Genre Research - Horror

Horror films are designed to incite fear, panic, and shock while still being entertaining for the viewer. Movie producers use camera angles, camera movements, editing techniques, sound, and Mise-en-scene to create horror films. Horror films traditionally use high angles, close ups, tracking shots, low angles, and establishing shots to convey the message. For example, a tracking shot may be used to create the image that a character is being chased. Diegetic and non-diegetic sound is extremely important in horror films to help enhance the fear and shock. Diegetic sound in horror films may be the sound of a chainsaw, a character screaming, footsteps, or creaking doors. Non-Diegetic sounds may be creepy music as well as eerie sounds. Mise-en-scene is also a key part in the production of horror films. Typically, the setting is in a dark, maybe abandoned or isolated area. This creates mystery and suspense for the viewer. Props may be knives, axes, chainsaws, or some type of weapon. Makeup may include dark eyes and fake blood. Black, red, and brown are colors seen throughout these films. The victims in these films may be dressed casually, just like someone is society. The villains may be dressed in a way to create an image of a character that incites fear upon the audience. Common editing techniques used are cut away, jump cuts, fades, and eye-line match. The editing is highly important to create the scary and gruesome parts of the film. Three examples of horror films are Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Night of the Living Dead. When researching horror films, we identified some elements that we liked but also many that we did not. For instance, we like the use of cut away and eyeline matches to portray the message, but we do not like the use of gruesome props and actions as well as the dark color scheme. Although the horror genre fits some elements of our film we will continue our research to find the genre that best fits for us.