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GEORGE PEARSON
MOSSBOURNE COMMUNITY ACADEMY
CANDIDATE NUMBER: 5150
PEARSON STUDIOS
Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience.
A horror film is a very popular genre of film whcih is used predominantly to scare the viewers by using a sense of realism in what is seen. People enjoy this concept as it leaves an affect on a viewer that is not evident in other genres of film. The target audience of a horror film is mainly above the age of 15 as the films can get quite graphic.
- Horror films use a variety of camera angles to unease the audience such as zooming in and out of the villain/ monster or the protagonist to show their scared facial expressions. Also point of view shots are used so that the audience knows what the character is focussing on so that when the character gets scared so do the audience.
- There is also an abundance of shaky camera movments to suggest that he hero or protagonist has lost control and is now more vulnerable to an attack.
- Horror films are shot in lower lighting than other genres due to it corresponding with the idea of danger and vulnerability.
- The sound used in horror films also correspond to the possible danger that surronds the protagonist as it is usually erie music that is used to unsettle the audience and expect the worst.
- Jump scares are one of the most important features of a horror movie as they are so unexpected and the audience always have the feeling of 'when is it going to happen'.
The blair witch project
This scene comes fro the blair witch project. The horror aspect of this scene is created through the use of hand held shaky cam, low lighting and a lack of music which creates a sinister and suspenseful atmosphere.
Halloween
Another aspect of the horror movie is exlored in this scene from Halloween as it portrays the idea of the damsel in distress cliche. It also uses a steady build up of unsettling music which can change one scene from calm to out of control.
What is a Horror Movie?
Camera
-Shaky cam to indicate a frantic environment
-Hand-held camera movements
Editing
-Timing of cuts to create jump scares
-Tracking as the protagonist is escaping from the monster
Mise en scene
- Dark clothing on the villain or monster
- Protagonist usually in casula clothing
-Female protagonist shown to wear revealing clothing for sex appeal
-Low lighting for erie atmosphere
Sound
- Erie soundtrack used
- Diegetic sounds of footsteps or creaks
-Ambient sounds of monster edging closer to the protagonist
Key conventions of a horror movie
The Shining
The shining is a unique horror film as it follows the idea of tensio throughout its production. As the protagonist Jack Torrence seeks to find a quiet place in which to write with his family, he and his son and wife venture out to a derelict house. The story follows Jacks slow deterioiration as the house slowly drives him mad and turns him into a murderer.
This unique use of camera movement depicts the nature of the film as the tracking shot suggests that there could be an infamous 'jump scare' around each corner which keeps the audience on edge.
The shining uses psychological horror to scare its audiences. The addition of the erie soundtrack with the disturbing images make for a recipe for the ultimate scare! The unique soundtrack and camera movements capture the full essence of a horror classic. Combine this with the brilliant acting of Jack Nicholson and you have a horror classic.
THE THING (1982)
The clip shows just how exaggerated the film attempts to go to increase its shock value for the audience
The Thing is centred around the exaggeration of special effects horror which entails shocking an audience into disbelief with the props and visual images seen. It is one of the first of its kind to really go all out fo the fear to captivate audiences. The lack of a real soundtrack also adds to the realism of the film to keep audiences on edge whilst thinking 'how could something so out of the ordinary appear so real?'
PLOT
This focusses more on the element of shock value as it uses an abundance of props. From people being eaten to being burned alive to havig arms bitten off, the Thing is a movie that wants to send the audience home saying 'OH MY GOD!'.
An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog explodes, eventually leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realizes that an alien life-form with the ability to take over other bodies is on the loose and they don't know who may already have been taken over.
What is a jumpscare?
A jump scare is a technique often used in horror films intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, frightening sound.
HISTORY OF HORROR!
Horror is one of the most interesting genres of film. It dares to push the limits of societal conventions, and serves to shock and scare the audience. Horror has been around as long as film itself. It began with short films from the US, Europe, and Japan, usually clocking in at 10-60 minutes, including, The House of the Devil (1896), The Haunted Castle (1897), Frankenstein (1910), The Golem (1915) and others. The next four decades saw waves of adaptations of classic horror literature and mythology entering the mainstream and are widely considered the best horror movies ever made, like Dracula, The Wolf Man, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Mummy, The Blob, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Night Of The Living Dead, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, andFrankenstein.
The later half of the 1950’s and 1960’s was the most dramatic turning point in horror films. It saw a significant shift from monster movies and supernatural science fiction films to more realistic, suspenseful movies. Now considered mystery/suspense films, Alfred Hitchcock dominated horror movies during this time, with classics like Psycho, The Birds, Dial M For Murder, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Strangers On A Train, and Vertigo.
Mainstream horror films of the late 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s that are hailed as classics today have unfortunately been exploited into an endless spawn of sequels and remakes. Friday The 13th, The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, Halloween, Suspiria, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, Night Of The Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead, The Shining, Carrie, Misery, Alien, and countless others were strange and mind bending in their own right, and are luckily still recognized as classics by most people today, with the sequels being seen as little more than cynical cash grabs.
After the 1980s, horror drifted away from the mainstream pop culture. In the early 2000s, it resurged from a multitude of factors including the popularity of a new zombie film 28 Days Later(2002), Shawn Of The Dead (2004), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Saw (2004), and the massively popular TV series The Walking Dead. Horror seems to now focus mostly on zombies, and has drifted away from the icons and recognizable characters that inhabited most classic horror films.
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