Research Into Horror

Horror; the scary, gruesome, mysterious and nail-biting genre that has many people on the edge of their seats and hiding behind the sofa. Horror has been around for hundreds of years starting with films like 'Dracula' (1931), 'The Wolf Man' (1941), 'Night Of The Living Dead' (1968) and 'Frankenstein' (1931).

Conventions of Horror

Colour

Red - The colour of blood and has connotations of being evil.

Black - Most horror films are set at night and the killer is always in very dark clothes like black.

Brown - This colour connotes the dirt and grime in scary houses or on the killers clothes. 

Locations 

A dark, gloomy, foggy forest is a conventional setting for a horror film because the trees are good hiding places for the killer and there's lots of opportunities for the victim to fall over a log and get killed. The dark, mysterious and sinister setting represents the genre and the intentions of the killer. Films that are set in the woods are: 'Cabin in The Woods', 'Yellow Brick Road', 'Monster Man', 'Pumkinhead', 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Evil Dead'. 

Another conventional setting in a horror film is an old, mysterious house in the middle of no where. Many films are set here because its a location that can look the same but each story can be different. 

Films that are set in a scary house include: 'Beetlejuice', 'Boogeyman', 'The Conjuring', The Grudge 1,2 and 3' and 'Paranormal Activity'.  

A graveyard is a really good setting for any horror film but mainly zombie or ghost films. This is because they setting matches well with the storyline and at night a graveyard can be the scariest setting of them all. Films that at set in a graveyard include: 'Poltergeist', 'Drag Me To Hell', 'Phantasm', 'The House by The Cemetery' and 'Pet Semetery'. 

Props 

'Scream' (1996)

A conventional prop in a horror film is a knife. This is used to impale, dismember or injure a victim. This weapon is the most popular of them all as there is so many different variations e.g. machete, dagger and blade. A knife is very popular as when its used it can do very gruesome things to someone and in a horror film thats what you expect. Unlike a gun, a knife can be used in many different ways from someone physically holding the knife and stabbing someone to the knife being thrown or hung up on a string ready for the victim to walk into the trap.

Costumes 

Top, Left To Right 

'The Grudge' (2004) 'Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984) 

Bottom, Left To Right

'Scream' (1996) 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) 

The conventional horror 'killer's' costume is mostly always dark colours like black, brown but also contains reds because the colour connotes blood, death and hell. Most horror villains wear a mask or have a distorted face. This is to add mystery to the film and this is also to add enigma codes throughout the film because the audience will want to know who's under the mask. Having a mask on also makes the character more scary as its not normal and the mask itself could be very scary. The killer also has a particular weapon that they use throughout the film, for example, in 'Scream' the killer uses a knife to kill people and in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' the killer uses a chainsaw.