Horror films seek to elicit negative emotions from audiences by playing on their fears. They use common settings, characters, themes and conventions to create frightening atmospheres that audiences associate with the genre. Typical elements include isolated locations at night, female protagonists facing killers, unexpected heroes, and themes involving demons, religion, and the struggle between good and evil. Horror films aim to give audiences a thrill by blending real-life and fictional stories of one's worst nightmares coming true.

2. Horror is a genre that seeks to find a negative emotion from the audience. Horror
films often play on the audience’s fears to create scenes that will scare them. Most
horror films use particular forms and conventions to create a frightening and
intimidating atmosphere. Most horror films use the same types of
settings, props, characters and themes. These things define a horror movie for the
audience and help the director know what reaction the audience will give.

3. Most horror movies consist of the same type of settings. Including;
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Graveyards
Abandoned Houses/Buildings/Spaces
Cabins in the country
Basements
Haunted Houses
Places that have significance to one of the characters
Most are set in the night time when it is dark and the characters are alone. This
creates suspension and tension for the audience as they know the character is
about to run into danger.
It is very unlikely for the movies to happen in the day time unless it’s the
beginning of the movie when the characters are first introduced.

4. The Protagonist: This character tends to be a woman who
comes face to face with the killer of the movie. She tends to
be the smartest out of the group thus resulting in the last
surviving person in the movie. Sometimes she ends up dead
sometimes not. An example of this would be Dana in Cabin in
the Woods.
The Unlikely Hero: This is the character that ends up
shocking the audience due to a change in behavior or
character and ends up saving the day. This character is
usually the quiet boy or geek. An example of this would be
Holden in Cabin in the Woods.

5. The Antagonist: This character is the one both the audience
and characters are afraid of. This tends to be the
killer/villain of the movie. An example of this would be
Kayako in The Grudge.
The Sex Appeal: This character tends to be a girl and is
commonly the first to die due to her stupidity. She is known
for showing her body. An example of this would be Chugs in
Sorority Row.

6. Horror genre themes are used to scare the audience and give them a thrill or
adrenaline boost. It gives the audience combinations of real life and fiction stories.
This mixture creates the idea that your worst nightmares are coming true.
Horror themes include;
• Demons
• Hauntings
• Religion
• Good
• Evil
The theme of the movie has a great effect on the structure. Horror films are known to
begin with an equilibrium, having everything fine, until a disruption occurs. Most
horror movies end with a disequilibrium, using cliff hangers I order for there to be a
sequel.

7. To create an effect on the audience most horror movies use the same
colours/props to show the genre. Colours often associated with horror are dark
colours e.g. black, grey, red. Props often associated with horror are weapons
such as knifes, or a scary mask, or an old prop placed in an isolated space.
Most horror movies use these colours and props to signify the horror genre on
advertisement ect.
The film poster for ‘Hide and Seek’ automatically makes us think that it is a
horror movie due to the use of blacks and reds and the isolated space in the
image.