HORROR THROUGH TV, FILM AND GAMES:

Horror films are designed to be unsettling and cause discomfort to the viewer. The codes
and conventions of Horror includes placing the characters into locations where limited help
is available if they are in trouble. Other conventions to the Horror genre are that the
soundtracks used are usually very slow and eerie accompanied with the use of classical
instruments. Many horror films would use the soundtrack as a device to pinpoint dominance
between scenes as it may start soft and at a low decibel then the volume would increase
when action is happening to build up suspense and put the audience at the edge of their
seats. The sounds can also foreshadow a sinister upcoming event later on in the film. In
order to emphasise fear and indicate occurrence silence is used as a device.The generic
horror films would use contrapuntal sounds, which means that they would use sounds that
contrasts against the scene shown to the audience. Horror tends to fit in to 15 or 18
certification, due to the graphic, violence and mature themes of fear or dread. These codes
and conventions fit into the forms of TV and Film as they both show the same narratives.
In the majority of horror films the killer usually would have a trademark that makes them
stand out from the other characters. This may be the weapon that they kill with. This may
be like in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the killer uses a chainsaw for his murderous antics and
in the Scream franchise the killer is known for being in all black cloak with a scream mask
and a long kitchen knife.
The traditional horror movie conventions would include slow pace of editing which builds
tension with long takes, dominant representation of gender as the female tends to be the
victim in the story, predictable narrative content, use of binary oppositions like good vs. evil.
In the horror genre, there are a few sub-genres, which include monster scare, psychological
thrillers, slasher and zombie themed.
In Horror, there are different stereotypes between the group of characters in the horror film
this may include the sacrificial lamb which is a type of character that tends to be the first to
be killed in order to explain and inform the killer's motives. The sexual transgressor, which is
a type of character that is killed after having sex or underage drinking. The stupid character
is a character that has no interest in study instead to focus on partying, drinking and sex
they are often oblivious to danger, which ultimately gets them killed. Finally, the final girl is
the character that unlike her friend powers through survival against the killer/evil, they tend
to be the last person to stay alive until rescued or defeat the opposition themselves. In
Horror films there are different representations of the genders as females are tend to be
represented in a negative way compared to the males as the traditional stereotypes are
maintained. The female gender are depicted as weak, vulnerable and typically the victim
whereas the male gender are portrayed as strong, powerful leaders, masculine protecting
the damsel in distress females. Sometimes the audiences would see the female characters
being chased or ultimately killed for being weak, feeble and unable to fight for themselves.
The generic role of the female gender representation shown in horror films have developed
over time from weak, damsel in distress characters into strong willed, survivor protagonists.
Throughout history of the horror genre the role of the female are becoming almost equal to
the typical male stereotype conveyed in the genre. As from the early horror films the
female character was portrayed as the weak, helpless character and eventually is killed or
the first victim in a long string of killings. This portrayal is conveyed clearly in Alfred
Hitchcocks Psycho (1960). Few decades later, the generic representation of the female
gender is reversed as in modern day horror films they take on the role of a strong willed
character fighting for themselves as shown in Silence of the Lambs (1991). The main
protagonist is a female detective Clarice who has the traits of a strong, brave women
standing up to a serial killer saving herself.
In horror, there is some identification of iconography within these type of films as they
follow a standard pattern of how the story will flow throughout that is predictable for the
audience. The iconography within the horror genre may be the symbolic symbols that
references or foreshadows a future event within the film such as the haunted house,
symbols of death, disfigured characters, screaming victims, the final girl, the phallic murder
weapon; knife, chainsaw or meat cleaver, binary oppositions between good and evil. In
horror film, the colours can be another sign of iconography. As dark colours tends to
foreshadow the characters despair and their fears coming to life in front of them and also
red and silver can represent death as red is the colour of blood whereas silver may
represent the murder weapon that may be used by the villain/antagonist in the film.
In horror films, they tend to feature one or more themes within the content of the films.
