3. Common Mis-En-Scene
• Costume
a) The victims of horror films are often dressed in casual costumes that still hint at their personality.
This shows a certain realism, which heightens the fear.
b) The villains of horror films often have masks or a costume that shield their identity, and this
uncertainty creates a sense of terror.
• Lighting/Color Design
a) Horror films often take advantage of the dark to create a sense of foreboding fear, and low-
lighting is used to create shadows and fear of the unknown.
b) The color red is often used as it symbolizes anger, aggression, blood, and violence.
c) The color black is used to show evil, mystery, unhappiness, or power.
d) The color white often signifies a supernatural being or a pure and innocent victim.
• Acting
a) Actors playing the victims often use facial expressions to show terror and their body language to
show vulnerability and fear.
b) Actors playing the villain usually act mocking and pleased, with menacing smiles and knowing
expressions. The body language of these actors would show their power and dominance over the
victim.
• Makeup
a) Can be used for the victim to make them seem weary and scared. It can also be used to show
signs of distress and survival, like scratches and dirt marks on the victim’s face.
b) Often times, the villain has a characteristic look, and makeup can help with that. For example,
Freddy Kruger has characteristic burn marks created by makeup.
• Props
a) Usually, violent props are used that could inflict harm. For example, chainsaws, axes, and knives
are incorporated, since these are things that cause harm and inflict fear.
b) There are other props commonly used that aren’t necessarily dangerous on their own but do
create a sense of fear and mystery. For example, props like rocking chairs and children’s toys.
c) Other props used are spiritual and religious artifacts that can depict both faith and evil doing.
• Set
a) The settings typically used are haunted or abandoned places, or forests and woods. Usually, its
somewhere dark and isolated so that there is a feeling of unease and suspense.
5. Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sound
• Diegetic sound is commonly used in horror films to
add to the scare factor. Terrifying sounds like pounding
footsteps, eerie chants, screams, knocking, creaking,
etc. are all used to help set the tone for the movie.
• Dialogue is used to make the characters seem more
relatable and change the audience’s perspective of the
characters from ”they” to “us.” This shift helps engage
the audience.
• Nondiegetic sound is also used to create the
atmosphere of the film. Music like minor keys, tritone
chords, and string instruments are all used to create a
scary setting.
• Infrasound, a wavelength sound that can’t be heard by
humans, causes people to feel fear, anxiety, and
unease, and this is commonly used in horror films.
• Ambient sounds like wind whistling, dry leaves
crunching, and tree branches scratching the wall helps
to set the scene of the movie and adds to the scary
setting.
7. Appealing and Non-Appealing Elements
• We like how horror films really take advantage of the use of diegetic and
non-diegetic sound to help set the tone for the movie. The use of diegetic
sounds can help invoke fear within the audience and create an eerie
setting, while nondiegetic sounds can be used for the same purpose. One
thing we found interesting was the use of infrasound, and how that can be
edited into the film to invoke anxiety within the audience, without them
even knowing it! We also like how horror films tend to use casual clothes
for the victim, as this costume makes them more relatable and makes the
terror the audience feels even more real. Lastly, we really liked how many
horror films use jump cuts to keep the audience on the edge of their seats
and increase suspense. We feel that all of these elements are creative
ways to engage the audience and create that characteristic fear.
• One aspect of horror films that didn’t appeal to us is that they tend to use
obvious makeup for the villains. While this can give them a characteristic,
intimidating look, we feel that a better approach would be to make the
villain seem like a normal person. This creates the idea that this scary
event could happen to anyone and adds a certain realism. We also don’t
like how the acting in horror movies is typically overdramatized, as this can
make the film seem cheesy and unrealistic. Lastly, we don’t like how dim
lighting is the main lighting in horror movies, as we feel that filmmakers
could be more open to different lighting patters and add variety to the
film. The use of dim lighting will also be hard for our group if we choose to
make a horror film as we don’t have the equipment necessary to make the
shots clear.
