AS level media coursework. This explains the types of mise en scene, sound, cinematography, editing and narrative in horror films. As well as some information on the sub-genres of horror.

1. Genre conventions
Horror filmsare designedto;
 Frighten & panic
 Causedread &alarm
 Evoke our hidden worst fears
 Captivate & entertain us in a liberatingexperience
 Often concludein a terrifyingshockingfinale usedread &alarm
 Evoke our hidden worst fears
 Captivate & entertain us in a liberatingexperience
 Often concludein a terrifyingshockingfinale
Cinematography-
 Can be filmedthroughahand-heldcameratoincrease the realismof the film/scene
 Shakycamera shotscan be usedtoshow fear,or a chase scene fromthe handheld
perspective.
 A lowangle shot;thiscan be usedto show the strengthof the villainandthe vulnerabilityof
the victims.Itshowsthe intimidationandfearthe monstergivesoff tothe characters.
 A close-upshotof the victimtoshow the emotionandfearon the face of the character.
 A pointof view shotfromthe perspective of the villain/monstertoshow theirpresence
overthe characters and the dangerthat theypossess.
 A Highangle shotoverthe charactersto show theirfearand weaknesses.
 Trackingor panningshotscan be usedto show chase scenesorto show how the characters
are beingwatched,followedorlookingatsomethingandthe camerapans roundto show
the audience whattheyare lookingat.
 Flashbacksorflashforwardscan be usedto show the characters realizationof whatisgoing
on,the consequencesof theiractions,orwhatcouldhave beendone tosave them.
 A tiltedshotcouldbe usedtoshow a supernatural beingispickingupthe camera,or a
character islyingonthe floorandwe see thingsthroughtheirperspective.
 A longshotcan be usedto showthe area/place where the filmisset.
 A zoomcan be usedtoadd emphasisona certainpointinthe scene as otherthingsare
goingon,for example zoominginona creepythinginthe backgroundas some kidsplayin
the foreground.
 AN overthe shouldershotcanbe usedto buildtensionandsuspense.Itgivesthe audience
the feel of beinganothercharacterinthe room.
Mise en scene
 A lotof lowkeylightingisusedinhorroras itcreatesmysterywithinthe film.The darklight
meansthe viewercannotsee whattheywishtosee.Thisincreasesonthe fearof the
unknown.
 Lots of dark colorsare alsousedto representthe villain andthingsconnectedtothe villain,
thisshowsthat the itemsrelatedtothe villain,andthe areaaroundit/him/heris evil.

2.  Similarlylightercolorsare usedforthe victimsandthingassociatedwiththemtoshow the
victim’sinnocence
 Typical settingsfora horror filmincludedarkandisolatedplaceswherenoone isaroundto
help
 Popularlocationchoiceshave previouslybeengraveyards,woodsandhousesinthe middle
of nowhere.
 Many props are usedin horrormovies,ofteninslasherflicks,anaxe ormachete isusedby
the villaintocut downmanycharacters.Otherweaponscan range fromthingslike
chainsawstobasketballs.
 The characters oftenstart outbeingdressedinnice,cleanclothes.Howeverasthe film
progressesthe clothessometimesbeginto deteriorate,toshow the mental state of the
characters.Or theycontinuouslybecome coveredinblood/bodyfluids/guts,muckanddust.
 Many horrorfilmsare setall over the place,Here are some examples:
 Small communitiesor isolatedplaces, a tribe onanislandor a groupof villagers ina remote village.
 Anything that is relatedto loneliness. Often, sometimes places with‘dark’ history, like abandoned
houses, hotels andinsane asylums.
 Abandoned houses
 Barnes and farms
 Cities
 Cabins
 Creepyhotels
 Graveyards
 Basements
 Hunting places
Character:
 The main protagonist;normally the ‘victim/hero’of the movie. Inmanyfilmsthe protagonist
diesat the end,gettakenby the monsteror givesup.Inmany filmsthe protagonistsurvives.
There are oftenmultiple protagonistsinthe film,be iteitheragroupof friendsora groupof
people forcedtogetherbuythe situation.
 The villain,oftenamonster,mutatedfreak,alien, serial killerorghost/spirit–tendto have a
trademark (Jasonvorheesmask,the stone pilesfromthe blairwitchproject;etc).Inmany
filmsthe antagonistiskilledoff bythe protagonist, butitcanalso be the otherway round.In
manyfilmswe don’tsee the antagonistasit isa spiritor ghost,or a personwhoisjustnever
seenbythe camera.
 Characteristicasto howtheykill (e.g.weapons/howandwhotheykill).Manyantagonists
have a trademarkor specificwayinwhichtheykill,mutate orterrorise theirvictims.Insaw,
for example,jigsaw usesmanyhorrible waystokill people,buteachtaskisstartedwiththe
line ‘I want toplay a game’
 The stupid/immoral teenagersthatalwaysgetkilled oftenexistwithinthe slashergenre,a
groupof friendsgoonholidaytoa cabininthe woodsandtake part in an ouji board,or
awakenan evil spirit. Teenagerswhoexplore anabandonedbuildingorareacordonedoff.
 Creepychildren oftenbecome possessedbythe spirit,forexample Hunterfromthe
Paranormal Activityseries.Andeventuallythisleadstothe deathof manyothercharacters
and people.

