2. Conventions of horror – settings
• Dark
• Woods
• Lonely/ isolated house
• Graveyards
• Highways – long roads e.g. route 66
3. Conventions of horror – characters
• Families
• Group of friends
• Young girl
• Teenagers
• Vulnerable
• Last woman standing
• Attacker
• Masked – unidentifiable
4. Conventions of horror – iconography
• Low key lighting
• Weapon of choice e.g. axe
• Natural lighting – day time/ night time
• Dark colours – red and black representing darkness and danger
5. Conventions of horror – narrative
A group of people being persecuted/ found by an antagonist
• Not always a predictable ending
• Someone will die or have there mind messed with
6. Sub genres – Gothic
• The weather plays a big part
• Dreams
• Sense of mystery
• The supernatural
• Revenge
• Pursued protagonist
7. Sub genres – Slasher
• Always lots of killing
• Will be a death with in the first few minutes
• Blood
• Violence
• Multiple deaths – usually by the same person
8. Sub genre – psychological
• Play with your mind
• Ghosts/ spirits
• Gore and blood
• Characters are seen as normal human beings not monstrous
9. Sub genre – Paranormal
• Feels real
• Relatable
• Cameras placed in house
• Spirits/ movements
10. Sub genre – Gore
• Lots of blood and Gore
• Weapons
• Killings
• Violence
• Gore and blood being the main aim
11. Sub genre – Found Footage
• Forests/ abandoned houses
• Tense sound tracks
• Screaming, crying , shouting
• Low key lighting , un naturalistic
12. Genre theories
• Rick Altman –
His theory suggests that one of the primary pleasures offered to
audiences is the release from cultural rules and regulations. Viewers
can put themselves in a place that would normally be seen to break
moral and legal boundaries – this can be referred to as counter culture
attraction.
13. • Rick Dyer-
His theory that the genre offers escapism. The escape is encoded in
texts and opposes social tension and inadequacy. This links well with
the sub genre of the slasher, it makes the audience feel part of the film
and like they have to feel the fear as the characters do
14. • Jackie Stacy –
She has said that Dyers theory needs to be more specific. She believes
that Genres change over time and audience preferences change – this
comes form social and historical changes, not everyone will always
want the same
