Conventions of horror films

Conventions of the Horror Genre   Settings in horror films tend to be small towns, urban environments, dark allies, large cities or run down towns, anywhere that connotes the feeling of isolation or being alone. Colours are often dark e.g. reds and black, which link to blood, darkness, danger, evil or death. Props can help identify the horror genre e.g. chainsaws, knives, hammers, shotguns (any weapon that will cause a lot of blood splatter and mess). Common objects include weapons, supernatural icons, masks/disguises and religious icons. Iconography of monsters helps elicit the feeling of fear, disgust and terror e.g werewolves, mummies, zombies, vampires, deformed creatures. Character types:  The protagonist is often the victim or hero.  The villain is usually the monster, serial killer, mutated/deformed freaks or alien. A police officer which can be either good or bad. There are often creepy or scary children (which may be the main villain). Many more following this basic idea, e.g. zombies, stalkers, cheerleaders. There are many themes including; nightmares, lust, apocalypse, religion, childhood problems, insanity/madness, supernatural, science gone wrong, revenge, beyond death, envy, lust, suicide, good versus evil, self consciousness (making you question what is real and what isn't), psychopath rampage. Camera work is unnatural using high and low angles to connote fear and nightmares. Point of view shots can be important in certain horrors as they let the audience see the world through the "monster/s" eyes, this typically happens around the middle or end of a film.  Handheld shots make it difficult for the audience to see what's happening which creates the feeling of fear of the unknown (for example the film 'Cloverfield' was all filmed with a handheld). An extreme close up on the victim's face can help the audience identify with the feeling of fear and horror. It also makes the scene more terrifying because if we can't see the "monster" again it creates the feeling of fear of the unknown. Sounds are important in a horror film, diegetic sounds like footsteps and non-diegetic sounds like a heartbeat create tension. Lighting is very important, under lighting can be used to distort a face to make it look scarier. Also in the majority of horrors many of the scenes will be in dark lighting to scare the audience as they can't see what's happening as easily or to represent evil. Editing can create suspense or tension for example if it hasn't been paced in a while you assume something is going to jump out and scare you, however sometimes they may also have something jump out at an unexpected time to scare you and add more suspense as you will be tensed at all times waiting for something to happen.