Horror 101: All About Horror Films

What is Horror?

Looking for a fun night? Horror is definitely a good choice. Horror is one of the many genres that exists in not just film and television, but also literature. The key focus when it comes to horror, is to elicit a sense of suspense, scare, startle, and shock through frightening images, themes, and situations.

Content:

If you ask someone about horror, the first word that will come to their mind will be fear. And that is one of the main things that is illustrated in a horror piece: fear.

Fear comes along with the feeling of being scared, which is one of the main reasons why people decide to watch or consume a horror piece. One of the conventions of a horror film is featuring specific common fears. These often include things like nightmares, death, mystery, or fear of the unknown. These will often be related to the main character's persona or background.

A good storyline is what makes a good horror film. One major thing that you will see in a horror film is foreshadowing. Small details and features is what adds to the viewers suspense, and what builds that moment of getting scared.

Production Techniques:

Camera Angles: In most horror films, there is an inclusion of extreme close up shots, for example in the movie Psycho, an extreme close up shot is being used to show the facial expression of the, now dead, victim.

Other shots like point of view shots, make the audience feel what the character is feeling, and tracking shots, follow main characters steps, can also be found in horror films.

Sound: Most horror films use dramatic music and sound effects to convey and illustrate what is happening, and possibly hint at what will happen, adding to that sense of suspense.

Lighting: The low-key lighting has been seen used in many horror films, due to the effect it creates. This lighting creates a low dim, with shadows that creates a mysterious and dark atmosphere.

Marketing:

The main target audience for horror pieces are 15-25 years of age. Around this age, mostly teenagers and young adults, the sense of fear, suspense, and electrification, is what attracts them the most.

When marketing a horror film, the inclusion of bloody, dark, and mysterious images is what will attract the most viewers. Hence, many horror film trailers having these aspects in them.

Examples:

A Quiet Place (2017)

Even though this movie is 99% quiet, that is what makes it scary: suspense. A summary of this movie is of a family living in this world where they are alone and there is this creature that is attracted to sound, hence the family having to be quiet. The idea of having to be quiet, and not making a sound is what makes this film a horror movie, at any given moment there can be a scare, and the viewer wouldn’t expect it. The silence is the sound.

The Others (2001)

This is a much older film, however the same techniques are applied. Suspenseful sound effects, fast paced storyline, low-key lighting, and extreme close ups, are all found in this film. This combination of techniques adds to that sense of mystery and ultimate fear.

Other examples:

The Conjuring (2013)