This document discusses the history and conventions of the horror genre in film. It provides an overview of different subgenres within horror, such as slasher films in the 1980s, psychological horror that aims to create discomfort, and action horror that combines violence with supernatural elements. It also lists common horror film locations, themes and examples like Saw, Mother's Day and Orphan. The document outlines techniques used in horror films, including camera work, sound, editing and lighting. It discusses the "good vs evil" subgenre and provides a brief overview of Todorov's narrative theory and the copy cat theory in relation to horror.

1. HORROR CONVENTIONS
By Bushra Ijaiya

3. HORROR FILM GENRE HISTORY
Horror in the the first half of the '80s was defined by slashers like Friday the 13th,
Prom Night and A Nightmare on Elm Street, while the latter half tended to take a
more light-hearted look at the genre, mixing in comic elements in films like The
Return of the Living Dead, Evil Dead 2, Re-Animator and House. Throughout
the '80s, Stephen King's fingerprints were felt, as adaptations of his books littered
the decade, from The Shining to Pet Sematary. Twenty-first century horror in the
US has been identified with remakes of both American (Friday the 13th,
Halloween, Dawn of the Dead) and foreign films (The Ring, The Grudge), but
there have been innovations within American horror -- most notably the "torture
porn" of Saw and Hostel fame. Outside of the US, there is as great a variety of
edgy and innovative material as there has ever been in the genre, from Canada
(Ginger Snaps) to France (High Tension) to Spain (The Orphanage) to the UK (28
Days Later) and, of course, Asia, from Hong Kong (The Eye) to Japan ( Ichi the
Killer) to Korea (A Tale of Two Sisters) to Thailand (Shutter).
Reference: http://horror.about.com/od/horrorthemelists/ss/horrortimeline

4. SUB GENRES (ACTION)
Combines the intrusion of evil or supernatural in horror films with the gun fights and
frantic chases . These elements are often prevalent in action-horror include most
commonly zombies, along with demons and gore.
The trail indicates the conventions of horror through action by its camera
movements: the shaky hand movement of the camera when in a flash back shows that
the situation the people were in was. The mise en scene (setting) which was in the
woods emphasised the isolation between the two characters, and this can exaggerate
the differences between them (victim and criminal). The images to the bottom right
and left - that are close ups of the characters are very common in action horror to
overstress the characters emotions when in anger, pain or trouble. In the first extreme
close up of the criminal (bottom left) we are able to focus on the sweat covering his
face this can imply he is under pressure and in utter panic. This is beneficial when
wanting to understand the situation the person is in. Regarding the victim (bottom
right) an important extreme close up shows a tear streaming down his face, to infer he
is in pain or hurt by something that was done to him.

5. SUB GENRE (PHYSCOLOGICAL
HORROR)
Relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, relevant music and emotional instability build
tension further the plot. Psychological horror aims to create discomfort by exposing
common or universal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities and fears, such as the
shadowy parts of the human psyche that most people repress.
On Filminute.com I came across a 1 minute film called ‘Tuck me in’. I believe this is
excellent example of physiological horror because it exaggerates discomfort caused to
the audience because of the confusion of where the child actually is. The lighting of a
dark bedroom follows the conventions of a horror movie because it was isolated and
caused suspense as we didn’t know what could pop out at what time and make us
shocked. The non-diegetic sound of the slow instrumental gives the audience the sense
of vulnerability because it is as if it is building up to something big. It is kept
consistent throughout the minute to inform the audience that we don’t know the
outcome of the boy either being under the bed or on the bed and are still left in
mystery.

6. LOCATIONS
Small communities or isolated places
Dark streets
Run down ghost towns (isolation or
loneliness)
Lakes, Motorways, Cabins, Subways,
tunnels,

7. SAW
MOTHERS DAY
ORPHAN

8. GENRE
GOOD VS EVIL
DEPRESSION
RELIGION
CHILDHOOD ISSUES
REVENGE
SCIENCE GONE BAD
NIGHTMARES
INSANITY
ENVY
SUICIDE

9. GENRE (GOOD VS EVIL)
The good vs evil is shown in the Omen when a boys family is Christian
family vs the individual who is possessed by the devil this shows the battle
between good vs evil for example when the family drive past the church the
possessed individual by the devil begins to act violent and abusive. This shows
the horror of good vs evil as a sub genre, and how it can be portrayed
through movies.

10. Camera angles/movement: low angle and high angle to connote
fear/insignificance and power. POV creates the audience to but put in the
world of terror.
Sound: Scary, stabs, ambient, demonic (laughs), nursery rhymes, sinister music,
extremely important feature (eg heartbeats) gives an insight to the emotions
and feel of the character in the film
Editing: Long takes to build up fear and suspense, sharp cuts, fades and
graphic matches
Lighting: Dark/shadowy lighting, gloomy, low lighting to exaggerate the
unknown
Mise en scene: Props, helping to identify genre immediately (religious symbols,
knives masks

11. TODROV NARRATIVE
Equilibrium outset
Disrupted equilibrium by some action
Recognition that there’s a disruption
Attempt to repair disruption
Reinstatement of the equilibrium

12. COPY CAT THEORY
The copy cat theory relates to something which is publicized in he media that
creates a lot of attention resulting in other people imitating or ‘copying’ this in
order to gain the same level of attention.
Audiences react differently to various situations as they have different
interpretations.
This can relate a lot to horror conventions as most crime and deviances. For
example the ‘James Bulger case’ where the murderers watched Childs Play 3 a
film bought by the child's dad where they were influenced and