Conventions of Horror Movies

Horror uses many main conventions which all play a big part in making it a successful genre this includes setting, technical code, iconography, narrative structure, character types and themes.

It is well known for Horror movies to use small isolated places for good settings because it limits the victims and adds more tension and a feeling of desperation. Using small communities could make it more unnerving because of how they could be keeping a big secret about the area that the victims don’t know until something goes wrong and they are left in very scary situations.
Places with a weird ‘past’ are very good settings because this can be mentioned at the start of the film which makes the audience feel uneasy and know something bad is going to happen. It can also make the victim more paranoid as if they know the past then they expect something is going to happen. In ‘The Shining’ you are told about the terrible things that have happened there in the past, the characters are warned but they still stay there and you know right from the start that there is something weird about the place.

Abandoned places like old barns, circuses and 'haunted' houses can be very good for settings for a horror as they make you wonder why they were deserted in the first place, and could the same thing happen again to the current characters.
Homes are usually a good place for a setting for a horror movie as the ‘monster’ can be more shocking as a house is meant to be a comforting place where you feel safe, so when an intruder comes along it can terrify the victim. Scream was based in the victim's home, and had the tagline; Don't Answer The Phone. Don't Open The Door. Don't Try To Escape. Also in the same sort of style settings like innocent places like nurseries can be very unnerving because it’s becoming the opposite of what it’s seen in everyday life.

Camera work is a lot more expressive than naturalistic as it enables the audiences view to be quite distorted. High and low and cantered angles are used to confuse the viewers.
Extreme close ups are used to focus on the victims expression which enables the audience to identify with the characters terror and it also excludes threat from the frame because you don’t know where it is at the time. Sudden extreme close ups onto the ‘monster’ work very well to makes the victims’ and audiences’ personal space feel invaded.
Point of view shots (subjective, Steadicam and hand-held) are very important in a horror as they can show the audience what’s going on in the monsters eyes. For example in ‘Eden Lake’ there are parts where it’s being shot behind some foliage looking on to the couple by their tent in a very eerie way to show the audience that the victims are being watched and creates a feeling of paranoia.

Depth of field is also used to show the victim in the foreground unaware of the monster creeping up behind, and it can be either focused on the victim to show their expression while the monster is blurry to make it harder to work out, or the other way around which I feel isn’t so successful.
Editing pace can be changed to create a different atmosphere. It can be edited to be really slow which would add suspense, and also can be edited to have a fast pace which would be used for like a chase where the victim is running away trying to stay alive.
The colours black and red are the most obvious visual signifiers of the Horror genre, as black connotes darkness and death and red connotes blood and danger. Red can also connote passion and love which seems to be used a lot in horrors.
Lighting like camera work is also expressive to distort the audiences view. Horrors are well known for using low key lighting to emphasise shadows. Light shone from below can create unfamiliar shadows adding to the effect.
There is various mise-en-scene which would be included like sharp weapons preferably bladed as weapons such as guns don’t have as much of a gore factor and are over-used a lot in action movies. Masks are also good because they add mystery to who the monster is which I think personally is scarier than being about to see its face.
Innocence is played with a lot in horror making beautiful children seem very disturbing and evil. Because they are so opposite it works very well. To the left are two examples of when innocent looking children prove to be not what they seemed at the time, 'The Omen' and 'Orphan'.

[Narrative Structure]


In most movies like action and sci-fi the woman is there to emphasise the strength of a male character. For example in James Bond where he saves the girl, her weakness and vulnerability brings out his strength. But in horror movies the female role is normally the one being reckoned with and having to survive the terror herself.
Police in horrors are normally there to make the victim feel as if they are crazy because they police never believe them or just think they are joking.

[Themes]
werewolves blahblah

The Function of a Film Distribution Company

A distributor basically markets the film by circulating it around theaters and for home viewing, trying to get the largest possible audience for every new film. Distributing the film is a very important job and highly competitive, and is the most important sector of the process as this is how the film gets recognition as they don't accidentally become popular. For each movie brought out there has been a very thought out process figuring out how to create visibility and promote the film to a particular audience and they need to know a detailed and elaborate understanding of the target audience - age group, gender, lifestyle, social networks, and media consumption pattern.

The distributors also have to take into account when developing their release plans many other important factors. The competition from other films, especially ones targeted to the same audience can be quite threatening to the financial income. So it's important to make sure they set a good date for the film to be released so it doesn't clash with others and gets the full attention it needs to make it's biggest profit. It's also essential to recognise the star quality in the film. Does the leading role have a lot of good reviews from their last couple of films and also is the film made by a well known and successful director or producer, these facts can greatly influence the audience. If there is already a buzz about the movie due to stars, the director or if it's based on a book, this can give an idication to the popularity of the movie quite early on in the development. If the film is a sequel to another movie then the audience is already found making the process very easy for the distributors.
It's nessicary for the distributors to create a budget as early as possible to launch and sustain the films release's costs.

Marketing Plan; Create Visibility >> Raise Awareness >> Engage Interest

Posters have to stand out to the audience and to capture the main essence of the film it's advertising. They have to grab the attention from their targeted audience in competition against all the other posters being displayed. The posters will show stars, theme/genres, credits and often a tag line to tease the audience. If a director is famous and widely appreciated, their name will be bold on the poster, this is the same with cast stars. But if the director isn't very known, but has well known stars in.. the star's name will be shown but the directors won't be as the distributor wants to appeal to the fans.

Trailers are made up of audio and video footage from the film that's being released. There are two types of trailers. There's teasers that are about 30-60 seconds long showing just glimpses of the movie to 'tease' the audience. The full theatrical trailers are released shortly before the actual a film opens. They will show most of the best bits to represent the movie and to gain interest, but they don't want to be using all the good bits or the audience will feel disappointed when they see the film.

Online most films have official websites that offer extra information about the film and possibly bonus trailers, footage and stills.