Horror Film Conventions
- 1. Horror Film Conventions Rhys Stevens
- 2. Characters Character conventions; • The killer is normally a shady character with a history. Something has happened in his/her past to make them the character they are. • They normally have a trademark weapon/characteristic that makes them recognisable. • The victim is either a virgin/promiscuous (final girl theory) • The virgin girl is always innocent and always survives • The promiscuous girl is always the first to die- there is normally a scene that shows us she is sexually active and therefore we know she will die first. • The ending is always a good outcome in that the good defeats the bad.
- 3. Visual Style Often dark colours; red and black. Low hey lighiting
- 4. Iconography Haunted house Symbols of death Disfigured face or mask Screaming victims Murder weapons: Knife, stake, chainsaw Binary opposites of good and evil Darkened places where the ‘monster’ lurks Blood and body parts
- 5. Themes Good V Evil Religion Childhood issues Revenge Supernatural Zombie apocalypse Nightmare Lust Madness Envy
- 6. Setting • Stereotypical horror films are often set in “scary places” such as forests, haunted houses, churches ect. This allows the audience to be enveloped by all of the conventions of the genre. • The most recent horror films are set in “safe” places, which toy with the audience, as it makes the question whether they are really safe or not. • If a film is set in a “stereotypical” place, it often has all of the typical paradigms that go with it; dark, bad weather, isolation.