2. Mise-en-scene:
Costume, makeup &Props:
Horror movies usually feature
either masks or dark makeup that
make people seem paranormal.
They use this because most
members of the audience will find
the unknown scarier than knowing
who the killer is. This also is seen
when the movie leaves you guessing
who the villain is as they pose as
someone in the protagonists life.
Props usually are weapons, such as
knives going back to basics like the
use of the machete in Friday the
13th, not usually guns as in most
films the audience don’t like deaths
to be ‘quick’. Some films of the
psychological horror sub-genre use
props such as crosses or holy water,
to fight demons and ghostly
villains.
Positioning & body language:
Positioning and body language is important in horror films
as body language can inform us of character types (Propps
theory). If someone has closed body language such as
crossed arms it connotes they are concealing something
from the audience – this could be that they are the
murderers. Murderers however may also have open body
language which connotes confidence and power whilst
victims may close in on themselves for protection and
support. Positioning in the frame is also important as if
someone takes up most of the frame it could show who is
influential in the scene. Also we could have some one in
the left side of the frame as the focus but then see someone
in the background sneaking up.
3. Mise-en-scene continued
Location & Lighting:
The location of a horror film would
typically be isolated from civilisation-
which also means they are isolated
from help. Isolated locations include
small rural villages, Graveyards and
cabins in the woods. The idea of the
setting being secluded creates the
effect that the people within the
scene will have to fend for themselves
and will most probably be alone
making it seem more frightening
than if it was a group of people.
The lighting of the setting will also
most likely be dark and low-key – this
will help to create shadows which
could mean that there are lots of
places for people to hide, making it
seem more menacing and sinister.
Locations could also have a dark
history such as abandoned houses,
hospitals or asylums.
The time of day we usually see in horror films
would most typically be during the night. This is
usually because it demonstrates the idea that
most people are in bed so become more
vulnerable also that there are less people around
to help the victim of the film. However we cam
also sometimes see some films make exceptions
to the conventions for example on the cover of
‘Drag me to hell’.
Looking closely behind her we can
see lights on in the house this can
create a number of effects. For
example it could suggest that
because there are only lights in one
room that she is alone. It could
also show that not all bad things
happen in the dark and could
frighten the audience more as it
takes away their impression that
the light offers a sort of protection.
4. Camera Work and editing:
It is important to use a variety of
different types of shots as these
will help to create a broad range of
effects. For example most horror
films will contain a P.O.V shot as
either victim or villain. This brings
the audience closer to the action
and helps them to relate to the
characters – connecting to uses
and gratifications – allowing them
to see the world from the eyes of
the person within the scene.
Handheld cameras are also used
increasingly in recent years, or
cameras ‘set up’ by people in the
film. This fixes how we will see
things and also makes it seem
more realistic. Handheld cameras
can also seem shaky and make it
difficult for the audience to work
out what is happening connoting
terror and leave the audience
unaware of what is going to
happen next.
Editing can completely change the
mood and atmosphere of a scene.
As if two different genres had the
same scene but with different
editing we would interpret it in
different ways. For example
someone running through a wood
but the editing is slow and we
don’t see many differences in shots
it wouldn’t immediately be
identified as something of the
horror genre. However if it was fast
paced editing, with short takes
constantly cutting to different
shots and including sequences such
as shot-reverse-shots to the person
and something behind them you
would assume they were running
away from something which we
typically see in horror films as it
makes it seem unsettling and
creates tension.
5. Ideology & Iconography
Iconography:
Horror films have a number of specific things that help us identify them as that of the specific
genre. For example we have recurring dark unnatural lighting to create unfamiliar shapes and
shadows in the darkness – often using low-key lighting. They also often contain dark colour
like black and red to connote death, blood, danger and demons.
Often horror films contain supernatural and/or religious connotation such as cults and
demonic spirits, this is shown through the use of symbols normally. This helps to play on
people’s fear of loss of faith in religions.
Ideology:
In most of the films I have watched recently have found that they contain a female victim. This
creates the ideology that women are weak as they are usually protected/saved by a male
protagonist, making people think that women are inferior. A lot of psychological horrors also
tend to try and create the ideology that people bestow power upon themselves to chose who
lives or dies. This could stimulate fear for the audience as they feel at risk from the unknown.
Some films could even create the ideology that religious beliefs will no longer act as
‘protection’, or the opposite that they need faith to survive.
6. Narrative structure:
All horror films can apply
Propp’s theory to the
narrative. We see the
‘villain’ and the ‘hero’ also
we can include the ‘victim’.
Usually the ‘hero’ will
spend the film fighting
against the evil ‘villain’ and
may win. However recently
a lot of films such as the
‘paranormal activity’ films
and ‘sinister’ the ‘hero’
ends up dying and evil
prevails. The audience will
usually find themselves
relating to the ‘hero’ as it
almost always is a mundane
person just like people
viewing it at home.
Todorov’s trinity theory can also be
applied to most horror movies as we
see the ‘set-up’ that shows us the
characters and the scene the film is
set. We then see the ‘disruption’
where something occurs that leads
to a string of unpleasant events
within the narrative. Then we see a
‘resolution’ this is sometimes the
evil of the film being defeated or
sometimes not really a resolution at
all as the main protagonist will die.
Some films even make the audience
think it is happy ending but will
then turn it around and we see
nothing has been resolved like in
‘insidious’. It could also go into
further detail of ‘the 5 states’ as we
almost always see them try and solve
the issue, which sometimes doesn’t
work.
Also in horror films we usually
see ‘multiple strands’ within a
‘non-linear structure’. It will
sometimes not only have the
strand of fighting evil but
could include strands of family
issues, or relationships within
the action which are usually
intertwined and interact
throughout the film. We also
see that some films are ‘non-
linear’ (such as Friday the 13th)
as we have flashbacks to an
unpleasant past that influences
events in the film. Films of the
horror genre also commonly
use ‘binary opposites’ to create
sides that the audience
recognise, such as good and
evil.
7. Other theories
Another theory that many horror films
follow would be the idea of ‘The final girl
theory’. This is usually where a girl would
be classed as a ‘virgin’ and innocent and she
may defeat the evil and survive. This
connect to the idea that horror is a
conservative genre and tries to convey that
people who deviate from norms suffer in
the film as it seems quite traditionalist such
as the ideal that girls should stay virgins and
many of the girls who die early in the film
are usually shown as ‘tainted’. Examples of
films using the ‘final girl’ theory would be
‘scream’ with the use of Sidney as she
becomes more of a victim after having
relations with her boyfriend. Also ‘Cabin in
the woods’ based on sacrificial rituals where
the final sacrifice of the virgin is optional as
long as she is the last one alive.
Binary opposites is also an extremely generic
convention. In every horror film we see the
opposing sides of Good vs Evil. These binary
opposites are also usually very obvious to the
audience and creates instant recognition as we
see them in almost all films, not just horrors.
Another example of binary opposites would be
dystopia vs utopia as we see the difference
between the ideal world or the world we usually
live in and then the vast changes that occur after
something apocalyptic for example in ‘Resident
Evil’ when people are no longer safe to roam the
streets freely but are confined to ‘secure’ places
such as prisons, or ships and underground
bunkers.
