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Horror

Horror films aim to excite and thrill viewers by involving them in the story and focusing on characters' mental states. Common conventions include using dark settings, close-up camera angles, characters like demons and monsters, and building tension with techniques like lighting, music, and editing. An analysis of trailers for The Unborn, Halloween, and Child's Play found that each used cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing differently to effectively generate fear. A brief history noted that horror explores primal fears through disturbing plots involving evil intrusions and supernatural threats, with some of the earliest and most influential examples being Nosferatu in 1920 and Frankenstein in 1935.

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184 views

Horror

Horror films aim to excite and thrill viewers by involving them in the story and focusing on characters' mental states. Common conventions include using dark settings, close-up camera angles, characters like demons and monsters, and building tension with techniques like lighting, music, and editing. An analysis of trailers for The Unborn, Halloween, and Child's Play found that each used cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing differently to effectively generate fear. A brief history noted that horror explores primal fears through disturbing plots involving evil intrusions and supernatural threats, with some of the earliest and most influential examples being Nosferatu in 1920 and Frankenstein in 1935.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Horror Research & History of

Horror
Charlie Veitch

What are Horrors designed for?


Horror films are aimed at making the viewer
excited and thrilled, this is achieved by
going in depth with the story, making the
viewer feel involved with the film as they are
watching. When the film focuses on the
characters mental state, this is classed as
another branch of the horror genre; a
psychological thriller.

Key codes and conventions of the


Horror Genre
Setting
Thunder and lightning
Spooky house
A remote forest
Usually when its dark out (night time)
Camera Angle
Close-up and Extreme close-up to show the characters facial expression and emotions
Over the shoulder to see from the characters point of view
Low and high angle shots, the lower the angle the more power the character has and
vice-versa.
Long shot usually at the start as well as the establishing shot to show the setting.
Characters
Demons
Monsters
Victims who have been possessed
Serial Killers

Trailer Analysis
Micro Features

Horror Trailer 1
The Unborn

Horror Trailer 2
Halloween (2009)

Horror Trailer 3
Childs Play

Most Effective
and Why?

Cinematography
(camera shots and
angles)

high angle shots,


close-ups, extreme
close-ups

Long shot, mid


shot, extreme
close-ups, low
angle shot, closeup, low angle shots

Establishing shot,
sweeping shot. POV
shot, close-up,
extreme close-up, mid
shots, high angle
shots

The Unborn
because the use
of the eerie
camera angles is
very effective

Mise en scene
Costume & make-up
Facial expression,
behaviour, body
language, positioning
of characters,
setting, props

white clothes
purity. Boy
disfigured. Worried
confused face to
show horror. Eerie
then fast paced
music

His costume and mask


are dirty and torn; this
shows neglect. Cant
see his face shows
uneasiness and tension.
He is robotic to show he
has no emotions.

Fashionable clothes to
show a normal family,
respectable looking
Chucky is there to
ruin this balance.
Scared facial
expressions, setting is
in the families house

Childs Play
because the use
of a normal
looking family
and to then have
Chucky to ruin
this as he is
totally the
opposite is very
effective

Sound
Diegetic/ nondiegetic, soundtrack,
dialogue, voice-over

No voice over, eerie


piano soundtrack

Dialogue talking about


people involved in making
the film. Soundtrack at
end for nostalgia of older
versions of the film.
Dialogue of characters
explaining the plot.

Christmas song to
show happiness at
first. Voice over
explaining all is not as
it seems

Halloween
because it has a
very recognisable
soundtrack and
builds up a lot of
tension

Editing
Cut, jump cut, crosscutting, fade, slow
motion or speeded
up, crash zoom

Cuts used, jump


cut, cutting fade,
slow motion, speed
up and crash zoom,
dialogue

Jump cuts on action


parts. Fade at
beginning with voice
morph and slow-mo.
Crash zoom also on

Cuts, cut jump, scene


cutting, fading and
crash zoom

The Unborn
because the use
of special FX
gives a very real
feel to the

Analysis of The Unborn


This shot is an extreme closeup which shows an item of
interest, in this case its the
main characters eye.

This is a medium which show


two characters talking, this is
also an over-the-shoulder shot
and a double-shot as there are
two characters in the shot.

This is an over-the-shoulder shot


which shows the characters point
of view, in this case it is a small
child, this shot creates tension as
the child looks helpless as the
main character watches.

This is an establishing-shot which


presents where the scene is taking
place, in this case is New York city,
as this is day-time and is a very
busy place, there is a temporary
feel of equilibrium as the plot is not
currently occurring.

Analysis of Halloween (2009)


This is an establishing shot
showing the main characters
house where the story will be
set to carry on years later
within the film.
This is an over-the-shoulder
shot showing what the killer
sees from his point of view,
there is also focus on the
baseball bat murder weapon
as this is an item of interest.

This is an extreme close-up


showing the details on the
mask such as disrepair and
neglect and a close-up of the
characters eyes which is a
key topic spoken about by
one of the characters.
This is a low-angle shot
which gives the main
character more power as he
is the killer and is becoming
increasingly more violent as
he kills more people.

History of Horror
Horror is a genre which is focused on retrieving negative emotions from viewers by
playing on their primal fears. These negative emotions are thrilling and exciting for the
viewer. Horror films often attempt to startle viewers, usually by building up tension and
using jump scares. The Macabre and Supernatural are common themes which may
overlap with fantasy, supernatural or thriller genres.
Horror often tries to bring out the viewers inner fears or repulsions and their general fear
of the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often appear as an evil presence intruding,
ruining the equilibrium which is more common in supernatural films. Usual conventions of
a horror supernatural or monster type character include werewolves, vampires, ghosts,
zombies or killers. Supernatural may not always be a gory genre as they can often rely on
tension being built.
One of the earliest and most famous horror films is Nosferatu which was released in 1920
and Frankenstein which was released in 1935. both films set the standard for more
modern horror films following these releases.

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