Genre

Horror films are designed to be unsettling, causing discomfort to the viewer. The
result of the horror genre can lead to fears such as nightmares, vulnerability, fear of
the unknown, alienation and death. Horror follows many stereotypical conventions.
Locations consist of isolated places; abandoned house, woods. Weapons used are
generally extreme, associated with a slow and painful death, Guns are generally not
used, instead machetes, knifes and chainsaws. The lead villain from these genres
are generally psychopaths, paranormal or masked so that the viewer doesnt know
who they are. Music and sounds used are non-diegetic, sets mood and adds
suspense. The style in which productions from the horror genre are represented as
dark, moody and dull. This is presented through elements such as low lighting,
setting the content at night or a dark area. Locations such as a forest, adds a sense
of mystery to productions, as it is unknown what the viewer may find. This style is
important as it all adds to the appeal and uniqueness of the horror genre. Content
used in horror productions are quite stereotypical, power cuts, phone lines cut,
characters goes to investigate a strange event, victims fall over, victims stuck in an
unknown location. These all add fear and suspense to horror productions which
creates a higher thrill factor. Symbols such as religion, death, foreshadowing,
colours and light. Religion in horror games generally highlight themes of life and
death, good versus evil. Religious symbols are also used such as crosses and
rosemary, this may represent hope/mercy that victims wish for. Death is naturally
preserved as horrific, represented through objects such as coffins, gravestones,
skeletons. This can also foreshadow future events in a film. In the movie Psycho,
there are taxidermy birds in a home, this shows that there has been a lot of death in
the household and may foreshadow this in the near future of the film. Colours such
as red are symbolic as they associated with themes such as death, danger and evil.
Having something such as a red light in a room may foreshadow that this room is
dangerous and something bad may happen soon. Light can symbolize things from
hope to death. Things such as having a scene in daylight, generally means that
nothing practically bad will happen as it is light. On the other hand, if the screen
turns to white, this can be associates with death/dying. Light can be used in horror
films to help portray a calmer atmosphere. Horror movies can reflect cultural fears,
an example of this is the end of the world in a horrific way. The video game Left 4
Dead is based around in end of the world through the narrative of a zombie
apocalypse. This may appeal to audiences if this is something they fear as it has a
sense of thrill to it. Technical conventions of a horror genre consist of low lighting,
panning camera shots, slow moving cameras, shallow depths of field (to hide
elements), sound effects which are considered over the top such as footsteps.
These are all things which are used to add a higher thrill factor and suspense to
horror films, games and television shows.
Horror films are distributed through cinema, internet, DVD, tablet/mobile devices.
These make productions accessible in many forms of media. Internet streaming
services such as Netflix offer the ability to stream or download films from multiple
electronic devices from televisions to mobile devices. This makes things accessible
in a variety of ways. Distributing films on DVDs arent as popular as they used to be
due to a rise in technology such as mobile devices and smart televisions which
allows consumers to stream films to their device rather than having to go and
purchase a physical copy. Cinemas allow viewers to watch films before they are
realised for general sale, this is a popular way of watching films as it allows the
viewer to watch them sooner and helps them make a decision whether they would
like to invest in a copy. Horror television shows are distributed through the same
way as films; excluding the option of watching them in cinemas. DVDs come in the
form of box sets, allowing the viewer to have each episode from a certain series
rather than having to buy each individual episode. Horror games can be purchased
on CDs and played on devices which belong to platforms such as PC, Xbox,
PlayStation and Nintendo. As well as being able to purchase physically copies on a
cartridge or DVD, they can be downloaded onto the gaming device and installed
onto its internal hard drive. Games are also popular on mobile or tablet devices
which are of a smaller mass, these are increasing in popularity on mobile devices as
they allow viewers to play short games on a mobile device.
The genre of horror has changed dramatically over time. Audiences were introduced
to the genre in the 20s. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, 1919. Was a silent film which
followed the style of German Expressionism, which emphasis realism and depicts
reality. The film consists of over dramatic movements from actors, such as
screaming. An example of an early horror film is Dracula, released in 1931. The film
takes the supernatural character of a vampire and portrays him in a scary way. The
use of low lighting adds a sense of darkness to the film. Scenes arent as graphic as
they are knower days. Scenes werent gory and they took a scary concept and
limited to black and white. Due to a lac in technology, it was hard to portray
something scary, the use of shadows and sound effects were used to foreshadow
that there was something there that shouldnt be. Looking into a slightly more
modern film, Psycho (1960) was the first horror film which was truly horrifying to
viewers at the time. Unlike past films such as Frankenstein, monsters and
supernatural creatures were used instead of a human. This film took the narrative of
a psychopath murderer who killed a woman. The most iconic scene from the film
features the main character taking a shower. We then see a dark figure appear
behind the curtain, whose face is hidden in a silhouette. We do not actually see the
killers knife stab the victim. But see her screaming and the killer pushing the knife
towards her. This is when scenes start to imply a graphic nature. We see the knife
against the victims skin but it is not fully stabbed. We see blood on the bath floor
and the victims collapse into the bath signalling her dramatic death. This shocked
audience who believe it deserved more than a B-Rating. It was then that more
realistic concepts appealed to audiences as began to be made on a higher budget.
The Texas chainsaw Massacre, 1974 was based on a serial killer. At this point,
scenes were still not particularly graphic, things were implied that they were
happening rather than actually seeing it. It wasnt until the 90s where films started
to become more graphic. Dead Alive (1992) featured scenes where we could see
weapons actually harm the victims as well as blood. Saw was first released in 2002,
it took the concept of people who were doing something wrong were put into
containment and torched until death. Scenes were a lot more graphic and gory as
well as being considered as horrific, although this was more accepted and popular
to viewers. Content began to change as horror films were then filmed with the sub-
genre category in mind. Taking a scary event such as a zombie apocalypse and
putting a humorous side to it. An example of this is the film Shaun of the Dead,
which is based around an average guy who doesnt notice there is a zombie
apocalypse unfolding around him. The use of a POV horror film such as paranormal
activity was another example of how content began to change in horror filmed. The
movie was filmed on a familys camera and it made the film scarier as you get more
attached to the characters. It is suggested that horror movies have changed over
time for the better, the rise in technology has allowed films to be more graphic and
gory, appealing to younger audiences.

