Horror Report

Who watches horror? Who is it aimed at?

As much as every genre of filmmaking should be aimed towards a

large, mixed demographic, there is no denying that one of the outliers
of this rule is the Horror genre. Historically, horror movies have
always been aimed towards young teenagers and young adults, with
the rise in B-movie slashers in the 70s/80s being attributed mostly to
drive in theatres where young teens would take their date. This was
the case because at the time, these slasher movies were cheap and
quick to produce, with 80% of the runtime being exposition scenes
with a few gory kills slipped in roughly every 15 minutes, giving the
audience just enough time to get some alone time with their date. 

Although the drive-in theatre has died in recent years, the horror
movie demographic quite obviously has remained the same with films
such as “Unfriended” and “Countdown” racking in millions with a
subject matters that revolve entirely around smartphones and young
protagonists. 

What is the main style and iconography of horror?

For decades, the Horror genre has been known for its dark, moody
style and tone with iconography such as blood, gore, demons, killers,
knives and darkness just to name a few. However, especially in recent
years, filmmakers have been challenging these stylistic stereotypes by
removing all prior established iconography and instead choosing to
carve out their own form of horror, with examples such as “Spree” a
film which does away with the dark, most style of typical horror and
instead sets the film in sunny LA with most of the horror coming from
the fear that your worst nightmares aren’t always set at night or in a
haunted mansion, but also in broad daylight or in a taxi.
What is the typical narrative structure? How has it changed over
time?

Over time, trends in Horror have changed drastically. In its inception,

the Horror genre in film focused mainly on adaptation of literary titles
such as “Frankenstein” and “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”

Another key period of Horror in Hollywood was the occult era in the
70s/80s with audiences being terrified of films such as “The Exorcist,
Poltergeist” and “The Occult” being huge hits across the globe,
cementing demons and demonic imagery into the horror genres ever
expanding iconography.

Then, came possibly the most key era of horror movie cinema in
history, the 80s. The 80s came swinging out of the gate with films
such as “Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween,
Nightmare on Elm Street” and dozens of other classics- establishing
the 1980s as a brand-new period of horror cinema, the slasher. The
reason these movies had such a huge success and have remained
successful to this day with countless spin-offs and reboots is because
they appeal exclusively to the target demographic, young adults, with
most the films taking place at parties, summer camps or schools with
scenes of sexual activity, drug use and partying, appealing directly to
the audience watching.

Although the modern state of horror cinema seems to show that the
genre has been driven into the ground after years of remakes and
reboots and sequels galore, there is seemingly a glimmer of hope.
With the production company A24 solidifying their place in
Hollywood as being the hit factory for low budget, Oscar winning
indie films, it seems like the genre has been revitalised with films
such as “Hereditary, Possum, The Lighthouse, The Witch, It Comes at
Night” and “Climax” seem to challenge the previously established
horror tropes and instead define themselves with eerie atmosphere and
uncomfortable performances, showing that the modern day has no
specific horror trend to stick to, instead allowing complete artistic
freedom and creativity.
 Representation, has it changed? For better or worse?

For decades in Hollywood, Horror movies were synonymous with

racist, sexist caricatures. From women being depicted as bumbling
damsels in distress, especially in slasher movies such as “Scream” and
the “Friday the 13th” franchise and for decades it has been a running
joke that people of colour, specifically black men were always the
first victims in any horror medium, however, in recent years this has
changed drastically for the better. Gone are the days of women being
depicted as crying, screaming, useless victims, now with movies such
as “Ready or Not, Possessor, Saint Maud” and “The Invisible Man”
and TV Shows such as “Ratched, Haunting of Hill House” and
“American Horror Story” women are being shown to be just as
capable as men, fighting for themselves as putting up a fight with any
creature or killer they are put up against. The same goes for people of
colour, with one of the biggest mainstream horror movies in recent
years (Us) being made up of an entirely black cast with a both black
and female lead. This clearly shows us that as time has progressed,
representation in horror has improved with society, showing that
anyone can play any part in a horror role.
 Bibliography

History of the Drive-in Theatre - ReelRundown

https://variety.com/2018/film/box-office/horror-movies-study-
1202994407/amp/

How Horror Movies Have Changed Since Their Beginning