3.  Police officers are ofteninvolved,theyeithertrytohelpthe kids/teenagersinvolvedbut
endup gettingthemselves killed.Ortheydon’thelpandcall the kidsliarsandget more
people killed.
 In horror moviesthere canoftenbe astereotypical strong,cockymale leaderinthe group.
Thischaracter oftenendsupeitherbeingkilled bythe villainorsavedbythe lessstrongand
cocky characters.On the otherhandstheyoftendo save the day (forexample,evildead
1981) justlike the strongmale role isstereotyped.
 Female stereotypesinhorroroftenleave the womenbeingthe weakoneswhoneed
protectingfromthe terrorsgoingon aroundthem. SidneyPrescott isthe mainfemale
protagonistinthe ‘scream’series.Thisshowsusthatwomencanbe justas capable as men
inhorror situations. Howeverfemale characterscanoftenbe oversexualisedorusedas
sexual objects.
Sound:
 In horror filmsthere isn’treallyverymuch silence,whenthe charactersaren’ttalkingthere
isalwayssome kindof soundinthe back ground,be itwindrushingthroughthe trees,or a
rustlinginthe distance,musicorjustgeneral backgroundnoise.
 Soundsare oftenusedas a ‘sting’toeitherscare the audience or to signal somethingbadis
aboutto happen.The musicwill buildup,slowlyandthenstop,followedbyaloudnoise and
somethinghorrifyinghappensonscreen.
 Soundisone of the most importantelements,itincreasesthe intensityandsuspenseof the
film,itdrawsinthe viewerasthe musicbuilds.
 Many horror filmsrelyonmusicto buildtension,asthe character reacheda dangerous
place,musicisplayedquietlyatfirstandthe buildsuptobe loud.
 Whencomplete silence isusedhowever,itisnormallyinascene where the characteris
hidingfromthe monster/thingafterthem.The soundof the footstepsore movementis
oftenoverexaggeratedtoshowthe presence of the beingandtobuildtension.
Editing:
 The editinginhorrormoviescanbe vastlydifferentdependingonthe type of genre and
overall plotof the film.Forexample the editingstyle of paranormal activityisveryjumpy
and useslotsof straightcuts; thisisbecause mostof the filmisfilmedthroughsecurity
camerasaround the victim’shouse.
 Otherfilmshave lessjumpyeditingstylesbecauseof the genre,forexample,Wrongturn
doesn’thave verymanystraightcuts,but longer,more drawnoutscenesandedits,thisis
because itisa slowerpacedhorrorbut can be equallyasscary.
 A shotreversshotcan be usedverywell inhorrorfilmstoshow the characters fear,the
thingtheyare afraidof,and the back to the character. Thisgivesthe audience asense of
realismaswe see boththe protagonistsandantagonistina few shortseconds,justlike we
wouldif we were inthat position.
 Jumpcuts are oftenusedinhorrorfilmstoshow the passage of time,forexample,
characters heldupina buildingfromthe antagonist,orthe speedinwhichthe antagonist
can approach the protagonistandput theminsevere danger.