Narrative
Horror films tend to follow a single strand narrative structure. This is generally
because narratives are not ended on a cliff hanger as this doesnt add horror to the
film. Films which are part of a multi-strand have closed endings as horror films
stereotypically end with death or all answers concluded. When looking at horror
television series, they tend not to have closed endings as otherwise viewers would
not be drawn into the next episode. The Walking Dead is a TV show which has been
continued for seven series. It follows the narrative of a group of humans stuck in a
zombie apocalypse fighting for survival. At the end of each episode viewers are lead
to wonder what will happen to this group of people as it is never concluded at the
end of the episodes. TV shows generally arent as horrific as films because they
have to be watched for long periods of time and this can become unappealing to
audiences over time. Horror films and television shows generally follow a linear
structure to keep the productions easy to follow, as the focus is to scare the
viewers. The use of a climax is used in a lot of horror productions, it means that
there may be significant event in a production, such as running away from a
paranormal subject. It would be built up in order to make the scene scarier and
thrilling. This is used in most horror productions as it is believed to add a sense of
suspense to videos. Todorovs equilibrium theory is when equilibrium is set at the
start of a story. Followed by a dictation in an event and recognition that this has
taken place, which is then attempted to be resolved leading to a reappearance of
this equilibrium. This is commonly used in horror films such as Paranormal Activity
which follows characters who try to resolve the paranormal activity issues in their
home.
Representation
The genre of horror is portrayed in such a way in which its intent is to scare the
viewer, generally targeted at younger audiences, generally aged 15-25 (male and
female). This is because these ages generally enjoy thrills more than an older
audience. Although, these younger audiences can be put off of graphic imagery or
on the other hand draw them towards the imagery. An example of this is The Human
Centipede, known for its extreme themes of graphic imagery and themes. This is
more likely to appeal to a younger audience rather than older. Although, films like
this are certificated an age rating of 18 due to the inappropriate content for younger
viewers. Meaning, that young viewers such as 15-17 would not be able to watch
such films, due to their young age. Although, the horror genre is aimed at both
genders, it generally appeals more to females. This is due to the stereotype of
males enjoying violence more than females. Young males area also seen as
immature, being more inclined to gory imagery in the horror genre. Horror is aimed
at the socio-economic group C, as classes higher may seek thrills in other ways than
through media, it is a way of them escaping their stereotypical less exciting lives.
Some people think life is scary enough, others look on scary movies as an escape,
said expert Anne Bilson. Individuals who favour this genre may have interests in the
supernatural and the unexplained, as well as more of a sense of mystery than
others, many horror films withhold information from the audience. An example of a
horror filmed aimed at a younger audience is the series Paranormal Activity. The
main characters are of a young age making the content more relatable to the target
audience, as well as making it more scary to these audience, giving the illusion that
content in the film could happen to them. The series carries one story through six
different films, keeping fans from the start more interesting in how the films develop
over time, leading them to watch the movies at an older age.
Most horror movies represented the victim in an innocent light, adding a
sympathetic emotion to this character. It wasnt until films such as saw where the
victims were portrayed in a negative light, victims were criminals who deserved to
be punished but perhaps not in the extreme manor of the film. Looking into the
representation of genders in horror in the 1920s, the female played the role of a
scared victim, and the protagonist was always male. And when it was a female this
was due to being scorned din some way, such as fatal attraction. This was
considered the norm and a key example of this is the movie Psycho. Where the
murderer was male and victim being female. This is generally scene in films these
days as well, but with less female victims. This is stereotyping genders.

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