The generic themes that feature in the horror genre consists of slasher, vampire, zombie,
demonic possession, alien, mind control, evil children, cannibalism, werewolves, animals
attacking humans and psychological horror. These common themes come up in horror films
we see in modern day horror. Although these are the themes in modern day horror but in
the western horror films the monsters shown represses sexuality whereas in the European
horror the monsters are consistent with the cultural myths.
Horror films have been blamed for influencing some people to commit copycat crimes as
they may give ideas of how to commit the crimes. As they may copy/imitate the brutal
methods that the villains/killers do to kill in the horror films. The media has concluded that
the ultimate inspiration for some brutal crimes have blamed on some horror films like
Scream, Child s Play 3 as they copied the brutality that was shown in the films. One case
where a film has hindered inspiration for the real life crime is when Robert Thompson and
Jon Venables, two 10 year old boys who kidnapped and brutally murdered a two-year-old
James Bulger in Liverpool in 1993. As the two boys snatched the young toddler from a
shopping mall and took him to the railway where they beaten and sexually assaulted the
toddler and left his mutilated body on the railway for him to die. It was supposed that the
two 10-year-old boys were inspired by the film Childs Play 3 as it was known that they
watched it before committing the crime. The Scream movie is a film that is parodying the
typical slasher horror films and in the content of copycat killings. As the antagonist of the
film is a kid who had watched a lot of horror themed films as throughout the film the
antagonist will make a call to the future victims and haunt them of what could happen as
they know that the victims have watched that horror film that they are copycat killing. The
film features clich slasher conventions by parodying its ridiculousness. The film purpose is
to mock the typical slasher horror genre and the ideology behind copycat killings. As in
Scream 2, there is a film within the films universe that it is set in as the characters watch a
film that was based on the first Scream movie, then the antagonist in the sequel is copycat
killing what happened in the film within the film. Some real life audience members got the
oppositional reading from the Scream film franchise, as people were copycat killing the
film even though the film content was based on the ideology of copycat killing as well as
parodying it.
These type of films are distributed through different forms to reach the consumers through
TV, DVD, Netflix, online streaming etc. The highest grossing horror film in the box office is
Sixth Sense (1999) with a grossing amount of $672,806,292 followed by Jaws (1975) with
box office gross of $470,653,000 and The Exorcist (1973) with box office gross of
$441,306,145. These three horror films were the highest three box office grossing films of
all time worldwide meaning that these three films were very successful for being in the box
office. According to Uproxx website the scariest and popular horror films on Netflix includes
The Shining (1980), The Babadook (2014) and Hellraiser (1987). With the rise in
technology, it has enabled audiences to gain access to online internet streaming services
like Netflix, Hulu etc. that makes it accessible to view on mobile devices, laptops as well as
TVs. By using streaming devices in order to distribute the films it allows the audiences to
watch films that may fit into the horror genre that didn't end up appearing in the cinemas.
Due to the rise in technology, it has made it easier for the consumers to be able to stream
films, TV episodes to their portable devices rather than purchasing a physical copy. Cinemas
allows the audiences the possibility to go and watch a film before the physical copy release
giving them a chance to judge if they want to purchase the film when the physical copy
comes out. This allows the audience to watch the films sooners and guides them in their
decision on whether they should purchase the physical copy or not. Horror themed TV
shows are also distributed the same way as horror film will do but only excluding them
having the option to watch it in the cinemas. In addition, TV shows would come in box sets,
which is a better option for the consumers as it saves them from buying the individual
episode by having the whole series in a box set. Some horror themed video games can be
purchased physically or played on devices like Nintendo Wii, XBOX and the PlayStation.
Some horror themed TV shows would appear on to streaming devices like Netflix or Hulu.
Sometimes Netflix would produce Netflix owned TV shows; some may be of the horror
genre such as Hemlock Grove, Bates Motel, and Bloodline to name a few. As Netflix is
producing their own shows for their audiences the common genre that they tend to
produce is horror but in different sub-genres as they may feature werewolves, serial killers,
zombies etc. Other than Netflix producing their own shows, they have American Horror
Story, Dexter and The Returned.
The first ever horror film counted down in history of the horror genre is George Melies The
Haunted House (1896). The first ever filmmakers in history believe that Melies film was the
first ever horror film as it featured cauldrons, animated skeletons, ghosts, transforming
bats and the incarnation of the Devil. During the 1900s and the 1920s, there was a string of
horror/supernatural themed films with many new upcoming filmmakers into the industry.