4. Narrative:
 Many horror filmsuse the closedfilmmethod,thisiswhere the filmcomestoa satisfactory
end,sothe herokillsordefeatsthe badguy/monster.Thesefilmsofternendinthe waythat
we expectthemtoend.
 Some horror filmsoftenuse anopen method,thisiswhere the filmdoesnotcome toa
satisfactoryend,like the all the heroesare killedoff andthe monster/killerislefttoresume
theirtorture of otherpeople.
 A multi strandapproachcan be used;thisiswhere there are several narrativesrunningat
the same time.Thiscan be usedinhorror to show whenagroup getssplitupand theyall go
differentwaystoescape.
 An enigmaapproachcan alsobe used,thisiswhere the plotbuildsapuzzle forthe viewerto
solve asthe characters act itout on screen.Thiscan be usedinhorror to give the viewerthe
storyfrom the perspective of adetective astheytryandfigure outwhothe killeris,andthe
audience isshownnomore informationthanthe character.
 Linearnarrativesfollow asimple start,middle,endstoryline whichcanbe usedinhorrorto
showhowsomeone’slife isaffectedbythe thingstheyexperience,anon-linearnarrative
can alsobe used,tojumpabout to differentpointsina person’s lifeandgive the audience a
differentexperience.
 There are eightbasiccharactertypesaccordingto Propp,hero,villain,donor,helper,
princess,farther,dispatcherandthe false hero.All 8can be includedinafilmandusually
more than one isplayedbythe same character, for example the donorandfathercanbe the
same character.
Subgenre
Psychological horror
Psychological horrors,unlike splatterfilms,whichrelyonbloodandgore to gettheirscares.
Psychological thrillersrelyoftenonthe unseen orunknowntoscare the audience. Suspicion,
distrust, self-doubtandparanoiaof others,themselvesandthe worldare all commonthemesin
psychological horrors.
Cinematography/editingof psychological Horrorfilms –
 Lots of psychological Horrorfilmsare filmedonhandheldcamerasandare knownas found
footage film,where the whole filmisfilmedbythe charactersandthe footage theygetisput

5. togetherlate on,almostlike itwasfoundandsomeone decidedtomake a filmabouttheir
adventures.
 Otherpsychological horrorsare a compilationof security camerafootage of the
haunted/terrorisedareaalongwithprofessionalscenesfilmedwheneitherthe action
happensorsome extrascenes,whichcan’tbe filmedbythe securitycameras,are neededto
fill ingapsor provide information.
 Some psychological horrorsdonotuse any type of ‘foundfootage’anduse all professional
shots.Thisadds a more sense of realismandincreasesthe scare factoras the shots look
realisticandbelievable.
 Jumpcuts are usedto showthe speedanddeadlinessof the thinghaunting/terrorisingthe
characters.The beingcouldbe 10 feetaway,andthena cut is usedas the beingisrighton
the camera and a jumpscare isusedto scare the audience.
 Eye line matchesare everyeffective toshow thatthe thinghauntingthemisn’ta visible
thing.The character looksat a location,andthe camera turns tothat locationbutthere isn’t
reallyanythingthere,anobjectmaymove inthe directionthey’relooking,oradoor may
slamor open.
 A shotreverse shotcan be usedto show the fearin the characters whentheyfinallydo
encounterthe thingthathas beentormentingthem, we seethe charactersface,the thingor
somethingthe thinghasdone, andthe fear/disgustonthe charactersface.Thisgivesthe
audience areal feel abouthowthe charactersare feeling.
Soundand mise enscene –
 The costumesand lightingare verymuchthe same as conventional horrors.The dark
lightingaddstothe atmosphere andthe clothesandmake-upof the charactersstart off
nice,anddeteriorate asthe filmgoeson.
 There islessoftena murderweaponasthe thingsthat are killingthe charactersoftenhave
some kindof supernatural abilitiesandsothe needforweaponsisnolongerneeded.
However,the charactersoftencarry a cross or some kindof religioussymbolismtoprotect
themfromthe things.
 The soundis alsoverymuch the same;stingsare usedas jumpscares.silence isusedinthe
same way,whenthe thingiscreepingaround,itsmovementsare exaggerated,the thingsit
knocksoverand destroys, theirsoundisalsoexaggerated.