1. A2 Horror Movie Project
Pre Production Questionnaire Results
20 people surveyed

2. Question 1
What Age Are You?
12
10
8
6
Tally
4
2
0
15 - 17 18 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 50+
I have deliberately targeted my questionnaire at the teenager/young adult age
brackets because these are statistically the most likely to watch horror films. I aimed
to also survey at least one person from the other age brackets but no one I gave out
a questionnaire to was in either the 41 – 50 or 50+. If I was to do the survey again I
would try harder to ensure that each age bracket was represented.

3. Question 2
What Is Your Gender?
Female
Gender
Male
0 5 10 15
Statistically males are more likely to watch horror films than women, however the
difference is shrinking and so I have given women an equal voice in my survey by
questioning 10 females and males.

4. Question 3
Do You Enjoy Watching Horror Films For the first part of the answer we can see
and Why? that 75% of the 20 people questioned do
enjoy watching horror films. 14 of the 15
who said this were from the 15 – 17 and
18 -25 age brackets indicating very strong
support from these age ranges. One
person from the 26 – 30 category also
chose this option showing marginal
support from this age bracket. 3 of the 20
people surveyed commented that they
enjoyed watching horror films occasionally
but were not avid viewers, one from each
of the 18 – 25, 26 – 30 and 31 – 40 age
Yes brackets. The two people who said that
Occasionally they didn’t enjoy watching horror films
were from the 15 – 17 and 31 – 40 age
No brackets.

5. Question 3: Do You Enjoy Watching
Horror Films and Why?
Why? Samples from the survey
Yes – “I enjoy being scared”, “They are fun to watch with friends”
Occasionally – “Don’t have much time to watch movies”, “I think they
are more for Teenagers than adults”
No – “They scare me and I don’t enjoy it”
The ones who watch scary movies are those who like being scared and they often watch
them in social groups. For Teenagers, watching scary movies is a way to gain popularity
as it shows that you have the courage to be scared time and again. It is the Teenage and
Young Adult age groups who are the most likely to watch scary movies because they
have more free time and also less expenses to pay than an older adult so can go to the
cinema more often.

6. Question 4
8
6 Slasher (3)
4 Supernatural (3)
2 Monster (8)
Gore / Torture (5)
0
Which Genre of Horror
Film is Your Favourite?
This is a surprisingly convincing win for Monster movies as I thought the votes would
be closer. Movies featuring iconic monsters such as
Frankenstein, Zombies, Werewolves and The Mummy are the most popular
according to this small-scale survey.

7. Question 5
Do You Enjoy Psychological Techniques
Being Used in Horror Films?
No
Response
Yes
0 5 10 15 20
There was a very strong response in favour of the use of psychological techniques
in horror films. The two people who voted against the use of them where the same
two who stated that they did not enjoy watching horror films in the previous
question. Therefore all 18 people surveyed who said that they did watch horror
films were in favour of using these techniques.

8. Question 6
Would You Like to See More Ethnic
Minorities Playing Leading Roles?
Yes
No
This shows that audience members would like to see more ethnic minorities playing
major roles in horror films. There is still a 30% opposition for ethnic minorities having
bigger parts but overall this seems to be the least popular opinion.

9. Question 7
Do You Think That More Disabled Characters Should Feature
in Horror Films
Yes
No
There were very view votes between them but overall my survey indicated that the
audience do not want to see more characters affected by disabilities in horror films.
This was a surprise result but unfortunately I designed the question to be quantitative
meaning there were no stated reasons for peoples choices. If I was to conduct the
survey again I would definitely ensure that I collected more detailed opinions than
simply one word answers which would improve the quality of my research.

10. Question 8
Do You Think That it is More
Terrifying When You Cannot See the
Killer?
Do You Think
20
That it is More
10 Terrifying When
0 You Cannot See
Yes No the Killer?
These results prove that less is more and that the audience are more afraid of what
they can’t see in a horror film. This means that low budget films can still scare as
much as the Hollywood productions and also means that I should be able to scare the
audience very effectively within my own trailer.

11. Question 9
How much more encouraged would you be to find out information about a
new film if it was featured on the front cover of a popular movie magazine
and why?
Example Responses:
• More encouraged because it must be a good film if it features on the cover.
• Very encouraged because movie magazines are respected sources of information
for film fans.
• No more encouraged because I don’t listen to critics.
This shows that having my magazine feature on the cover of a popular movie magazine
such as Empire or Total Film will be beneficial in the sense that it will encourage
audiences to discover more information about my film. Some commented that they
would not be any more encouraged by the magazine cover but no one said it would
demotivate them.

12. Question 10
What are the 2 most important things you look for on a movie poster which
make the film appealing to you?
Example Responses:
• Interesting image
• Famous actors / director
• Critic ratings
• A hint at the story / plot
• Catchy title / tag-line
• Clear genre
These responses have provided me with a list of features to include when I design my
poster. These are the features that will be the most important to encourage potential
audiences to further research my horror movie.

13. Decisions Based on this Research
• My target audience will be 18 – 25 year olds and I would aim for an 18 certificate. This
age rating will tell this target audience that the film is scary and suitable for their age
range. It will also encourage the 15 – 17 year olds to ask parents/careers to purchase it
on their behalf as 18 rated films are very popular for this age range as they deliver the
biggest scares, meaning my film will be more popular and generate more hype.
• I will create a monster movie as my audience research has shown this to be the most
popular genre.
• I will use psychological techniques within my trailer and print products to make them
more appealing to the audience.
• I will cast an ethnic minority in a major role within my film. This will make the film more
appealing for ethnic minority audiences as they have a character on screen that they
can easily relate with. It will also challenge the normal conventions of movie magazines
where it is nearly always Caucasian actors who play the leading roles.
• I will not feature any disabled actors or characters in my movie or advertising campaign.
• The monster will be hidden and you will not be able to see them during any attacks or
until the very end of the plot. This will make the trailer more frightening and this will
hopefully encourage my target audience to pay to see the whole film.