Research on Horror Genre.

My chosen genre for my production is Horror. Horror has various conventions which have put the characters in different situations, it could be a mass murderer chasing his latest prey, a horde of zombies rising from their tombs or a possessed child’s doll seeking revenge by killing whoever he can.
Horror films came about around in the late 1800’s. The first horror film was titled Le Manoir Du Diable, meaning the house of the devil and it was made in 1896. Early Horror movies were often adaption’s of gothic/horror style books such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Most of these old films are cult classics in their own right. Over the years, themes included in the genre have changed a lot. Some films are about monsters, like the first horror movies, but some are about Armageddon and the end of the human race, being lost in a desert or forest and a family of cannibal inbred hillbillies looking for their next meal or the offspring of the devil being born into our world to cause pure evil and havoc.

As the horror genre has progressed they have been more hybrid films written and produced as the concepts can be endless. Even though the same ideas of films have been used over and over again, like George A. Romero zombie films, 100s of zombie films, not always successful, have been made that have all been born from George A. Romero’s creations. Other genres incorporated in horror films are science fiction, fantasy and black comedy.

Most Horror movies follow a linear structure, meaning the sequences of events are easy to follow. The narrative used in horror is very similar to the ones used in other films: Equilibrium – Disruption- New state of equilibrium. Horror movies tend to introduce the family or group of friends (the victims) or the antagonist during the opening scene. The following scenes will then show the group of victims going through their plans or every day life, it will then cross over to the antagonist either watching the group of friends and planning what he/she is going to do to them and when.

Within the group there will be characters with different attributes, brave, coward, jock, smart, beautiful, nerd. One hero who will take control of the remaining group members or have no option since his/her friends have been slaughtered. The antagonist (murderer/monster) causes the disruption by attacking/kidnapping/killing somebody. They may be a helper who gives the hero some information on where to find the villain or follow them on the quest. They are often more then just one victim. All of the character’s who are or become a hero/villain/helper/victim are all equally important to the story.




Horror films MUST evoke feelings of terror, horror and fear, the feelings we are all familiar to. Horror films conventions include blood/gore, death, killing, monsters or a psychopath, dark scenes, chase sequence and violence. All of these things cause the feeling of uneasiness which for some reason, makes viewers want to see more films under the genre, or scares them to their wits end and gives them nightmares.

Editing is and has been a major part in the horror genre. During the editing process sound is added. In horror films, it’s the eerie sounds that makes the film scary and causes an immense amount of tension and makes the viewers cringe as they know what is going to happen but the victim doesn’t. I think if the sound wasn’t included, all suspense and shock would dramatically decrease. In most films, but especially horror films, the music tends to be orchestral music. With the open-endedness, powerfulness and dynamic range from this style of music allows the film to have more depth, feeling, emotion and mood. Another important technique used in editing it fast cuts from scene to scene to give the feeling of uneasiness and produce fear within the viewers.

Lighting, or the lack of it, is one of the most important conventions in horror films as it creates more fear because of the fact the viewers and the characters don’t know what it could be hiding. Light and darkness are used to make a contrast from scene to scene, for example a brightly lit scene which has characters sunbathing to a dim, blacked out room where the antagonist is butchering their newest victim.

Low and high angles are used a lot to show superiority and inferiority. Close ups are used to show facial expressions. To cause more fear, a hand held camera will be used to give the effect of someone running away as its easier to move. Point of view shots are also used to show what a character looking at through their eyes.

Mise-en-scene has changed over the years. When horror films first started, the films would be set in a “haunted house” or Dracula’s mansion or a cave. Now a days, there are in laboratories, forests and tombs. They have changed because the films have changed and evolved.

As the same with Mise-en-scene, costume has changed, but more because of fashion then film styles changing. Costumes in Early horror films for the antagonist where sometimes dirty and had holes in it, take Frankenstein for example, where as Dracula’s costume would be very smart and suave as he was very classy. The protagonist’s costume would also smart and classy. Theses days the protagonist’s costumes would be popular clothing at the time of making it, where as the antagonist’s costume has almost stayed the same.