This document discusses the horror genre and the 1978 film Halloween. It defines horror films as depicting viewers' worst fears and the unknown. Halloween follows Michael Myers who returns to his hometown to stalk and kill people on Halloween. The film helped establish conventions for the genre such as using first-person perspectives and female heroes. It also examines posters for the film and discusses target audiences for horror, which appeals to a wide range including women who enjoy strong female characters.

1. Research: Horror Genre Callum Sands

2. Definitions of Horror films Horror- a film that depicts the viewers emotions, worst fears, terror of the unknown, disgust and nightmares. The horror genre is a genre that often feature scenes throughout the film that scare the viewer with the use of macabre and also that of the supernatural. The genre also overlaps with many other genre’s such as fantasy, science fiction and thriller. Most plots of horror films involve an evil force, event, or personage commonly of supernatural origin into the everyday world. Elements that feature in horror films are often torture, gore, ghosts, demonic forces, supernatural organisms and serial killers.

3. Halloween (1978) Director- John Carpenter Release date: October 25, 1978 On Halloween 1963, the small town of Haddonfield is shocked when six-year-old Michael Myers returns from trick-or-treating and for some unknown reason stabs his older sister to death with a big kitchen knife and is found by his parents staring into space with the bloody knife in his hand. Sent to a mental institution, Michael spends the next 15 years just sitting, still staring into space despite the best efforts of his Doctor, Dr. Samuel Loomis. Now, on October 30th 1978, something triggers Michael off and during a storm manages to steal a car from Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion (who was coming to take Michael to a court to keep him locked up) and goes back to Haddonfield where he steals a white mask. There, Laurie Stode, Michael's younger sister, finds that Michael is stalking her during the day (at school, at her home etc - but she doesn't know who he is.) As Dr. Loomis arrives and with the Sheriff frantically looks for Michael he doesn't know that Laurie is baby-sitting Lindsey and Tommy and that Laurie's friends Annie, Lynda and Bob are disappearing one by one.

4. Halloween (1978) This horror film set the conventions of horror films as it made significant use of first-person camera perspectives, unexceptional settings, and female heroines, all of which now define the horror film genre and are used in frequent other horror films.

5. Sinister. Knife to show that this is a horror film. Pumpkin is relevant to the title of the film. Glowing eyes symbolic to show evil or danger. Supernatural a pumpkin with a human hand, shows aggressiveness. White font is used to standout from the black background. Orange border around the title, links to Halloween and pumpkin. Emphasis on ‘He’ in the slogan, suggests something is coming back and also shows elements of threat or danger. Who is ‘He’? No website as this was released in 1978. There is a list of credits that tells you who is in the film, also the distributor is also noted as well as the age. No release date.

6. Sinister. Knife to show that this is a horror film. Orange colours symbolic of Halloween. Mask, iconic image of horror and popular culture. Its also made of screen shots of the film, like a trailer in a way. Also you never see the real face of the killer but you know who he is due to his mask. Background is the image, fades into black to allow the title and credits to standout. Colours used in the font are white, similar to that of the killer’s mask, and orange, which is symbolic of Halloween. Slogan is in white and suggests that the killer will accomplish what he intends to do. No actors featured, only in the credits, but the director is and has a reputation of creating gruesome explicit films, audience appeal. Title is big, bold and in orange, again linked to Halloween colours. Release date is in a different orange at the bottom along with various websites so that audiences can find out more about the film.

7. Horror Sub Genre’s Gothic Psychological Supernatural Slasher Suspense Thriller Teen terror Satanic Demonic

8. Target Audience Horror is most popular with teenagers and twenty-something’s, and this seems to go against the genre with a lot of critics, as if these age groups aren’t capable of making an intelligent film choice. This, of course, can be true; if at any time in the horror genre, we are being shown it now, with the surge of the re-make, where teenagers are unaware of the far superior (in most cases) films that are being regurgitated. While some horror movies do target the unknowing teenage audience, most horror fans can spot these a mile away. Sequels and re-makes have unfortunately given the horror genre a bad name; but even some of these are extremely well made films. There are countless genuinely good horror movies being made every year. Well written, well-constructed, well-acted, and well-directed films that leave the audience terrified and enjoying the roller-coaster experience. These well-made horror movies explore the nature of relationships, whether the relationships are between humans or between the natural and the supernatural. Devoted fans of the horror genre are women, the targeted audience of the “rom-com.” Women love horror possibly because of the many horror heroines but also because Horror movies cross gender-boundaries because they deal with the primal emotion, the basic instinct in all human beings—fear. They tap into locked fears, ideas and imagery that humans assiduously try to evade.