1. Burton's Formula
Burtons theory is that all movies follow a strict guideline, that repetition
and variation are what big movies follow in order to be successful. I am
going to be testing Burtons formula to see if it is correct by analysing
five different film plots and colour code them accordingly. Burtons
formula says that each film consists on four different success elements.
This consists of setting/plot, characters, themes and finally iconography.
Setting/Plot
Character
Theme
Icons

2. House at the End of the Street
A mother and daughter
move to a new town and
find themselves living next
door to a house where a
young girl murdered her
parents. When the daughter
befriends the surviving son,
she learns the story is far
from over.

3. The Helpers
Seven friends on a road
trip to Las Vegas break
down near a rest-stop
motel, where they
encounter a seemingly
helpful group of people.
Convinced to stay
overnight, the friends
wake up in their rooms
to a gruesome and
bloody terror.

4. Chernobyl Diaries
Six tourists hire an
extreme tour guide who
takes them to the
abandoned city Pripyat,
the former home to the
workers of the
Chernobyl nuclear
reactor. During their
exploration, they soon
discover they are not
alone

5. Does it work?
To conclude I found that Burtons theory does work, this is because when analysing
the horror plots they all shared very similar characters, I.e the weak vulnerable
woman, the same dark secluded setting/plot. However they all have slightly small
variations as they want they film to be different and to not be the same as others,
although the change cannot be drastic as this will exclude the success elements from
the horror film. In my horror trailer I will include Burtons theory as it sets a unique
structure and standard to the genre. However I will try to use the right amount of
variation within the elements in order to create something unique from the rest.