Horror Conventions and Moodboard

1. Horror Film
Conventions

2. Setting
• Small Communities/Isolated Places.
• Urban Environments, Dark Streets, Narrow Alleyways.
• Large Cities or Ghost Towns
• Lakes, Roads, Highways, Countryside, Barns, Farms, Dark Woods, Woodland,
Houses, Cabins, Cities, Subways, Underground Tunnels, Creepy Hotels,
Abandoned Houses, Haunted Houses, Basements, Attics, Meat Factories, Science
Lab, Shopping Centre, Cornfield, Asylum, Deep Water, Blizzards.

4. Iconography
• The use of colours like black and red are used predominantly which connotes evil,
blood and danger etc.
• Lighting is not natural and is expressive. Low key lighting can help to create dark
shadows and unfamiliar shapes in the dark settings. Lighting can be enhanced in
the world of film through bonfires and torches etc.
• Props can help to further identify that the film is of the horror genre. Specific
props can be identified with certain horror icons like Jason Voorhees has a hockey
mask to hide his identity and his weapon is a machete.
• Common props include: weapons, masks, religious icons or icons of the
supernatural.
• The iconography of the monsters help to connote fear and terror like Ware
wolves, Mummies and Vampires.

6. Authority Figure
• The authority figure comes in all different shapes and forms in a horror movie. It
may be the hunter who goes out confident they can take down their murderous
prey or it could be the leader of a group. It could even be a head teacher if the
film is set in a high school.

7. • This character can be of either sex although usually male. They are
portrayed as being at ease and in some cases cocky trying to convince other
characters that nothings going on and that they are over reacting. Can be
overconfident which could lead to them being one of the first killed off.
Non - Believer

8. The Jock
• The Jock isn’t a regular character in all horror films but there is usually a character
similar to this. The Jock doesn’t have to play sports yet has easily recognisable
personality traits. He is usually portrayed as attractive yet not that bright. He believes
himself to be the strong alpha male of a group which in most cases is usually his
downfall. He is important in a horror movie as he causes a dilemma within a group.
For any main women in the group he is desirable and for men they are envious of
him and wish they were him.

9. The Hero
• Pretty Much always a male character of a strong/masculine build.
• Although he is the so called ‘Hero’ there aren’t many horror films where the good
triumph over the evil. The Hero tends to be the brave character in these circumstances
that goes after the evil and often doesn’t return.
• In the beginning, the audience will listen to his voice of reason and be calmed and
reassured by them. But once they have been killed or are found dead there is a sense of
security that has vanished and is now non-existent in the audience.

10. Themes
The themes in horror films are used to scare, entertain and thrill the audience.
Horror films centre around the supernatural and alarming events. Usual themes of
horrors include:
• Revenge
• Haunting
• Gore
• Demons & Exorcisms
• Religion
• Ghosts