This document discusses common conventions in horror movie settings, characters, and themes. For settings, horror movies often take place in isolated, dark locations like large old houses, basements, or abandoned warehouses. Main characters typically include villains, ghosts, psychopaths, or serial killers. Common themes involve life and death, good and evil, religion, sex crimes, and the supernatural. Horror movies also frequently use dark colors, weapons, religious symbols, masks, dolls, and inhuman entities to reinforce the genre and induce fear.

1. Horror Movie Conventions Conclusion
Kevin Ntueba

2. Setting & Characters Types
From the research I have gathered, my conclusion to the most common, horror movies
conventions in terms of location and setting is that it is usually set in dark isolated
locations such and big old houses, lairs/basements/lofts and abandoned warehouse, places
which could connote darkness or unease.
The characters particularly the main protagonist tend to have the following characteristics
or motives; Villain, Evil Entity, Bad/abusive Childhood, Ghosts/Monsters/demons,
Psychopath/demented , A Serial Killer or Police Officer.
The characters are often used to implement the theme of the movie.
See next page for examples

3. Demented, crazed surgeon (The Human Centipede 2009) Priest and religious symbolism (Priest 2011)
Large isolated house (The House at the end of the street 2012) Again a huge house old model (The Purge 2013)

4. Themes, Iconography and Symbolism
See next page for examples
In the research I have conducted and the trailers I have analysed, I have noticed that themes,
symbolism (iconography) is commonly used to reinforce the genre of film, Horror movie
plots tend to centre around the theme of life and death, good and bad co-existing as well as
religion lust (sexually motivated crimes) and supernatural occurrences.
Horror movies often have dark colours and red that could connote danger, fear, blood or
darkness. Props in Horrors often include blades, knives; guns, saws and machetes.
Commonly used costumes and props such as religious ornaments , masks or anti-relgious
satanic symbolism, dolls as well as inhuman entities help reinforce the genre of the film as
well as implement fear.

5. Masks/wig props (The Poughkeepsie Tapes 2009) Demonic inhuman entity (The Rite 2011)
Mask and chainsaw (Texas Chainsaw 3 2013) Creepy Doll (Saw 2008) Inhuman entity (Legion 2010)
Dark Figure, weapon, (ATM 2012)