Conventions of a horror movie

1. Scream
Scream is a conventional horror movie as lots of
brutal murders are shown. Lots of blood is also
shown. The main antagonist of the movie are two
psychopaths. Differentkinds of murder weapons and
way of murder is shown. The presence of the killer
and his way of killing makes it a horror movie.
Scream can be a perfect example of conventional
horror movie because of its setting. The setting is in a
large,suburban house in an isolatedarea which
makes it desirable for the murderer to strike.
No one will hear the victim scream or no one will
come to help her/him.
Sound plays an important part in horror movies and
Scream is no exception. In the beginning of the movie,
the sound of crickets are heard to show that it’s after

2. midnight and the house is in a scheduled place.
House in an isolatedplace
The ringing of telephone is used to create tension.
The doorbell is used to create the sense of fear.
Specificcamera movements are used in horror movies
which is often consideredto be conventions of a
horror movie.In scream, lots of point of viewshots
are used to allow the audience to lookfor the killer
with the victim, this also puts the audience on the

3. victims place to make them realise his or her fear.
Medium shots are also used at the beginning to show
that the character is unaware of the situation and is
confident.
Mediumshots
High angle shots were used when her boyfriendtied
up to show his vulnerability.
High angel shots

4. Tracking shots were used when the victimwas
running or trying to find the antagonist. It shows
something bad is about to happen.
Lots of close-up shots are used to make the audience
feel emotionally relatedto the victims.
Close upshots
Another convention is that except for one , all the murders
happen at night.
The setting inside the house is like a normal house. Props
are used carefullyin the movie. The knives in the citchen
are used as décor as well as props as they are later used as
murder weapons.

5. Lighting is a key factor in a horror movie. Inside the house,
loighting is usually kept high which is quite non
conventional for a horror movie.
A non conventional factor about the movie was that houses
the murdershappen were quite neat and tidy showingthat
a regularfamilylives there. The movie “Scream” doesn’t
have supernatural occuring or force creating havoc like
vampires or werewolfs, ghosts, spirits etc. Also it shows
planned murdersinstead of mass massacare.In the movie
the characters actually discuss the conventions of horror
movies.
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