The document analyzes how the genre of horror is established in the short film "The Passenger" through various film techniques. It discusses how the isolation of the setting, low-key lighting, disruption to the protagonist's life, and use of dark colors and unsettling sounds cue audiences familiar with horror tropes to interpret the film as dangerous and scary. Key elements like the messy title, isolated location shots, and insertion of an unknown figure are understood as horror conventions that signal to audiences the threats and fears commonly found in the genre.

1. Genre Analysis
The Passenger

2. Location
The audience in ‘The Passenger’ is
established through key features such
as location. We are shown an empty
road in an isolated street, which has
elements of a conventional setting for a
horror film, such as the isolation, so
audiences will decode this setting as
dangerous and scary, and therefore
the audience is established.

3. Typography
The title looks messy and threatening, which horror fluent fans will
match to the horror genre, and therefore the audience is established.

4. Stock Themes
1. Isolation - A main fear in horror films
is isolation, and this is shown through
the camera shots of the women on her
own, for example longshots of the
character revealing her surroundings.
Horror fluent audiences will decode this
isolation as potentially dangerous
towards the main character, therefore
establishing the audience through the
camera revealing the fear.

5. Stock Themes
2. Low-key lighting - Another
fear that depicts the horror
genre is low-key lighting, as the
dark is a common fear shown in
horror films. Audiences will
decode this lighting as
dangerous and scary, and
therefore a horror audience will
be established.

6. Stock themes
3. Disruption (The
protagonist/monster) - Every horror
film includes a disruption to the
equilibrium of the characters life, as
this is a common fear in horror
movies. This fear establishes the
horror audiences as they will connote
the distruption as dangerous and
scary. Here we can see the
disruption (unknown being) walk in
front of the camera.

7. Colours
The colours used are all
dark, as the darkness is a
common fear so this will
establish a horror audience,
as they get pleasure from
fear, and darkness is one of
the most common fears
shown in horror movies.

8. Sound
The use of horror sounds is used very well in
this short as it connotes to the audience what
is dangerous and scary. For example, when
the disruptions happen, its not clear whether
they’re dangerous or not with just the camera,
but the sounds allows the audiences to know
that what they are being shown in dangerous.
(When the feet are shown under the car). The
use of silence was also well used as it created
tension and suspense, but also highlighted
when it was and wasn’t a dangerous time for
the character