Conventions of Horror

1. Conventions of Genre
Horro
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Dylan Mann-Hazell

2. Establishing the Setting
Horror films always have the same aim: To scare the
audience. Without the essence of scare, the film would
not be a horror.
Generally, the setting of a typical horror film would be
dark, old, and without any sign of human contact nearby.
All three of these things combined would scare anybody
that was in this situation, so they are usually used for the
setting of a horror film. An example of where could be
dark, old and without any sign of human contact nearby
could be a large forest, or an old abandoned house, such
as the house that features in the hammer horror film, ‘The
Woman In Black’.

3. Establishing the Main
Character
The audience can see who is the main character of a film
judged by how much screen time this character gets. On most
occasions, the main character would have more screen time
than the rest of the cast, and would have more of a connection
with the audience than most of the other characters as a result.
In horror, the main character is almost always facing some form
of threat, whether it be completely unrealistically fictional, or
quite realistic. The connection that the audience has with the
main character is what allows them to become scared, for we
are empathizing with the feelings of this character. An example
of a main character in a horror film who is immediately
established as the main focus of the film is Arthur Kipps, from
The Woman in Black, who is played by Daniel Radcliffe.

4. Establishing the Era
Horror films can have a large variety in terms of when the film is
set, because no matter what the era is, a scary story can be
made from it. This is because the threat of mythical creatures, or
just other humans, has been plaguing the imaginations of many
children, teenagers and adults for centuries.
However, as of quite recently, the majority of horror films have
been set in the modern day, so that the audience can relate
more to it. Also, if a threat exists in a film set in modern day, the
audience may find it more likely that the threat could exist for
them, which immediately allows the original intention of every
horror film to become possible: to scare people.

5. Props
Props, (short for properties), are used extensively in
horror films, and for good reason. When we see a knife,
we immediately think of danger, due to the sheer amount
of damage a knife can cause to a person. When we see a
gun, we think the same. Therefore, props can be just as
scary as deadly creatures or humans, if filmed in a
specific way. In horror, a lot of the time, a tool such as a
chainsaw or a sledge hammer could be used, even
though in an every day life, we wouldn’t associate them
with death. This is effective, for it shows that the way in
which something is portrayed in a film can totally change
how the audience view it, even outside the world of the
film.