This document defines horror genre conventions and subgenres of horror films. Genre conventions are elements like characters and plot points that distinguish one genre from another. Horror aims to elicit a negative emotional reaction by playing on primal fears. The document outlines several horror subgenres including comedy horror, action horror, slasher films, zombie films, psychological horror, and science fiction horror. It provides examples of popular films that fall within each subgenre.

1. Definitions of Horror Conventions
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By Definition:
Genre conventions are smaller elements from different
characters to repeating plot points that will separate one
genre of fiction from another.
Most genres have a set of particular elements in which they
include to help appeal to their audience targeted. Genre
conventions tend to evolve over time as the work tends to
become lost and new content will be created.
Also, certain genre conventions are over featured and
therefore can become cliché.
 A way in which something is usually done
 Some horror films may try and alter some of these
codes and conventions in order to be postmodern.
By Definition:
Horror is a film genre in which inflicts a negative emotional
reaction on the viewer by playing on their primal fears and
feelings.
Horror films often deal with the viewers nightmare or
subconscious fears in which builds suspense causing terror
to the unknown. Not only for the characters within the
scene of the film but also in which the viewer will react.
The macabre and supernatural are reoccurring themes
within the horror genre, but tend to overlap with the
fantasy and thriller genres, which are not necessarily
always horrific.

2. Horror Sub-Genres
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Comedy Horror
This film genre combines the elements of comedy and
horror fiction, which crosses over with the black
comedy genre.
In comedy horror, gallows humour is a common
element, which is a style that is in the face of or about
serious and painful circumstances. For example, this
could be about serious matters such as death, war or
disease in a light heartened, silly manner, which would
be considered as funny.
Normally featured in a hopeless situation, which arises
from stressful, traumatic, or life threating situations,
which are unavoidable.
Comedy Horror is typically made by or about the
victim in the situation.
Film examples in this sub-genre include:
Action Horror
A film genre in which a group or more than one
character is thrust into a number of plots which are
seen to be challenges.
These challenges will test the characters ability to
overcome them, which will typically include
physical feats, fight scenes, frantic chases or general
violence.
These action Horror films tend to feature a
character resisting and struggling against the odds
that are present in which they will have to beat.
These situations are life-threatening which may
include a villain, but will generally conclude with
the victory for the hero involved.
Themes often prevalent in typical action-horror
films include gore, demons or vampires, which are
shown in these movies:
 Resident Evil
Films
 Dawn of the
Dead
 The Crazies
 Aliens
 Jaws 2
 Fright Night
 The cabin in the
woods
 Lesbian Vampire
Killers
 Shaun of the Dead
 Scary Movie

3. Horror Sub-Genres
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Slasher Horror
A slasher film is a sub-genre of both a thriller and
horror film, typically involving a psychopathic killer
stalking and murdering a sequence of victims in a
violent manner. The murderer would normally use
a prop such as a knife, axe or chainsaw.
However, the meaning of a ‘slasher’ is the act of
murder in any horror movie, but has established its
own set of key characteristics such as blood and
body parts, which would establish it about from
other genres.
Slasher films may at times overlap with crime,
mystery and thrillers due to the stalking and killing
of the characters involved.
Examples:
Zombie Horror
Zombie films are also a smaller more distinctive
sub genre, which specifically features a zombie
apocalypse.
Zombie films feature creatures that are usually
portrayed as half dead corpses or mindless human
beings.
Distinct sub-genres have evolved including zombie
comedies and zombie apocalypse films, which are
commonly in a cannibalistic nature attacking and
infecting other characters.
Zombie thrillers are a popular genre of horror films
with a high budget to produce. This is because they
generally fall into other genres of horror such as
comedy, science fiction or romance.
Here are some examples of zombie films:
 World War Z
 ZombieLand
 Warm Bodies
 Quarantine 2
 I am Legend
 Child’s play
 Saw films
 Nightmare on
Elms Street
 Friday 13th
 Black
Christmas

4. Horror Sub-Genres
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Psychological Horror
A psychological horror is a subgenre of horror
fiction in film and also video games. This genre
relies on the characters’ fears and emotional
instability; this will build tension in the plot of the
film.
Psychological horror creates discomfort by
exposing common emotional vulnerabilities and
fears. These could include self-doubt and paranoia
of other, themselves and the world.
Within these films, the characters will face perverse
situations in which will involve their own fear in
which they will have to overcome in the story.
However, this will also involve the supernatural
and immorality such as creatures, monsters or
aliens.
Film examples include:
 The Shining
 Ring
 Silent Hill
 The Black Cat
 Whispering
Corridors
Science Fiction Horror
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with
imaginative content such as futuristic settings,
science-involving technology. These films are
normally set or time travelled to parallel universes
and extraterrestrial life.
It will explore the potential consequences of
innovations and other experiments that have gone
wrong.
Fiction horror features the unnatural and
supernatural, which aims to unsettle and frightens
the reader through the use of graphic violence. The
story could involve killer aliens or mad scientists to
build tension and further the plot.
Within the science fiction genre there are also
many other subgenres such as space western,
superhuman and apocalyptic that are featured in
the films below:
 Ruins
 The thing
 Pandorum
 Frankenstein
 The Human
Centipede