Genre Grid

Genre: Psychological Horror

Characters:

Conventional characters of a horror film usually consists of young children or an evil spirit, for example in The Woman In Black mostly girls are used as they symbolise purity, innocence and weakness, these would be seen as the ‘princesses’ out of the characters as they are often the desire of the antagonist. The villain would be the woman in black whose desire is the young children to be dead and will stop any heroes in the way. The hero would be Daniel Radcliffe who plays the investigator, as he is the one that is called to the town where the occurrences happen and helps solve why they happen. Dolls are also useful characters to use in horrors as they can be seen as creepy and can be used to entertain the audience by scaring them, this is a clear use of the gratification theory. An example of this is Annabelle where the doll is the main character of the film and the villain, used to scare the audience. Moreover an example of a stock character would be a pretty, young blonde woman to play the victim as they are represented as vulnerable so therefore an easy target. An example of a horror film that uses this stock character would be ‘The House at the End of the Street’ where Jennifer Lawrence plays the blonde victim. The other stock characters in the Propp’s theory includes; the donor who is the one that prepares the hero, the helper who helps the hero in the quest, the false hero who is perceived as a good character at the beginning but emerges as evil, and the dispatcher who sends the hero off.

Narrative:

The film usually starts off with a state of equilibrium, which could include an enigma code that ends with a surprising twist, and then followed by disequilibrium such as a supernatural occurrence or someone being killed. A new equilibrium would be produced to the end of the narrative, usually in horrors this would be when the killings or supernatural occurrences are over and the characters can a start a fresh life. An example of this would be the Woman in Black where the disequilibrium is the children being killed by the supernatural force and the new equilibrium would be when the hero (Daniel Radcliffe) has gotten rid of the villain and everyone in the village can live in peace. However many horror films also end with a cliff hanger, so the enigma would stay with the film, this is effective because it makes the audience ask questions. An example of this would be ‘The Thing’.

Actors:

Actors that create a spooky feel within the audience to bring a sense of horror. Can be portrayed as frightening and mischievous. Tone of voice should be quite deep. The children should have vulnerable and weak features as well as sweet and playful so they appear innocent to the audience. Actors such as Rose Byrne are good because she is a stereotypical motherly figure who wants to care for her children and looks innocent and vulnerable in a horror film, making her an easy target. Rose Byrne acts in the famous horror film insidious which has a sequel that she also stars in. Furthermore in this film the theory of binary oppositions is used because Rose Byrne is portrayed as a bright, happy and pretty female which is against the dark angry supernatural forces. Another effective feature of an actor used in horror films is having a sense of mystery to the hero in the film as it creates a suspense feel so the audience don’t know if they will be successful or not. An example of this is Daniel Radcliffe who plays the investigator in the Woman in Black where at first you don’t know anything about his background to create a mysterious atmosphere so the audience will want to watch more. Furthermore in this film the theory of binary oppositions is used

Location/setting:

The conventional location/setting for a horror film would be somewhere that is dark, gloomy and mysterious. Such as an old spacious house in the middle of nowhere. An example of a conventional setting is in the Woman in Black, as it is a big house surrounded by fog and gloomy lighting. Furthermore there is a graveyard outside of it that is in view from the inside the house, which creates a spooky feeling for the audience as graves symbolise death. Another example would be in the middle of the woods because it creates a dark, gloomy and mysterious feel to it. The lighting would also be dark to correlate with the theme of darkness, trees are also a convention for horror films. A horror film that uses the woods as the main setting would be The Cabin In The Woods and The Blair Witch Project. These films are effective because the woods is a quiet place so it builds suspense as a disequilibrium or an enigma is about to happen, to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Moreover using settings which the audience can relate to such as houses or parks creates verisimilitude, which places the audience into a false sense of security to instill fear.

Symbolic conventions:

Symbolic conventions consist of evil and good to represent the theory of binary oppositions. Blood would also be used as it symbolises death which is a typical convention in horror films. Another symbolic convention would be a stereo typical blonde woman to play the victim in the films such as drew Barrymore in ‘Scream’ they are used because they are seen as vulnerable so the audience can work out the enigma of the narrative. The villain would typically be the supernatural forces as if it happens in real life situations people would be terrified, so it is effective in a film because people are automatically scared which the film is supposed to do. An example of this would be in Paranormal Activity. The repeated use of the colours white and red symbolise the binary oppositions between good and evil so the audience know the clear message of the film.

Sound:

The sound should be able to build tension by starting quiet and gradually getting louder as the traumatic event is approaching. An example of when this is used is in the Woman in Black opening sequence when the young girls are slowly approaching their deaths and the music increases its pace. Moreover the sound used is that of a children’s music box to emphasise the characters that get killed in the film are children. A high pitched sound is conventional to horror to signify an event is about to take place and to build up tension, this is effective because it keeps the audience guessing. When an innocent dies in a horror film there is either no sound or a very low sound used to enhance the emotional impact of the scenes. Another common sound effect is the use of a splatter sound to heighten the killing of someone.

Special effects:

This would include the supernatural occurrences that happen through the use of visual effects such as fade in and out of ghosts. Keeping the lighting low to create a gloomy effect. Also using dark shadows and unfamiliar shapes are effective so the audience can identify the iconography. Darkness in a horror movie also brings the scary effect as anything could emerge from it this is commonly used to frighten the audience, so they feel entertained. Special effects are also used in horror films to make it seem more realistic, for example the use of gore is quite difficult to create in real life but due to the advance in technology we are able to create realistic scenes of gore.

Themes:

The themes found in horror genres are used to scare, thrill and entertain the audience. They centre on the ‘dark side of life’, the strange, forbidden and alarming events. Supernatural ideas to instill fear and anxiety within the audience. This could also show the hypodermic needle theory as it has a direct effect on the audience because this could actually happen in real life. Revenge is another theme that is commonly used for example in scream the killer is taking revenge for his mother abandoning him. This also uses the hypodermic needle theory because people take revenge in real life situations.

Film language-cinematography

For camera angles jump cuts are conventional for a horror film as it could show the ghost in one place and then a jump cut to it in another to create fear within the audience. Which shows the gratification theory in entertainment as it is used to make the audience jump. Often extreme close ups and point of view shots are used in order to make the audience feel more involved, to build tension and to express fear. The use of documentary –like camera work creates a realistic feel for a horror film. This means that the audience will be able to feel more involved with the film, relating to the most unrealistic events appear to be more tangible in everyday life. An example of this would be Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project.