Horror conventions

1. HORROR CONVENTIONS
Amandeep Mattu

2. SETTING
 Small communities or isolated places. Urban environments, dark streets, narrow
alleyways. Large cities or run down ghost towns.Anything that connotes being in
isolation or alone.
 Often places with “dark” history such as, abandoned houses, hotels, hospitals and
asylums.
 Overall locations for any good horror film would be; lakes, roads, countryside,
barns/farms, woodland, houses, cabins, cities, subways, underground tunnels,
creepy hotels, abandoned houses, haunted houses, space-stations (sci-fi horror),
graveyard, dungeons, deserted ships at sea, space ships, alien planes, basements,
attics, science labs, abandoned shopping centre, pirate ship, asylums, deep water,
blizzards etc.

3. SETTING

4. TECHNICAL CODES
 Camera work is very expressive and most of the time, not natural. High and low angles can be used to
connote nightmares and dominance.
 Point of view shots are important because they allow the audience to see the world from the
villain/victim’s eye.This happens roughly at the end or in the middle of a typical horror film.
 Handheld shots make it difficult for the audience to make out what is happening.A prime example of this
is BlairWitch (2016), the entire movie is shot with a handheld to promote the feeling of terror and the
unknown.
 Sometimes framework uses the depth of field makes it harder to see the monster creeping up behind the
protagonist.
 Sound is vital in any horror movie. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound must be parallel as well as
contrapuntal in a horror.
 Types of shots such as an extreme close up on a certain victim’s can help the audience with identification
with terror and fear, and also to exclude any threats (if we cannot see it, it is more terrifying).
 Editing can create unsettling tension and suspense. If the editing has not been paced up in a while, we
assume that something bad will jump out on us any minute.

5. TECHNICAL CODES

6. ICONOGRAPHY
 Visual style: often dark colours like red and black (links to evil, blood and danger
etc).
 Lighting is expressive and non-naturalistic. Low-key lighting can help create dark
shadows and unfamiliar shapes in the darkness. Lighting can be motivated in the
world of film (like bonfires, fireplaces and torches).
 Props can help us further identify horror genre. Specific props can be identified
with a certain villain or character. (Chainsaws, machetes, knives, claws, firearms
etc).
 Common objects include: weapons, masks, icons of the supernatural, religious
icons etc).
 The iconography of the monsters help to connote extreme fear, disgust and
terror; werewolves, vampires, mummies, Frankenstein and others.

7. ICONOGRAPHY

8. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
 Classic narrative structure largely made applicable to the horror genre but it can be
left for closure or maybe perhaps leave room for a sequel, thus enabling a franchise
like Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street.
 There will always be a hero, a protagonist, a man or “final girl” of the film, keeping
with the ‘normal’ conventions of the genre. Usually the hero must embark on a
mission or a quest to kill or solve problems.
 Some narratives are very formulaic and this is practically present in sub-genres,
most noticeably slasher films. After some event that turns the killer insane or by
childhood past or even psychotic medical issues, the villain returns to his home-town
and always preys on teenagers.These teenagers represent “immoral” and are quite
stupid, usually they are the ones who start the horror in the first place or maybe they
just get killed quickly and there is always (most of the time) a survivor, most likely a
female character.

9. CHARACTER TYPES
 The main protagonist, often the “victim/hero”” of the movie.
 The villain, often a monster, mutated freak, alien, serial killer or a poltergeist.
 The stupid/immoral teenagers that most of the time get killed.
 Creepy children, often little girls.
 Police officers that can either be good or evil.
 And other characters; ghosts, zombies, demons, psychopath, stalker, weirdo,
werewolf, cheerleaders etc…

10. CHARACTER TYPES

11. THEMES
 Good vs. Evil
 Depression
 Religion
 Childhood issues
 Revenge
 Supernatural
 Beyond death
 Science gone wrong
 Zombie apocalypse
 Nightmares
 Madness
 Insanity
 Lust
 Self-consciousness
 Envy
 Suicide