4. There are different types of horror films such as slasher,
stalker, thriller, action-adventure, paranormal/supernatural,
torture, splatter, science fiction, aliens, vampire, monster
movies, etc…
For example, Paranormal/Supernatural horror would include
ghosts, spirits, demons, or other supernatural beings. Themes
such as the afterlife, the devil and demonic possession run
through this genre. Some of these films contain scenes of
gruesome violence.
Another example would be thriller horror. The main elements
of this genre are suspense, tension, excitement and
anticipation. There is also uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and
terror. A thriller can keep the audience on the edge of their
seats one minute and the next it can be more relaxed. It is
usually based on a villain who commits evil acts and the hero
has to overcome this.
7. Locations are important as they set the scene for the
film. In some cases the audience can be scared before the
film has even started properly. Examples of different
locations are: apartments, graveyards, old houses,
deserted places, forest, etc… Some films may begin with
a ‘normal’ family in their ‘normal’ house and then things
can go horribly wrong. Also they may involve school
trips, camping holidays, etc… where the audience is
unaware of what is going to happen. There are surprise
and shock elements.
10. There are different camera angles such as close-up,
extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, extreme
close-up, the bird’s-eye view, high angle, eye level, low
angle, oblique/canted angle, point of view shot and
etc…
I think it is important to have different camera angles,
for example if you use close-up – you can see everything
like their emotions, if it is close-up on some scenes, then
the film is trying to show you what you should look for.
Some films use a point of view shot like The Blair Witch
Project, I think that’s really good because it makes you
think you are with them, rather than watching in
cinema.
13. Costumes are important for horror films because you can tell
their character by looking at their costume. For example, some
films have their evil/monster look scary or wear mask, etc… All
the horror films are different, you don’t have to dress up to
look like you are going to kill some people. They can dress up
normally but most of the films always have masks on, and
wear the clothes that covers their identify. You will know if it
was a ghost/spirit because they are see through and always
look white. Like in Halloween, a killer dressed up to cover his
identify by wearing blue coveralls and a white mask. This will
make whoever is watching be scared of him and also the
characters in the film will be scared of him knowing
something is not right and might happened to them.
16. Props are very important for horror films because they
always have a weapon, some films will have house
furniture, camping equipment, cars, hospitals, cameras,
etc… Every film has different props like Scream, the
killer always carries the knife to stab/kill people. But
some films have guns, axe, saw, chainsaw, etc… But if it
was a evil spirit, you cannot really kill them, they might
use holy water, crucifix, etc…
Another example is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the
Leatherface wears a masks made of human skin. The
weapon he uses is a chainsaw but he also butchers
people by using the butcher tools.
