antagonist and the protagonist. Usually the protagonist will be chasing the protagonist with a weapon and only until the end of the film will the protagonist find a weapon to protect themselves with. The use of a weapon describes how vulnerable the human body and the protagonist is, showing off the may ways someone can die.The music used in horror films is usually low pitched to build intensity, then loud shocking high pitched sounds are played when the protagonist comes into contact with the antagonist. This loud sound shocks the viewer as they were not expecting the sudden contrast between the noises.