6. Character Types
In most horror films a common
theme Is for the most innocent
looking characters to be the victims
of the danger or in a lot of cases,
the innocent/sweet little kid or
women plays a big part in scaring
the audience
In a lot of witch films this is the case and it plays a big important part in
the plot as you are usually unaware of the dark spirits until the end of
the film. Usually the witch ends up being the least person a viewer
would expect. This keeps the audience guessing throughout the film
actively engaging them, This means that suspense, jump scares and stuff
like that will affect them more as they are focused on the film, ultimately
scaring them more.
7. Setting
The setting in these kind of horrors is
usually in a dark secluded area, a
forest is the most common with
typically a small random houses in the
middle. (e.g. cabin in the woods and
the Blair witch project)
There is usually one building or area that
Is isolated and out of the way from
Everywhere else. This is to create an eerie
Feeling for the audience as since they are
All alone, any random noise can shock the
Audience.
The main setting in a horror
film is usually highlighted by
using slanted angle camera
shots and it makes the shot
like disoriented and gives
the audience a felling
straight away that they
aren’t meant to be there as
it makes them feel uneasy.
8. Music
The sound effects in generic horror
films is the same as in the witches
and occult sub genre. There is lots
of high pitched and sharp sounding
screeches that are used to shock,
startle and scare the audience.
In terms of actual music in a horror
film, the music usually starts of
very slow and dull but will build to
an extremely loud climax. This is
often used when leading to an
important scene or even
sometimes the opposite where it is
used to tease and mess with the
audience.
The music is also very contradictive to the
atmosphere in the film and what is happening.
For example in a really sinister moment in a film,
there will be a backing track of little girls slowly
singing or really calm and soft music, this gives
the scene a really eerie feeling and makes the
audience feel uneasy.
9. Camera Shots/Angles
The close up shot of the child’s
face and innocent smile
juxtaposes to the audience
what is going to happen
The low angle shot shows the
audience vulnerability and adds
terror to the audience
Handheld camera shot to
highlight the realism and
allow the audience to feel
involved in the horror.
Tilted angle camera shots are used to
show the characters perspective and
what they can see, useful for
showing supernatural beings.
Tracking/panning shot is used to follow a character
and usually filmed from a distance, it is great at
building suspense as the audience is waiting for
something to happen. It also shows tells the
audience when a character is being watched or
followed.
A long shot is filmed from a far
distance away and is used to
highlight the area they are in,
typically suggesting to the
audience that something
important will happen there.
10. Special Effects
Black and white gives an eerie
feeling to the atmosphere as it is
so dull. This makes the audience
feel so on edge all of the time.
12. Editing Techniques the fading techniques from different shots e.g. the mans
face and the book suggest to the audience the
importance of the book which could play a part later on
Jump cuts are frequently are widely used in
all genres of films as a way of giving the film
continuity, In horror films shock cuts are
also used.
Fear of the unknown is also
used which is where the camera
is placed at a point where you
know something bad is
happening but you cant see
exactly what it is, or in
paranormal films where you can
see stuff happening but you
don’t know how or why its
happening or what’s doing it.
