1. SUB-GENRES OF HORROR

2. THE SLASHER
Slasher horror films usually involve a masked killer on a brutal rampage. The killer
usually uses a weapon such as a knife, chainsaw or an axe to kill their victims.For
example, in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the killer uses chainsaw. The victims are
usually a group of teenagers away from parental supervision and usually up to no
good. Those who get killed are usually sexually active and typical sarcastic
teenagers, who do not take school seriously and always cause trouble. The
Scream films are great conventional examples of Slaher horrors. Characters
range from: cheerleaders, prom queen/kings, the nerdy kid and there is usually a
„final girl‟ who is sensible and refuses to take part in any sexual or illegal activities.
This girl survives until the end and destroys the killer thus putting a stop to the
carnage. Laurie Strode from Halloween is a perfect example of a Final Girl. The
killers in Slasher films are often large and masked and it is implied that they are
usually male with a burst of masculinity. The character of Michael Myres in
Halloween is a perfect example of a killer in a slasher horror. Slasher films usually
take place in a school/college, summer camp (Friday the 13th), or a suburban
area.

4. SUPERNATURAL
Supernatural films normally feature a type of spirit which antagonises and haunts its
victims throughout the film. This type of horror film is usually set in the victim‟s
house or a place which is linked to the main character. Main characters are
usually seen as „normal‟ but with some kind of troubled past Katie in Paranormal
Activity is an example. Those who are possessed are usually a
young, innocent, pure female, for example Emily in The Possession and Regan in
The Exorcist. It is a common convention that throughout the film, doors
creak, there are unknown noises and unexplained shadows. In The Amityville
Horror for example, we see shadows when nobody is there during the scene
when the family view the house and often gusts of wind and objects are thrown
around the house, especially during exorcisms. Another common convention is
the appearance of the paranormal spirit in the reflection of a mirror along side
the tormented character as she/he gazes into it. For example, in the film Mirrors
unbeknown to them, their reflection watches them as they move around the
room.

5. SUPERNATURAL (continued)
Currently, the most popular type of supernatural horror is
possession. This involves a human body being taken over by a
demonic force. When the demon is at large the person (usually
a woman or girl) who is possessed is able to perform bodily
contortions, levitate themselves, speak in a loud, deep voice
and even in foreign languages such as Latin or Hebrew or they
may even vomit disgusting things. In The Possession for
example Emily throws up insects. The use of orchestral music
and contrapuntal sound is used in possession films, especially
when frightening moments are about to happen. Supernatural
films conventionally include jumpy moments throughout.
Another common convention is that a specialist comes to help
but the evil force is always too strong and it is always something
they‟ve “never come across before” (The Conjuring)

7. GOTHIC
Gothic horror movies tend to feature monsters and mythical creatures such as vampires
and they are usually set in the past in a mythical place that audiences wouldn‟t
normally inhabit (i.e. a castle in a far away land). They were the first type of horror
movie and were extremely popular in the early 20‟s and 30‟s. There is usually an
atmosphere of doom and gloom in gothic horror movies and rooms such as dungeons
and torture chambers are where the action takes place, alongside grave yards, forests
and misty environments. For example, Dracula is based in darkest Transylvania , and is
set in a castle for the duration of the film. Low key lighting is often used, it is often dark
as audiences fear the unknown The Woman In Black is an example of this as it uses low
key lighting throughout and even during daytime scenes it remains gloomy and foggy.
In gothic horrors, the heroine/hero is in some kind of danger or the main character is
transformed or created. In Frankenstein we see Frankenstein being created by the
professor. Sleepy Hollow is a classic example of a gothic horror, as it involves mystical
characters such as a headless horseman and it is set in a far away mist-shrouded land.

9. PSYCHOLGICAL
A psychological horror movie uses the characters fears and their emotional insecurity in
order to build tension for the audience. Psychological horrors tend to focus more on
what is going on in the main characters mind to scare viewers rather than showing gore
or a ghostly presence. In this sub-genre of horror the audience is presented with
characters who seem normal on the surface but internally they are psychologically
disturbed, just like Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs or Norman Bates in Psycho.
In psychological horrors weapons are rarely used; the terror comes from the twisted
nature of the characters‟ minds and what their psychopathic natures are capable of
making them do. We do see killings in this sub-genre as they are so warped that they
can be violent and murderous. Normal everyday props can become scary and sinister
such as Danny‟s tricycle in The Shining, the bicycle becomes a symbol of scariness
within the film. Whenever we see him ride it, this acts as a prelude to something
terrifying happening thus putting the audience on edge. Flashbacks/nightmares are
also a common convention of psychological horrors, in The Uninvited we see Anna
have frequent nightmares about the night her mother died in a fire.

11. Our sub genre-Psychological
For the promotional package, my group has chosen psychological horror as the
sub-genre we will focus on. There are many reasons as to why we collectively
decided to focus on this sub-genre, but overall we feel it has less restrictions
and therefore our work is likely to look much more professional. For
example, with sub-genres like slasher and gothic horror, there are many strict
conventions to follow in order for the movie to be of that sub-genre.
However, from watching various different horror movies and trailers, we
discovered that psychological horrors can differ extremely when it comes to
elements such as mise-en-scene and location. For example, Gothika and The
Shining are both psychological horrors; Gothika features a woman who is so
psychologically ill that she is unaware that she has killed her own husband
whereas The Shining is based on a man who is driven to the brink of insanity
and ends up trying to kill his family. They are both of the same sub-genre yet
have extremely different narratives.

12. Our sub genre-Psychological (continued)
Slasher movies on the other hand, tend to feature similar narratives for every
film (teenagers are chased by a masked killer and are killed in a graphic
manner). For example, Halloween and Scream are both slasher and
feature similar storylines (Michael Myers chases Laurie Strode in
Halloween, whilst Ghostface chases Sidney Prescott throughout Scream).
Therefore my group and I felt if we chose psychological to be our subgenre, we would be able to be more creative and original when it came
to our narrative. We also chose psychological as there is not many
psychological horrors out today – Posession and Supernatural movies
tend to be more common. Therefore we wanted to create a trailer which
is refreshing and different; as shown by The Silence of the Lambs and
American Psycho. When a psychological horror is executed properly, it
becomes a cinematic classic. We wanted ours to do so too, and believe
we will be able to create a fresh, original and intellectual idea for a horror
movie which, in time, would become a cinematic classic too.