Horror Film Initial Ideas

1. Horror Movie
INITIAL IDEAS

2. CONVENTIONS & THEMES
• The common conventions of horror films include jump scares, darkness, mystery,
suspense, eeriness, unknown, creepy music, jump cuts, loud noises, weapons, blood and
death
• The common themes of horror films include good vs evil, depression, religion, childhood
issues, revenge, supernatural, beyond death, science gone bad, nightmares, zombie
apocalypse, lust, madness, insanity, suicide and envy.

3. REPRESENTATION (CHARACTERS)
• The main protagonist, often the victim or hero of the movie; stereotypically male.
• The villain, often a monster, mutated freak, alien or serial killer. They tend to have a
trademark characteristic as to how they kill, e.g. weapons, and who they kill.
• The Victim, usually female and the prize for the protagonist. This role is stereotypically a
cheerleader or mother.
• The stupid/immortal teenagers that always gets killed
• Creepy children, police officers (either good or bad), ghosts, zombies, demons, stalker,
werewolf, cheerleader, weirdo, psychopaths.
Horror films tend to be the most stereotypical genre going. Directors utilize the conventions of
the genre to make their films more understandable to audiences so the plot does not get too
confusing.

4. COSTUMES
• Horror films have many stereotypes that create certain conventions for the characters and
help the audience understand what is happening. Common stereotypes used by directors
include masks and dark clothes for the villain, white dresses and long hair for the
possessed little girls, tattered clothes for zombies, shadows of ghosts to show their
presence etc.
• These costumes help the audience judge the characters, choose who to support and learn
who is bad. Costumes provide a vital part to the making of horror films as it helps the
director to portray each character and what their role in the film will be.

5. FILM LANGUAGE – JUMP CUTS
• Horror films use lots of jump cuts in order to create scares for the audience. For example,
‘The Conjuring 2’ utilized jump cuts and a mirror. The protagonist was looking in a mirror,
the camera panned to the left so the mirror was out of sight and the audience could see
behind the protagonist. The camera then panned back to the mirror where there was a
nun stood behind them in the reflection. The camera then panned back to the left where
we and the protagonist saw no one behind them. The camera then panned to the right
and then the nun is stood in between the protagonist and the mirror, and then screams
loudly, frightening the audience. The use of quick jump cuts builds suspense and tension
for the audience before scaring them.

6. FILM LANGUAGE – JUMP SCARES
• A jump scare is a key part to every horror movie. They are what the audience want to see
when they go to see a horror film as the jump scares in a horror film is what puts the
audience on the edge of their seats and keeps them anxious. A good horror film will have
multiple jump scares, and will use them unexpectedly to surprise the audience. A good
jump scare will build tension, making it seem obvious for the audience that a jump scare
is soon approaching. However, it will then come earlier than expecting or they wont put
one in at all, lets the tension drop and then use a jump scare. This is key for good horror
films as the audience doesn’t know what is going to happen and will be scared when it
does.

7. STRUCTURE
• Horror films usually follow similar plot lines and conventions. They all have similar
protagonists that will face an issue they have to overcome to either save someone or be
with the person they love. However this barrier grows and grows as a problem, making it
harder for the protagonist to overcome.
• Horror movies usually have similar protagonists, and similar reasons to be scared. For
example, many horror films feature ghosts or spirits that haunt a house. The house is
usually home to a young girl who is either possessed or scared and needs protecting.
These are common conventions used in many horror films and because they work, they
are repeated and copied for many other horror movies and so the structure continues.

8. AUDIENCE
• The vast majority of horror films are 18’s with a few being 15’s. This is because they
contain blood and gore, and are not really suitable for younger audiences. This reduces
the potential target audience for the film, but does increase their capabilities as a
production company to make a scary film for those that do meet the age restrictions. This
means that the production company can make a good film and so can build up a good
brand image. The audience will want a very scary film, and so a low age rating would not
be sufficient to allow the production company to make a scary film. Horror films are most
watched by males between 25-40. They all want to be scared and tested to see how
tough they can be in front of others.