Horror Film Conventions

Horror Conventions

A good location is key in horror films. The settings for horror films are usually that of an isolated, abandoned place. Places that emphasise isolation and being alone making the audience assured that there is no one around to help them. I.e. Alleyways, abandoned buildings such as old schools/hospitals/hotels and the woods. These locations all have a “dark” history and can easily be portrayed as dark and mysterious in horror films.

   

Horror films often use point of view shots, which makes the audience feel as though they are in and involved in the horror film and therefore bring more fear onto the audience. Extreme close ups are also used often in horror films, giving the audience a real sense of fright with uncomfortable, surreal shots of things such as a spirit’s face. Horror films focus closely on emotion so using close ups allow the audience to see the fright or evil on a character’s face, making the audience feel sympathy or hatred towards the characters. High and low angles are used sometimes in order to belittle (normally victim) or exaggerate (normally the evil character) a character. Exaggerating a character using a low angle makes the audience more scared which is obviously the objective whilst making a horror film whereas belittling a character using a high angle will make the audience feel sympathy as the characters will seem weak or vulnerable. Canted angles are quite popular during horror movies, used for dramatic effect to create a sense of disorientation. This makes the audience feel as though something mad is going on/will happen.
    



Diegetic sounds are essential in horror films. Disturbing sounds such as children’s nursery rhymes and whispers (like the audio clip below from 'Nightmare on Elm Street') are examples of diegetic sounds.

These sounds create a more realistic and intense feeling on the audience whilst also creating a scary effect on them. Non-diegtic sounds are also very essential in horror films. High-pitched ringing sounds are often heard during horror movies in order to give a spooky effect and to hold the audience’s attention to the visuals. In some cases the high pitched sound is sped up which tells the audience that something unnatural/chaotic is going to happen. For example the opening scene in ‘Insidious’:

Heavy breathing, a heartbeat and screams are some other examples of non-diegetic sounds – all used to scare and create tension.

The costumes used on characters in horror films let us know what kind of character they are. Dressing characters in creepy masks or very harsh makeup such as pale foundation and red lips hides their identity, which automatically tells us that they are the villains. The victims are usually dressed normally to show that they are just “everyday people” making the film seem more natural and therefore scarier as we may begin to believe anything could happen to us whereas the villain will, in almost every horror film, stand out and have a very distinct look. This sometimes makes it easier for the villains image to stay in our head for longer than we want and are comfortable with. And this adds to the scariness of the film.