Analysis of film genres - horror

1. CONVEN
TIONS
ANALYSI

2. What genre is your A2 production?
Following the film trailer analysis which I carried out,
myself and my partner Kitty had a discussion and
explored what trailers we preferred, why and what
genre we’d like to focus on for our own film. We
decided we liked many conventions from the HORROR.
genre, after looking at film trailers such as ‘Woman in
Black’ and ‘Paranormal Activity’ and therefore decided
this is the genre our film should be. We thought it would
be the best genre to make a trailer on because there are
many generic conventions we thought would be exciting
to exercise in our trailers, and overall the ability horror
trailers to make the audience feel fear, thrill and
excitement.

3. Genre
The first bit of research my partner and myself carried out towards
the overall ‘Horror’ genre was to look at definitions, and sub-
genres that comes within horror:
Heavy focus on the unstable emotional states of characters, in combination
with mystery and thriller. However, it often incorporates elements from the
mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre. In
addition to drama and mystery, many psychological thrillers contain elements
of, and often overlap with, the horror genre, particularly psychological horror.
Sub-genres
• Supernatural • Humorous • Gothic
• Psychological • Action-horror • Alien
• Slasher • Zombie • Natural horror

4. Psychological Thriller/Horror
Psychological thrillers and horrors rely on characters' fears and emotional instability
to build tension. It typically plays on archetypal shadow characteristics embodied by
the threat. Psychological horrors aim to create discomfort by exposing common or
universal psychological vulnerabilities and fears, such as the shadowy parts of the
human psyche which most people repress or deny.
Themes
Many psychological thrillers have emerged over the past years, all in various
media (film, literature, radio, etc.). Despite these very different forms of
representation, general trends have appeared throughout the narratives. Some
of these consistent themes include:
Reality
Perception
Mind
Existence/Purpose
Identity
Death

5. Generic conventions of Psychological
Thrillers
Stream of Consciousness – a literary technique which seeks to describe an individual's
point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes. In
psychological thrillers, the narrative usually tries to manifest the character's psyche
through word usage, descriptions, or visuals.
First person narrative – a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or
more of the characters, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is,
"I". This direct involvement that the characters have with the story in turn makes the
reader more involved with the characters themselves, and thus able to understand the
mechanics of the characters' minds. This technique is often paired with the concept of
the unreliable narrator.
Back story– the history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story. This
deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the reader is able to more fully
understand the character; more specifically, what the character's motivations are and
how his past has shaped his current cognitive perceptions

6. Generic settings/Camera
Lacey’sangles/Iconography
Repertoire of elements
Settings Iconography
 Graveyards  Low key lighting
 Big cities  Dark colours (props/makeup/costume)
 Churches  Blood
 Isolated houses  Religious symbols
 Hospitals  Clowns
 Basements/ Attics / Lofts  Children
 Woods/Forests  Photographs
 Underground locations  Weapons/knives
 Wind sounds
Camera Angles
 High/Low angles (shows power and can follow footsteps)
 Fast jump cuts to build climax
 Establishing shots of scary locations