2. THE SLASHER
Slasher horror films usually involve a masked killer on a brutal rampage. The
killer usually uses a weapon such as a knife, chainsaw or an axe to kill
their victims. The victims are usually a group of teenagers away from
parental supervision and usually up to no good. Those who get killed are
usually sexually active and typical sarcastic teenagers, who do not take
school seriously and always cause trouble. The Scream films are great
conventional examples of Slaher horrors. Characters range from:
cheerleaders, prom queen/kings, the nerdy kid and there is usually a
„final girl‟ who is sensible and refuses to take part in any sexual or illegal
activities. This girl survives until the end and destroys the killer thus putting
a stop to the carnage. The killer is often large and masked and it is
implied that they are usually male with a burst of masculinity. The
character of Michael Myres in Halloween is a perfect example of a killer
in a slasher horror. Slasher films usually take place in a
school/college, summer camp (Friday the 13th), or a suburban area.
3. SUPERNATURAL
Supernatural movies normally feature a type of spirit which antagonises and haunts its victims
throughout the film. This type of horror film is usually set in the victim‟s house or a place which
is linked to the main character such as an old relatives house they are staying in for a period
of time. Main characters are usually seen as „normal‟ but with some kind of troubled past
(like Katie in Paranormal Activity.) It is a common convention that throughout the film, doors
creak, there are unknown noises and unexplained shadows (in The Amityville Horror, we see
shadows when nobody is there during the scene when the family view the house) and often
gusts of wind and objects are thrown around the house. Another common convention is the
appearance of the paranormal spirit in the reflection of a mirror along side the tormented
character as she/he gazes into it. Currently, the most popular type of supernatural horror is
possession. This involves a human body being taken over by a demonic force. When the
demon is at large the person (usually a woman or girl) who is possessed is able to perform
bodily contortions, levitate themselves, speak in a loud, deep voice and even in foreign
language such as Latin or Hebrew or they may even vomit disgusting things. (In The
Possession Emily throws up insects.)The use of orchestral music and contrapuntal sound is
used, especially when frightening moments are about to happen. Supernatural films
conventionally include jumpy moments throughout. Another common convention is that a
specialist comes to help but the evil force is always too strong and it is always something
they‟ve “never come across before” (The Conjuring)
4. GOTHIC
Gothic horror movies are movies which tend to feature monsters and mythical
creatures such as vampires and they are usually set in the past in a mythical
place that audiences wouldn‟t normally inhabit (i.e. a castle in a far away
land). They were the first type of horror movie and were extremely popular in
the early 20‟s and 30‟s. There is usually an atmosphere of doom and gloom in
gothic horror movies and rooms such as dungeons and torture chambers are
where the action takes place, alongside grave yards, forests and misty
environments (Dracula is based in darkest Transylvania , and is set in a castle
for the duration of the film.) Low key lighting is often used, it is often dark as
audiences fear the unknown (The Woman In Black uses low key lighting
throughout and even during daytime scenes it remains gloomy and foggy) In
gothic horrors, the heroine/hero is in some kind of danger or the main
character is transformed or created or in Frankenstein we see Frankenstein
being created by the professor. Sleepy Hollow is a classic example of a
gothic horror, as it involves mystical characters such as a headless horseman
and it is set in a far away mist-shrouded land.
5. PSYCHOLGICAL
A psychological horror movie is a horror movie which uses the characters fears
and their emotional insecurity in order to build tension for the audience.
Psychological horrors tend to focus more on what is going on in the main
characters mind to scare viewers rather than showing gore or a ghostly
presence. In this sub-genre of horror the audience is presented with
characters who seem normal on the surface but internally they are
psychologically disturbed, just like Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs or
Norman Bates in Psycho. In psychological horrors weapons are rarely used;
the terror comes from the twisted nature of the characters‟ minds and what
their psychopathic natures are capable of making them do. We do see
killings in this sub-genre as they are so warped that they can be violent and
murderous. Normal everyday props can become scary and sinister (Danny‟s
tricycle in The Shining becomes somewhat of a symbol of scariness within the
film. Whenever we see him ride it, this acts as a prelude to something terrifying
happening thus putting the audience on edge.) Flashbacks/nightmares are
also a common convention of psychological horrors, in The Uninvited we see
Anna have frequent nightmares about the night her mother died in a fire.
6. Our sub genre-Psychological
For the promotional package, my group has chosen psychological horror as the sub-genre
we will focus on. There are many reasons as to why we collectively decided to focus on
this sub-genre, but overall we feel it has less restrictions and therefore our work is likely to
look much more professional. For example, with sub-genres like slasher and gothic
horror, there are many strict conventions to follow in order for the movie to be of that subgenre. However, from watching various different horror movies, we discovered that
psychological horrors can differ extremely when it comes to elements such as mise-enscene and location – for example, Gothika and The Shining are both psychological
horrors; Gothika features a woman who is so psychologically ill that she is unaware that
she has killed her own husband whereas The Shining is based on a man who is driven to
the brink of insanity and ends up trying to kill his family. They are both of the same subgenre yet have extremely different narratives. Slasher movies on the other hand, tend to
feature similar narratives for every film (teenagers are chased by a masked killer and are
killed in a graphic manner). For example, Halloween and Scream are both slasher and
feature similar storylines (Michael Myers chases Laurie Strode in Halloween, whilst
Ghostface chases Sidney Prescott throughout Scream). Therefore my group and I felt if
we chose for psychological to be our sub-genre, we would be able to be more creative
and original when it came to our storyline. We also chose psychological as there is not
many psychological horrors out today – Posession and Supernatural movies tend to be
more common. Therefore we wanted to create a trailer which is refreshing and different;
as shown by The Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho. When a psychological
horror is executed properly, it becomes a cinematic classic. We wanted ours to do so
too, and believe we will be able to create a fresh, original and intellectual idea for a
horror movie which, in time, would become a cinematic classic too.
