This document discusses semantic and syntactic conventions of the horror genre. Semantically, it identifies common costume elements like dark or plain clothing, as well as typical props including weapons, candles, and religious items. It also mentions common colors and character archetypes. Syntactically, it provides examples of common narrative structures, such as a woman becoming possessed or a group of teenagers being killed one by one in the woods. Overall, the document examines the visual cues and storytelling patterns that audiences expect from the horror genre.

1. Genre Research: Horror
Semantic and Syntactic

2. Semantic
The conventions of the genre that
communicate with the audience.
• Costume - Dark/ washed-
out, worn out, plain.
• Props: Weapons –
knives, chainsaws, baseball
bats, guns.
Candles, religious items.
• Colours –
Blacks, whites, pale/washed-
out, reds.
• Characters –
Antagonist, Protagonist.
• Sounds – High pitched

3. Syntactic
The relations between the
elements and the structure
of narratives in genres.
A woman goes from being to
perfectly well to feeling
slightly ill. She then gets
worse over a rapid period of
time and starts to act
differently until others
around her realise she is
possessed.
A group of teenagers go on a
camping trip in the woods
and then a murderer comes
for them one by one.

4. When an audience watches a trailer
they expect to see something
scary and be able to understand
the narrative.
When they go to see the film they
expect it to be scary and be more
than the trailer, but understand
the entire narrative.
Each genre has a repertoire. These
are aspects of a genre that
everyone expects to see in the
movie.
All trailers aim to create an
Enigma, which is a sense of
mystery, so the trailer needs to
give enough information to
entice an audience, without
revealing the twists in the plot.