Trying to define and make their way into the horror genre of films. As at the time Edison
Studios made timeless classics like the first adaptations of Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Dr
Hyde and The Wolf which are now lost in time. During the silent film era, German
expressionism which was a style of cinema that emphasized expression over realistic
depictions of reality. The technique of German expressionism consists of combining sharp
angles and bizarre perspectives distorting images to create an unforgettable supernatural
horror look. German expressionist films include The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and The Golem:
How He Came into the World (1920) and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922). Nosferatu is
the first ever horror film to feature the subject of vampires. In the early 20th century the
infamous Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, was the first monster to ever appear
in a horror film. After the silent films era, advancements of technology causing the horror
genre to split into sub genres like Armageddon and demonic subgenres of horror. In the late
1950s Great Britain became a main producer of horror films as director Alfred Hitchcock
made some slasher horror films like Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963). Psycho became
the first ever slasher horror film whereas The Birds conveyed the horror of nature. After
the 50s and the 60s era the horror genre took a slightly darker turn by creating occult films
that hinder on the Devil in more depth and the films became more violent slasher type of
films. These type of films include A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, Halloween, The Exorcist, The Hills Have Eyes. Some of the horror film have
been influenced by current events as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have
Eyes are basically horror films that recall the Vietnam War. This is because both films dealt
with the topic of guerilla war tactics and both films served as an allegory for the Vietnam
War at the time they were released to the public to view. In 1990s, the horror genre were
slowly declining due to the amount of slasher type of films but some classic psychological
horror films like Silence of the Lambs were still being created during this period. The horror
genre lost its originality as in order for the genre to reconnect with the audiences in the era
of 1990s by parodying and self-mocking the genre itself. After the decline in the genre
originality, Wes Cravens Scream film franchise rebooted the idea of slasher subgenre by
reinventing it with elements of self-mocking the typical conventions.
After seeing the horror genre self-mocking itself after a few decades, the horror genre took
a slightly different turn as in modern day horrors the main focus is to represent of persons
fear as the villain in whatever era the film it was made. In modern day horror films, the
villain is unknown, which scares the audiences. Modern day horror films have used the
technique of not revealing the antagonist and their history behind them becoming the
villain until the very end which puts tension and suspense onto the audience, as they will be
anticipating but also scared as it is unknown until revealed at the end. As for example in
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre we as the audience doesnt know any information about the
family or why Leather face hides his face, these type of film causes the audiences to think
and leave them confused which attracts them for sequels in the franchise such as Saw
franchise.
However, the whole concept of the horror genre is to scare the audiences when they watch
it. The generic target audience for the horror genre tends to be towards 15-25 year olds.
Horror films tends to target towards the male gender as to stereotype it seems that the
male gender tends to enjoy the thriller scare behind the genre compared to the females
liking. In stereotypical horror film, the male gender tends to dominate the screen, as they
always seem to play the surviving main character. The male gender tends enjoy the thrill of
violence that is portrayed on screen which is one of the reasons why they are much more
drawn to the horror genre compared to the female gender. It is believed that the horror
genre is targeted towards the working class community; this is due to the level of thrill and
excitement that may be gained from watching a horror film. The working class tends to not
to react to the amount of violence and gore graphic details that the film may include. If the
higher class would watch a horror film, the film would fit into a sub-genre like psychological
thriller horror genre etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
"Codes And Conventions Of Horror Films". Louisa Broadhead's AS Media Foundation
Portfolio Blog. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
Haughton, Jessica, Jessica Haughton, and View profile. "Codes & Conventions Of Horror".
Jlhaughton.blogspot.co.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
25 Highest-Grossing Horror Flicks". Newsday. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
Eggertsen, Chris, and Dariel Figueroa. "The 22 Best Horror Movies On Netflix Streaming,
Ranked". UPROXX. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
Haughton, Jessica, Jessica Haughton, and View profile. "Codes & Conventions Of Horror".
Jlhaughton.blogspot.co.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

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