Here is a small slide show on horror movie conventions

2. Characters
Family- protective
mother/ father, no
one believes the
children till its too
late, family house
and lifestyle e.g.
mom is housewife,
father works
Mentally ill/
possessed-
isolated, alone,
helpless,
depressed, drained
Young children-
Pure, Innocent,
Communicating
with spirits, target
for evil
Teens-
Sexualised, impure,
rebellious,
uncontrollable,
partygoers

3. Mise-en-scene
Props
-The Crucifix
-Holy water
-Sharp items e.g. knives, chain saw,
axe…
-Dolls/ Old toys
-Noose
-Mirrors
-old books/ photos
Make-up/ Costume
-Blood
-Ripped clothing
-White garment
-Contact lenses (black)
-Long hair
-Black gunk
Location
-Forest
-Farm house
-Church
-Cabin
-Old mansion

4. Music and Sound
Diegetic-
Screams,
barking, wind,
rain,
Thunder,
laughter, crying
Non-diegetic-
demonic voices,
drums
(heartbeat),
children's music
(nursery/
lullaby)
Music- piano,
violin, high
pitch, low dead
tone

5. Example 1 (clip in description)
https://youtu.be/jsd8xsgPIqA
Opening scene to sinister
Characters:
Typical family- Father, Mother and two children. They appear to be dressed well and we know from the movie
that thy lived family sized house.
Mise-en-scene
Though not set in a forest there is a lot of coverage from trees and bushes creating an isolated area where no
one can see in. There are also bags placed over each one of the family members heads to add to the torture.
Nooses are another common piece found in a lot of horror movies. This is because of their link to death but
also witches and black magic as most witches were known to be killed from hanging.
Music and sound
There is a constant dead drone sound in the background as well as occasional crashing sounds (non-diegetic).
There is also the diegetic sound of a camera rolling which makes us as an audience experience it as though
we were really happening

6. Example 2 (clip in description)
https://youtu.be/nM4dyGgTllc
Characters:
Here we have our ‘typical teens’. There is Marty who plays the rebel against society as he constantly smokes
cannabis. Jules who is the over sexualised character in the movie and plays a stereotypical blonde.
Mise-en-scene:
The location is a cabin in the woods as the title says. This setting again provides the isolation and coverage
needed for bad things to happen to the characters. The lighting of the room is dull and it is furnished with
old and antique objects such as candle holders, old books, fire place and lamps.
Music and sound:
Even though there is nothing frightening happening in the scene the music is quit dark and dead tones are still
used to make us expect the worse