The document summarizes the results of a survey about horror movie preferences. It finds that paranormal and psychological thrillers are most popular. Most respondents identify with victims rather than villains. Watching horror films is often a social activity. Iconic posters like Scream are most appealing. Isolated locations create fear for viewers. Common horror elements like murder and blood can be used but may not need to be graphically displayed in a psychological thriller trailer.

1. By Kelly Goodman

2. Male
Female
With this question I wanted
to find out how balanced the
answers would be according
to different sexes. I feel that
since there is a balance, I
will be able to achieve an
even result, which will help
me to create a film and
trailer which appeals to both
males and females. Since
conducting my questionnaire
in my college, I know that
the age range of those
asked is 16 -20, which is
seemingly my target
audience for my film/trailer.

3. Slasher
Psycholo
gical
Thriller
Paranor
mal
Torture
Science
Fiction
After speaking to the public, I found
that the biggest impact horror seems
to be paranormal, due to recent films
such as paranormal activity being
such a hit. Following this, the second
highest scoring horror was
psychological. I think that it would be
easier and more achievable for me to
make a psychological horror
trailer, since my initial ideas all
surround the concept of stalker;
something that is psychologically
based. Torture films came in 3rd
place, though I feel that I would not be
able to professional achieve a
believable trailer if I followed this
horror genre.

4. Victim
Villain
Others
The results clearly show that
the public completely identify
with the victim rather than the
villain. I assumed that this
question would have these
results, since I also relate to
the victims in a horror movie.
With this in mind, I will use
point of view shots, so the
audience can put themselves
in the victims position. This will
allow them to identify with the
victim further.

5. At Home
(alone)
At Home
(with
company)
At the
cinema
Other
The results show that
ultimately, watching horror
films is a social event, and
people don’t really watch
them on their own as much as
they do with company. I feel
that in order to be viewed by
these groups, my trailer
should appeal to both a
female and male
audience, since often
couples, friends and families
view horror films together as a
social event.

6. Scream
Wrong
Turn
Saw
Poltergeist
Sleepy
Hollow
The results for this question are
fairly balanced, though the clear
winner of the most appealing
poster is the Scream poster. For
this question I received some
feed back, which included;
• The Scream mask is very iconic
• You know the film straight away
• Sleepy Hollow has too much
going on, doesn’t look like a
horror poster
With these results in mind, I feel
that a successful poster is a
simple one with an iconic image.
However, it still needs to be scary
to relate back to the genre.

7. Abandoned
Woods
Hospital
The victims
house
Grave Yard
The results for this question
seemed to be pretty split, so the
destination for my horror film
could be any of the 4. Typically in
horrors we see the victim in
isolated places, which creates
fear in the viewers mind since the
victim is completely on their own
with the killer/villain. I think this
will be particularly successful to
portray within my trailer, since it
once again allows the audience to
relate back to the victim once
again.

8. Blood
Murder
Torture
Darkness
Mystery
Ghosts
By asking what the most common
features used in a horror film, I
was able to see whether I would
want my film to live up to
expectations of to challenge
conventions. Murder and Blood
seem to be the most common
conventions used within a horror
film, this is something that I also
think is necessary, though this
does not have to be fully displayed
in the trailer, as it is only a tease.
Since I am doing a psychological
horror, it may not be necessary to
use as much blood as that in a
gore/slasher horror.