Georgia Mardons-Media a2

1. CODES AND
CONVENTIONS OF
HORROR
AND HORROR
TRAILERS

2. Horror films are designed to cause discomfort to the viewer, which could
make the viewer feel any of the following ways:
-Frighten and make the viewer panic causing heart rate to rise
-Cause dread and alarm.
-Invoke hidden or even new fears, sometimes lasting longer than the film
-Captivate and entertain us in a fearful and gruesome manner
-Conclude often in a way that shocks the audience
…

3. Good horror films should play on one of the following…
Nightmares (something everyone has experienced once in their life),
Vulnerability (the inability to withstand the effects of hostile environment)
Alienation (being alone is one of the scariest things for everyone)
Fear of the unknown (even something simple like a low lit room)
Death (the inevitable and also unknown, it’s never certain what will happen
when you die)
Loss of identity (losing everything you once were)
…

4. To create those affects to the audience every detail of the film should be thought through with the means to
create that atmosphere below are key Horror conventions:
Location/setting:
-Isolated places
-Woods
-Cave
-Countryside
-Isolated town
-Haunted/abandoned house
Props:
-Weapon (usually stabbing weapon never a gun, weapons that inflict slow and painful death)
-Machete
-Knife
-Axe
-Chainsaw
…

5. Characters:
-Parents
-Teenagers
-Children
-Killer
Villain/Killer:
-Evil twin/psycho
-Ghost/demon
-Mental patient
-Monster
-Outcast
-Masked murders
-Killer/monster never dies
-Killer (usually a male character
…

6. Sub Genre:
-Monster
-Vampire
-Sci-fi
-Teen slasher
-Religious
Sound/music:
Uses a lot of non-diegetic sound to set the mood and create atmosphere
Victims:
-A group of people the audience can relate to
-The slut (promiscuous girl) gets punished for being sexual active
-The virgin survives as long as her virginity
…

7. Film Trailer Conventions
…
Usage of dramatic camera angles and fast jump cuts to push the narrative on .
Key dialogue always used to create enigma and mystery.
Sudden jump cuts or eye match cuts of key horror shots to scare audiences.
Protagonist Vs Antagonist combined with high pitched screaming and key mise-en-scene to bring the shot
together or not and create confusion for the audience .
An autoreactive figure and one weak figure used to create dramatic dynamics with the trailer but can change
within the actual film, shocking the audience.
Non-diegetic sound and music to indicate danger and build up to danger.